MUSIC
Pop & Rock
RE:SET CONCERT SERIES The three-day traveling lollapalooza of alt-leaning acts doubles as the opening throwdown for the Stage at Suffolk Downs, Bowery Boston’s new outdoor venue on the edge of East Boston. Funk auteur Steve Lacy headlines Friday’s show; dance-punk magnates LCD Soundsystem top Saturday’s bill; and super-singer-songwriter-group boygenius leads the lineup on Sunday night. June 16-18, 4 p.m. The Stage at Suffolk Downs. boston.resetconcertseries.com
BEBE REXHA This New York-born singer-songwriter has amassed a dizzying array of credits since her emergence 13 years ago — she’s collaborated with good-time country duo Florida Georgia Line, reached the top of the dance charts through a cheeky reimagining of Eiffel 65′s late-’90s Eurodance smash “Blue (Da Ba Dee),” and written for artists like Selena Gomez and Tate McRae. Her third album, “Bebe,” came out in April. June 17, 7 p.m. House of Blues. 888-693-2583, houseofblues.com/boston
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BABY ROSE & Q PRESENT THE THROUGH THE SOUL TOUR Two of R&B’s more impressive newcomers team up for a co-headlined show. June 20, 7 p.m. Brighton Music Hall. 617-779-0140, crossroadspresents.com
MAURA JOHNSTON
Folk, World & Country
KEVIN GORDON Good news for those who are partial to the fierce, rocking roots music made by this Louisiana-born, Nashville-ensconced singer-songwriter; he has 13 tracks in the can on his way to his first release of new music since 2018′s “Tilt and Shine.” More good news: After a cancellation of a live date due to the usual suspect last year, he’s coming back with his trio to play. June 16, 7 p.m. $35. The Fallout Shelter, 61 Endicott St., Norwood. www.extendedplaysessions.com
WACO BROTHERS Hard times call for hard country, according to the Wacos, and that’s exactly what they give you in their own singular, careening fashion. They’ve been at it since Jon Langford formed the band almost 30 years ago and come to town on the heels of their 10th full-length, “The Men That God Forgot.” June 16, 7:30 p.m. $23. City Winery, 80 Beverly St. 617-933-8047, www.citywinery.com/boston
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BOB BRADSHAW Irish ex-pat Bradshaw has made Boston his home for some 30 years, and he’s been cranking out a steady string of gritty, intense roots-music records all the while, including his latest, “The Art of Feeling Blue,” which, true to its name, spends a fair amount of time on the minor-key side of things. He celebrates his new release with a full-band show Saturday evening. June 17, 9 p.m. $15. Lizard Lounge, 1667 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge. 617-547-0759, www.lizardloungeclub.com
STUART MUNRO
Jazz & Blues
GREGORY GROOVER JR. The accomplished young tenor saxophonist hails from Roxbury. The son of two ministers delivers jazz explorations deeply rooted in Black American sacred music. June 17, 7 and 9 p.m. $35-$50. Scullers, 40 Soldiers Field Road. 866-777-8932, www.scullersjazz.com
JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION WITH COREY HARRIS The Belleville Roots Music Series presents compelling singer-songwriter and finger-style acoustic guitarist Harris, whose blues are influenced by New Orleans, West Africa, and beyond. He’s won both a MacArthur grant and the W.C. Handy Award for best acoustic blues album of the year, and has played with everyone from Ali Farka Touré to Tracy Chapman. June 17, 8 p.m. $10-$35. Belleville Congregational Church, 100 High St., Newburyport. www.bellevilleroots.org
CHARLIE KOHLHASE’S EXPLORERS CLUB The multi-saxophonist and composer — a Boston jazz mainstay for decades — fearlessly leads his intrepid septet on engagingly knotty explorations of his originals as well as tunes by such jazz notables as Elmo Hope, Makanda Ken McIntyre, and Kohlhase mentors and collaborators Roswell Rudd and John Tchicai. June 18, 6:30 p.m. $10. The Lilypad, 1353 Cambridge St., Cambridge. www.lilypadinman.com
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KEVIN LOWENTHAL
Classical
BOSTON LANDMARKS ORCHESTRA Boston’s summer orchestra celebrates Juneteenth with an afternoon of orchestral music by Black composers. The program includes pieces by William Grant Still, Scott Joplin, and Joseph Bologne (subject of the recent biopic “Chevalier”) alongside the world premiere of a new version of Nkeiru Okoye’s “Phillis Wheatley,” written in honor of the 18th-century poet who spent most of her life enslaved in Boston. Free admission. June 17, 4 p.m. The Salvation Army Boston Kroc Center, Roxbury. www.landmarksorchestra.org
