MUSIC
Pop & Rock
YUNGBLUD: THE WORLD TOUR British dynamo Dominic Richard Harrison’s explosive, emotional music channels sweaty-club-filling genres of yore — goth-pop, arena-emo, electroclash — into hooky anthems that balance rock grandeur with TikTok-era succinctness. July 16, 7:30 p.m. MGM Music Hall at Fenway. crossroadspresents.com
LAUREN SPENCER SMITH: MIRROR TOUR Last year, this “American Idol” semifinalist had a pop breakthrough with “Fingers Crossed,” a wounded look back at a busted-up relationship that showcases her formidable pipes. Her debut album, “Mirror,” which includes the collaboration “Fantasy” with fellow class of ‘22 pop upstarts GAYLE and Em Beihold, came out last week. July 19, 6:30 p.m., Paradise Rock Club. 617-562-8800, crossroadspresents.com
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RED FANG This sludgy Portland foursome pairs face-melting riffs with a wicked sense of humor. July 19, 8 p.m. The Sinclair, Cambridge. 617-547-5200, sinclaircambridge.com
MAURA JOHNSTON
Folk, World & Country
JIM LAUDERDALE He’s probably reached the point where he qualifies as an Americana elder statesman, but Jim Lauderdale has hardly slowed down in his recording endeavors. On the contrary, he continues to bring new meaning to the word “prolific”; over the past two decades or so, he’s released at least one album every year, most recently taking a deep country dive with “Game Changer.” July 15, 8 p.m. $18. Askew, 150 Chestnut St., Providence. 401-270-4040, www.askewprov.com
JENNY LEWIS Touring in support of new album “Joy’all,” Lewis headlines what should be a full-deal evening of music, what with sets beforehand of Cass McCombs’s intense, expansive Americana and Hayden Pedigo’s marvelous guitar excursions. July 15, 7:15 p.m. $35. Roadrunner. 888-929-7849, www.axs.com
JOHN R. MILLER/WILLIAM MATHENY A pair of worth-your-while West Virginian singer-songwriters head north and shoot right past Boston to play an area date in Portsmouth, N.H. Matheny will play an opening set, then strap on a bass and contribute to Miller’s relaxed, loping country-rock sound. July 16, 8 p.m. $18. The Press Room, 77 Daniel St., Portsmouth, N.H. 603 431-5186, www.pressroomnh.com
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STUART MUNRO
Jazz & Blues
ERIN HARPE & THE DELTA SWINGERS The red-hot singer and finger-style guitarist and her fervid fellowship are self-styled masters of the Charles River Delta blues, augmenting deep blues sounds with a soupçon of funk and soul. July 15, 8 p.m. $15-$20. The Sanctuary, 82 Main St., Maynard. 978-933-1476, www.sanctuarymaynard.com
3RD ANNUAL CHARLES RIVER JAZZ FESTIVAL This year’s edition of the riverside romp features a panoply of prime performers including saxophonist Braxton Cook, vocalists Michael Mayo and Farayi Malek, pianist and organist Anastassiya Petrova, and saxophonist Seba Molnar, the festival’s founder and executive director. Food, beverages, and other merchandise will be available. July 16, 1-9 p.m. Free. Herter Park Amphitheater, 1175 Soldiers Field Road, Brighton. www.charlesriverjazzfest.org
DAVE BRYANT’S THIRD THURSDAYS PRESENTS LISTEN TO THIS Keyboardist Bryant, onetime member of Ornette Coleman’s band Prime Time, presents and plays with this nonet of local notables that explores the jazz fusion of Miles Davis’s “Bitches Brew” and beyond. July 20, 8 p.m. $10. Harvard-Epworth United Methodist Church, 1555 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge. dbryantmusic.com/third-thursdays
KEVIN LOWENTHAL
Classical
TANGLEWOOD It’s a big weekend out at the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s summer digs in the Berkshires. Friday night starts things off with a celebration of George Gershwin featuring vocalist/pianist Michael Feinstein and pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet with the Boston Pops and conductor Keith Lockhart (July 14). The next night, the BSO, the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, and music director Andris Nelsons present a concert performance of Mozart’s “Così fan tutte,” featuring a cast including soprano Nicole Cabell as Fiordiligi and tenor Amitai Pati as Ferrando (July 15). Sunday afternoon’s centerpiece brings the TFC and BSO back to the stage for Carl Orff’s epic “Carmina burana,” featuring soloists Erin Morley, Reginald Mobley, and Will Liverman (July 16). Lenox. www.tanglewood.org
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BOSTON FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA Prefer to take in your summer orchestral concerts in air-conditioned comfort? Boston Festival Orchestra has you covered; the first program of its three-week season features a multicultural mixtape by Sibelius, Brahms, Zoltán Kodály, William Grant Still, and Gabriela Lena Frank. Principal conductor Alyssa Wang leads. July 16, 3 p.m. Roxbury Community College’s Media Arts Center. www.bforchestra.org
