MUSIC
Pop & Rock
TEGAN AND SARA Creative partners in music, memoir, and TV, these sisters from Calgary’s most recent album, last year’s “Crybaby,” applies their well-honed pop knowledge to speedy tracks like its intense opener, “I Can’t Grow Up,” and neo-power ballads like the bummer ride “This Ain’t Going Well.” Sept. 22, 8 p.m. Roadrunner. roadrunnerboston.com
THE BREEDERS Thirty years ago, this quartet released “Last Splash,” a loopy yet muscular album that featured the irresistibly bouncy left-field hit “Cannonball” and the candy-coated search for deliverance “Divine Hammer.” This show will put the spotlight on that record, the giddy legacy of which has resulted in pop supernova Olivia Rodrigo tapping the band to open her 2024 Madison Square Garden show. With New Jersey shredders Screaming Females. Sept. 24, 7 p.m. House of Blues. 888-693-2583, houseofblues.com/boston
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MANESKIN The Eurovision-winning Italian rockers reach their arena-size destiny with this tour spotlighting their attitude-stuffed album from earlier this year, “Rush!” Sept. 25, 8:30 p.m. TD Garden. 617-624-1000, tdgarden.com
MAURA JOHNSTON
Folk, World & Country
CLANNAD They’ve been doing it for years, and now they’re not going to do it anymore, although they had to postpone not doing it anymore during COVID times and then again last year. The legendary family band that morphed from playing trad Irish music to a distinctive variant incorporating pop, folk, and other elements is calling it a day with this final tour. Sept. 22, 8 p.m. $50-$65. The Wilbur, 246 Tremont St. 800-745-3000, www.ticketmaster.com
JESSE DANIEL/HANNAH JUANITA There’s been a steady stream of honky-tonk at this Medford joint, and it continues this week with a double shot of the stuff, courtesy of Jesse Daniel’s Bakersfield lean and newcomer Hannah Juanita. Sept. 23, 9 p.m. $17. The Porch Southern, 175 Rivers Edge Drive, Medford. 781-874-9357, www.theporchsouthern.com
MICK FLANNERY The Irish singer-songwriter comes to town with a feather in his cap: He’s the first international artist to release a record on John Prine’s selective label, Oh Boy. He’ll be showcasing that record, “Goodtime Charlie.” Sept. 27, 8 p.m. $27. Crystal Ballroom at the Somerville Theatre, 55 Davis Square, Somerville. 617-876-4275, www.globalartslive.org
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STUART MUNRO
Jazz & Blues
PAUL NELSON BAND The Grammy Award-winning blues guitar master has played with everyone from Eric Clapton to Buddy Guy, and was the hand-picked guitarist and producer for legendary blues rocker Johnny Winter. Sept. 23, 6 p.m. $30. Spire Center, 25½ Court St., Plymouth. www.spirecenter.org
THE ANDY VOELKER QUARTET Superb saxophonist and bandleader Voelker helms this reception, jam session, and fund-raiser for invaluable impresario Mark Redmond’s Mandorla Music, which has been presenting marvelous concerts for the better part of a decade. With keyboardist Maxim Lubarsky, bassist Jef Charland, and drummer Steve Langone. Sept. 24, 2 p.m. $30. Peabody Hall, Parish of All Saints, 209 Ashmont St., Dorchester. www.mandorlamusic.net
CELEBRATING JOHN COLTRANE FEATURING TIA FULLER The Cambridge Jazz Foundation presents scintillating saxophonist Fuller in a tribute to the great jazz master with a quartet including pianist Consuelo Candelaria, bassist Ron Mahdi, and drummer Ron Savage. Sept. 24, 8 p.m. $35. Multicultural Arts Center, 21 Second St., Cambridge. www.multiculturalartscenter.org
KEVIN LOWENTHAL
Classical
MONKEY: A KUNG FU PUPPET PARABLE White Snake Projects brings the Chinese epic “Journey to the West” to the stage in this multimedia opera by composer Jorge Sosa and librettist/impresario Cerise Lim Jacobs, starring Chinese countertenor Chuanyuan Liu as Monkey. White Snake’s modern adaptation of the ancient tale promises to include life-size puppets and 3-D animated avatars alongside the cast of six principal singers. Sept. 22-24. Emerson Paramount Center. www.whitesnakeprojects.org
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THE CASK OF AMONTILLADO Spooky season not starting soon enough for you? Head to this performance by Nightingale Vocal Ensemble, a choral dramatization of Edgar Allan Poe’s eerie short story “The Cask of Amontillado,” featuring the gorgeously dissonant music of Italian Renaissance composer (and murderer) Carlo Gesualdo. Sept. 23, 8 p.m. Old North Church. www.nightingalevocalensemble.com
SIMONE DINNERSTEIN + EMMANUEL MUSIC Pianist Simone Dinnerstein runs a gauntlet of three keyboard concertos by Bach, Mozart, and Philip Glass with the Orchestra of Emmanuel Music and video art by artist Laurie Olinder. Sept. 23, 7 p.m. Distler Hall, Tufts University, Somerville. 617-536-3356, www.emmanuelmusic.org
A.Z. MADONNA
ARTS
Theater
ASSASSINS Courtney O’Connor’s first-rate production of the 1990 Stephen Sondheim-John Weidman musical about presidential assassins does not overtly gesture toward the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol by supporters of Donald Trump. But echoes from that dark day of grievance-fueled, democracy-threatening political violence are inescapable, adding another layer to the enduringly resonant “Assassins.” Through Oct. 15. Presented by Lyric Stage Company of Boston. 617-585-5678, www.LyricStage.com