CAMBRIDGE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Under the baton of music director Cynthia Woods, the orchestra presents a semi-staged version of Prokofiev’s ballet “Romeo and Juliet” in collaboration with former Boston Ballet principal dancer Gianni Gino Di Marco. Local dancers in principal roles include Ruth Whitney as Juliet and Sabi Varga as Romeo; students from Boston City Youth Ballet will also join in for ensemble scenes. June 17. 7 p.m. Kresge Auditorium, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge. www.cambridgesymphony.org
BOSTON LYRIC OPERA In honor of Juneteenth, Boston Lyric Opera presents the world premiere of “The Wanderer’s Tethering” by composer Mason Bynes and Boston poet laureate Porsha Olayiwola. To be performed by soprano Brianna J. Robinson and string players from Castle of our Skins, the piece is a meditation from a modern Nigerian woman’s perspective on an 1803 revolt of Igbo people who were taken captive and sold into slavery in Georgia; and then seized command of the ship transporting them to plantations and chose to die rather than be enslaved. The program also includes music by Florence Price, Trevor Weston, and Jessie Montgomery. Pay-what-you-want admission. June 18, 4 p.m. Hibernian Hall, Roxbury. 617-542-6772, www.blo.org
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A.Z. MADONNA
ARTS
Theater
EVITA Shereen Pimentel delivers an electrifying performance as Eva Perón, the former first lady of Argentina. Under the direction of Sammi Cannold, this revival of the Tim Rice-Andrew Lloyd Webber musical seeks less to valorize or vilify than to understand the complex woman at its heart. American Repertory Theater in association with Shakespeare Theatre Company. At Loeb Drama Center, Cambridge. Through July 30. 617-547-8300, www.AmericanRepertoryTheater.org
THE NORMAL HEART Larry Kramer’s scorching, largely autobiographical drama about gay writer and activist Ned Weeks (Dylan C. Wack) who adopts confrontational tactics as he fights to bring attention to the burgeoning AIDS crisis in the early 1980s. Directed by Shira Helena Gitlin. June 21-July 9. New Repertory Theatre. At Black Box Theater of the Mosesian Center for the Arts, Watertown. 617-923-8487, www.newrep.org
AS YOU LIKE IT Harold Steward directs a production of Shakespeare’s pastoral comedy that is described as leaning into its “famed crossdressing mayhem and gender euphoria, celebrating the inherent queerness of mythical Arden.” The cast includes Lindsay Eagle, Jaime José Hernández, Doug Lockwood, Nathan Malin, Genevieve Simon, Bobbie Steinbach, Regine Vital, and Mishka Yarovoy. Through June 25. Actors’ Shakespeare Project, in partnership with The Theater Offensive. At Balch Arena Theater at Tufts University, Medford. 617-241-2200, www.ActorsShakespeareProject.org
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DON AUCOIN
Dance
NOT EYE, US Directed by Fernadina Chan in partnership with Adriane Brayton of Continuum Dance Project, this immersive, interactive dance-theater work uses Michael Alfano’s sculpture “Cubed”as a jumping off point. By manipulating the sculpture’s nine differently-pigmented moveable pieces, the work examines individual diversity within a united community, challenging audiences to consider the impact of perception on race and gender. June 22-24, $25. (June 26-July 14 virtual performance access is free.) Boston Center for the Arts. https://bostonarts.org/
DANCE COMPLEX TEACHING ARTISTS CONCERT This annual event highlights the range of dance styles being taught at the Cambridge studios, showcasing some of the latest work by seven different artists who teach there. This time around, the concert features work by Johara Boston, Jackie O’Riley, Patrick Planet, Sylver Rochelin, SambaViva, Laura Sánchez, and Marcus Schulkind. June 17-18, $10-$30. Dance Complex, Cambridge. www.dancecomplex.org
CAMILLE A. BROWN & DANCERS In partnership with the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire Juneteenth Celebration, the Bessie Award-winning company presents a program that taps into Brown’s trademark aesthetic — provocative, insightful work reflecting personal and cultural experiences of African Americans. June 18, $30-$70. The Historic Theater, Portsmouth, N.H. www.themusichall.org
KAREN CAMPBELL
Visual art
AMERICAN WATERCOLORS, 1880-1990: INTO THE LIGHT 100 works by artists including Winslow Homer, Edward Hopper, John Marin, Jasper Johns, and Mark Rothko give this dazzling exhibition its marquee power, but the real star of the show is the much-maligned medium itself. Seen historically as the lesser to the Very Serious Enterprise of large-scale oil painting, watercolors have an inherent immediacy that reveals the spontaneous necessity of an artist to plan less, and go with flow. Through Aug. 13, Harvard Art Museums, 32 Quincy St., Cambridge. 617-495-9400, www.harvardartmuseums.org