BOSTON LANDMARKS ORCHESTRA Wednesday nights in the second half of the summer mean it’s time for the Landmarks Orchestra to light up the Hatch Shell with weekly free concerts. This week’s season opener is an orchestral smorgasbord, including music by Beethoven, Liszt, Copland, Lili Boulanger, Ethel Smyth, and Brian Raphael Nabors. Pack a picnic. July 19, 7 p.m. DCR Hatch Shell, Charles River Esplanade. www.landmarksorchestra.org
A.Z. MADONNA
ARTS
Theater
STEW Cheryl D. Singleton deploys her gifts to the fullest as the outwardly authoritative but wounded matriarch in Zora Howard’s powerful, if uneven, drama about a Black family preparing a large meal while wondering and worrying about the absence of one member. Sensitively directed by Rosalind Bevan. Through July 23. Gloucester Stage Company, Gloucester. 978-281-4433, www.gloucesterstage.com
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TINY FATHER In this premiere of a play by Mike Lew (”Teenage Dick,” “Tiger Style!”) inspired by Lew’s own experience, a man named Daniel has to quickly “step up and figure out what it means to be be ‘Dad’” when his baby daughter is born prematurely. Directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel. Through July 22. Co-production by Barrington Stage Company and Chautaqua Theater Company. At St. Germain Stage, Pittsfield. 413-236-8888, www.BarringtonStageCo.org
EVITA Shereen Pimentel delivers an electrifying performance as Eva Perón, the former first lady of Argentina. Under the direction of Sammi Cannold, this production of the Tim Rice-Andrew Lloyd Webber musical seeks less to valorize or vilify than to understand the complex woman at its heart. Through July 30. American Repertory Theater in association with Shakespeare Theatre Company. At Loeb Drama Center, Cambridge. 617-547-8300, www.AmericanRepertoryTheater.org
DON AUCOIN
Dance
JACOB’S PILLOW DANCE FESTIVAL Dorrance Dance celebrates its 10th anniversary with performances of “SOUNDscape,” one of the early works that catapulted the company into the public eye (July 19-23). Outdoor presentations include the Pillow debut of AXIS Dance Company (July 14-16) and a collaborative project by Seán Curran Company and Darrah Carr Dance blending Irish céilí and contemporary choreography (July 19-20). $45-$90. Becket. www.jacobspillow.org
MUSIC FROM THE SOLE Led by Brazilian dancer-choreographer Leonardo Sandoval and bassist-composer Gregory Richardson, the company brings eight dancers and a five-piece band to The Yard for “I Didn’t Come to Stay.” The work celebrates the joy, depth, and virtuosity of Black dance and music, exploring the lineage of tap dance and its connections to other Afro-Diasporic forms. July 15. $13-$33. Martha’s Vineyard Performing Arts Center, Oak Bluffs. www.dancetheyard.org
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BERKSHIRE BUSK! The Great Barrington downtown arts festival partners with Jacob’s Pillow and Berkshire Pride for a weekend featuring hip-hop, drag, flamenco, circus, and fire dance. Performers include Philadelphia’s Just Sole! Street Dance Theatre Company, Qualia Dance Collective, Bella Santarella, Opal Raven Cirque, Joanne Bockemuehl-Jackson, and Chalk Gremlin Circus. July 14-15. Free. Railroad Street, Great Barrington. www.berkshirebusk.com
UNITED STYLES 2023 This event, presented by The Snipes Pro Breaking Tour, brings together some of the top break dancers from Greater Boston as well as abroad to showcase their skill and artistry. While the dancers compete for the chance to go to the dance genre’s world finals in November, the event also celebrates the 42nd anniversary of Boston’s oldest breakdancing group, The Floor Lords Crew. July 16. $20-$60. The Middle East, Cambridge. www.mideastoffers.com/page/2/
KAREN CAMPBELL
Visual art
I AM SEEN … THEREFORE, I AM: ISAAC JULIEN AND FREDERICK DOUGLASS A lush five-channel video by Julien is the point of entry to this exhibition chronicling the prescient vision of Frederick Douglass, who saw the nascent field of photography as a key weapon in the war for American hearts and minds as abolition gained momentum. For Americans to think of Black people as something other than chattel property, Douglass believed they would first have to see them as such. Julien’s video captures Douglas, played by the British actor Ray Fearon, opining on American injustice and the power of the photographic image to an array of audiences; beyond it, jewel-like displays of historical portraits of Black Americans, dressed in their best finery, give visual fact to Douglass’s words. Through Sept. 24. Wadsworth Atheneum, 600 Main St., Hartford. 860-278-2670, thewadsworth.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 respected 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