WOMEN AND ABSTRACTION: 1741-NOW This survey, built almost entirely from the Addison’s formidable collection, examines the mostly-Modern convention of abstraction with a broad lens, suggesting the idea, while claimed by a certain cohort of mid-century American men, has a much longer, less-masculine lifespan. Through July 30, Addison Gallery of American Art at Phillips Academy. 180 Main St., Andover. 978-749-4015, www.addisongallery.org
SIMONE LEIGH The first-ever comprehensive survey of the work of Simone Leigh arrived at the Institute of Contemporary Art Boston this spring, a landmark in the ever-expanding career of one of the country’s most important artists. The exhibition follows a recent international coup: Leigh and the ICA were deep in planning this show when they decided to submit Leigh in competition as official American representative for the 2022 Venice Biennale, which opened there last April to broad accolades. Leigh’s show in Boston brings almost every element of that powerful display home, with significant additions. Always at issue for Leigh is Black representation and history, which she explores through a variety of media; but ceramics is her first language, and always at the heart of any of her exhibitions. Through Sept. 4. Institute Of Contemporary Art Boston, 25 Harbor Shore Drive. 617-478-3100, icaboston.org
MURRAY WHYTE
TEXTILE & TEXT: THE SACRED ALLY QUILT MINISTRY In 2020, responding to George Floyd’s murder by a white Minneapolis police officer, members of nine New Hampshire United Church of Christ congregations made quilts memorializing Floyd’s last words. The quilts, now touring the country, are on view. A Juneteenth conversation (2-4 p.m.; registration required) with leaders of the group, the Sacred Ally Quilt Ministry, will consider the challenging process of making the quilts and what it means to be an ally for racial justice. June 19-21. Congregational Library & Archives, 14 Beacon St. 617-523-0470, www.congregationallibrary.org/events/textileandtext
CATE McQUAID
EVENTS
Comedy
GREG FITZSIMMONS The biggest difference between rich and poor countries, says the comedian who started out at Boston University, is how much water we have and what we do with it. “We have fountains!” he says. “What is a fountain? That’s just us blowing water in the air, like, ‘Screw you! Look at all this water!’ And then what do we do at the fountain? We take money we don’t need and throw it in.” June 16 at 7 p.m.; June 17 at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. $33. Laugh Boston, 425 Summer St. 617-725-2844, www.laughboston.com
CHELSEA CITY COMEDY PRIDE SHOW Reece Cotton headlines the Pride Month edition of Chelsea City Comedy showcasing LGBTQ+ comedians, with featured act Lizzie Sivitz, plus Zach Stewart and Fredo Cruz. The show will also raise funds for Youth Elemento, an access center in Chelsea for people ages 16-21. June 22, 8 p.m. $20-$25. Lime, 73 Winnisimmet St., Chelsea. www.eventbrite.com
STAND UP STICK UP Jamie Aird is the clever and amiable host of this new stand-up showcase at the Vault Theatre in Lynn. This month’s featured comic is Alex Giampapa, with Zenobia Del Mar, Trent Wells, and Kindra Lansburg. June 22, 8 p.m. $17-$20. The Neal Rantoul Vault Theatre, 25 Exchange St., Lynn. www.eventbrite.com
NICK A. ZAINO III
Family
SUMMER FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT Families are invited to a free outdoor screening of “Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile.” Kids can jump on inflatables, grab a balloon animal, and get their face painted before securing a hot dog and popcorn for the film. June 16, 7-10 p.m. Free. Grace Church Avon, 101 Wales Ave., Avon. eventbrite.com
LET’S HAVE A FIELD DAY & FAMILY CELEBRATION AT KILEY PARK Help restore Kiley Park and celebrate on June 17. From noon–1 p.m., families will pick up trash to return the park to a clean environment for kids to play. Afterward, kids can play on a splashpad, on asketball courts, in bouncy houses, and in the park. There will also be music, raffles and prizes, and snacks. June 17, noon-4 p.m. Free. 66 Saunderson St., Lynn. lynntv.org
FATHER’S DAY BBQ & BLUEGRASS Honor the father figures in your life with Blue Ribbon Barbeque, live bluegrass music, games, and farm animals. Guests can bring chairs and picnic blankets or sit at the farm’s picnic tables. June 18, noon-2 p.m. $24-$70. Powisset Farm, 37 Powisset St., Dover. thetrustees.org
MADDIE BROWNING