FROM THE ANDES TO THE CARRIBEAN: AMERICAN ART FROM THE SPANISH EMPIRE Spain dominated global exploration from its beginnings in 1492 — the Columbus voyage — and held it for more than 300 years, making the residue of its colonial enterprise thick in both North and South America. This exhibition examines the relationship between colonial plunder and cultural transposition, best expressed, perhaps, by the scholar Edward Said: “[C]ulture participates in imperialism yet is somehow excused for its role.” Through July 30. Harvard Art Museums, 32 Quincy St., Cambridge. 617-495-9400, www.harvardartmuseums.org
MURRAY WHYTE
REPEAT OFFENDERS: TRIIIBE RETURNS Triiibe — identical triplets Alicia, Kelly, and Sara Casilio, plus photographer Cary Wolinsky — is known for darkly comic installation, performance, and photography about social justice, gender, and definitions of self. Wolinsky, who also for years shot photos for National Geographic, died at 75 on June 16. This show features some of the group’s greatest hits. The artists, including Wolinsky, gave an artists’ talk in early June. The Casilio sisters return for what will undoubtedly be a poignant talk on July 26. Through July 26. South Shore Art Center, 119 Ripley Road, Cohasset. 781-383-2787, www.ssac.org/bancroft.asp
CATE McQUAID
EVENTS
Comedy
IMPROVBOSTON ImprovBoston’s cast is somewhat nomadic these days, since its main theater space closed in 2020. They’ve got a summer residency at Lyric Stage, and this week they bring their improvised comedy show back to the Rockwell in Davis Square. July 14, 9:30 p.m. $25. The Rockwell, 255 Davis Square, Somerville. www.therockwell.org
CALEB HEARON “If you’re a fat person, you can’t talk about being active too quick around a skinny person ‘cause y’all get too excited,” says Hearon. “As a fat person, I’ll be like, ‘I think I’m going to go on a walk later,’ and a thin person in the room I’ve never met will be like, ‘Yes! You don’t have to live this way!’” Show on July 17 is sold out. July 18, 8 p.m. $25. Laugh Boston, 425 Summer St. 617-725-2844, www.laughboston.com
THE NXT SHOW Improv Asylum is offering free shows Wednesday nights through Aug. 30. Up this week is the NXT Cast doing their “Podcast Away,” which includes pre-written sketch and music as well as improv. July 19, 8 p.m. Free. Improv Asylum, 216 Hanover St. 617-263-6887, www.improvasylum.com
SIRENS: A VARIETY SHOW OF FIERCE FEMALE ARTISTS This month’s showcase is comedy-heavy, headlined by Liz Glazer, who won the 2020 Boston Comedy Festival stand-up competition, with Emily Ruskowski and Kaitlin Buckley and hosted by Kelly MacFarland. With music by Casey Desmond. July 20, 7 p.m. $10. Boynton Yards, 101 South St., Somerville. www.eventbrite.com
NICK A. ZAINO III
Family
JEFF JAM SINGALONG Sing along with Jeff and his guitar this Friday to wrap up Boston Public Market’s Kids Week! In the Nook at the Boston Public Market, children can enjoy live music, sing-a-longs, and games. July 14, 4 p.m.- 4:30 p.m. Free. Boston Public Market ,100 Hanover St. eventbrite.com
SUMMER OASIS IN THE CITY Those searching for a break from bustling city life can join the Boston Nature Center to explore their Wildlife Sanctuary through meditation, arts and crafts, and educational programs. Participants can join Shawnta Carson on a meditative walk or follow along with Kim Baker as she forages through the park’s trails. Kids will have the opportunity to make their own paper out of recycled materials and experiment with solar energy. The event also includes an educational program about bugs taught by Salvation Burnette. During Burnette’s class, students will search for insects, and write poems about the tiny, crawling creatures they find. July 15, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. $10-$13. Boston Nature Center and Wildlife Sanctuary, 500 Walk Hill St., Mattapan. massaudubon.org
BACKYARD AND BEYOND: WORKING IN THE GARDEN Have a green thumb? Learn how to tend to a garden at the Discovery Museum. In the Discovery Woods Garden, kids will learn about watering plants, checking for weeds, and keeping tabs on plant growth. Program instructors will teach attendees which insects help to keep a garden alive during this outdoor event. July 16, 10 a.m.-noon. Free with admission to the museum. Discovery Museum, 177 Main St. (Route 27), Acton. discoveryaction.org
ELENA GIARDINA