THE FULL MONTY: THE BROADWAY MUSICAL Unemployed, cash-strapped steelworkers in Buffalo (a change from the Sheffield, England, setting of the original 1997 film) devise a striptease act featuring . . . themselves. With music and lyrics by David Yazbek and a book by the late Terrence McNally, “The Full Monty: The Broadway Musical” is directed and choreographed by Gerry McIntyre. Sept. 26-Oct. 8. North Shore Music Theatre, Beverly. 978-232-7200, www.nsmt.org
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FAT HAM James Ijames won the Pulitzer Prize last year for this modern retelling of “Hamlet” in a mostly comic vein. Set in a backyard barbecue in the South, “Fat Ham” focuses on a young, gay Black man named Juicy who is wrestling with issues of identity amid complicated family dynamics. Those dynamics grow even more fraught when the ghost of Juicy’s father turns up and demands that the son avenge his murder. Directed by Stevie Walker-Webb. Sept. 22-Oct. 29. The Huntington in association with Front Porch Arts Collective and Alliance Theatre. At Wimberly Theatre, Calderwood Pavilion, Boston Center for the Arts. 617-266-0800 or huntingtontheatre.org
DON AUCOIN
Dance
DANCE FOR WORLD COMMUNITY FESTIVAL 2023 Created by José Mateo Ballet Theatre and celebrating its 14th incarnation, this multi-partner initiative showcases how dance can create, unify, and strengthen community. The free, daylong, indoor/outdoor event centered in Harvard Square features performances on five stages, introductory dance classes, and booths hosted by local advocacy groups. Sept. 23. Free. Massachusetts Avenue between Putnam and Bow streets. www.danceforworldcommunity.org
MULAN, A DANCE DRAMA Forty-five dancers of the China Ningbo Performance & Arts Group are showcased in the US premiere of this lavish dance and music production. A tale of heroic self-discovery, courage, and devotion, it portrays a young woman in ancient China who disguises herself as a man in order to join the army in her aging father’s place. Sept. 23-24. $30-$90. Boch Center Wang Theatre. www.bochcenter.org
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JEAN APPOLON EXPRESSIONS The Momentum Greenway Dance Program’s series of site-responsive works along the Rose Kennedy Greenway continues with Appolon’s new “Popouri,” at Armenian Heritage Park. The company hopes the work helps bring to light some of the traditional folkloric dance and practices that can help heal trauma, especially of the immigrant experience. Sept. 23, 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Free. The Greenway at the Carolyn Lynch Garden. www.rosekennedygreenway.org
PRAKRITI: THE FORCES OF LIFE Neena Gulati and her Triveni Ensemble debut this new production featuring Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, and Odissi Indian classical dance. In this retelling of ancient Indian mythology; expect graceful movement, brilliant color, and explosive rhythmical footwork. Sept. 22-23. $20-$50. Boston University Dance Theater. www.trivenidance.org/events
KAREN CAMPBELL
Visual art
OBJECTS OF ADDICTION: OPIUM, EMPIRE, AND THE CHINESE ART TRADE Spanning more than 200 years from the late 18th to the early 20th centuries, this exhibition explores the inexorable link between the vast wealth generated by the opium trade, the cultural exchange and riches that it made possible, and its devastating echoes that continue to reverberate with deafening force in the form of the opioid crisis today. Through Jan. 14. Harvard Art Museums, 32 Quincy St., Cambridge. 617-495-9400, www.harvardartmuseums.org
2023 JAMES AND AUDREY FOSTER PRIZE Established in 1999, the Foster Prize exhibition has evolved into a vital showcase for contemporary artists in the Boston area to make their presence known here at home on a major institutional stage. The three artists selected this year, Cicely Carew, Venetia Dale, and Yu-Wen Wu, work across a variety of media, including painting, sculpture, and video, while each enjoy a solo presentation of their work as part of the overall show. Through Jan 28. Institute Of Contemporary Art Boston, 25 Harbor Shore Drive. 617-478-3100, icaboston.org
HUMANE ECOLOGY: EIGHT POSITIONS An exhibition of eight artists with planet-saving concerns, “Humane Ecology”’s intended kindnesses stretch well past the merely environmental with a plea for the many millions of marginalized peoples caught in the planet’s death-spiraling consumption addiction. Christine Howard Sandoval, an enrolled member of the Chalon Nation, proposes Indigenous controlled burning techniques to counteract wildfires, while Korakrit Arunanondchai’s dreamy film piece imagines an interconnected web of life that still needs solid ground on which to stand. Through Oct. 29. Clark Art Institute, 225 South St., Williamstown. 413-458-2303, theclark.edu
MURRAY WHYTE
FLYING HORSE OUTDOOR SCULPTURE EXHIBIT This year marks the 14th annual fall sculpture show on the rolling grounds of Pingree School, a private secondary school in South Hamilton, which already has 20 permanent artworks on display. Now there are 50 more, including Allison Newsome’s functional “RainKeep,” which collects rainwater to use in the school’s gardens; Jose Criollo’s recycled metal “Musician”; and a piece from artists at Raw Art Works, a nonprofit youth arts program based in Lynn. Through Nov. 26. Pingree School, 573 Highland St., South Hamilton. 978-468-4415, www.pingree.org/news-events/flying-horse-outdoor-sculpture-exhibit
CATE McQUAID
EVENTS
Comedy
APARNA NANCHERLA The voice-over actor (“The Great North,” “Summer Camp Island”), TV writer (“Late Night with Seth Meyers,” “Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell”), and stand-up comic adds author to her resumé with a collection of essays called “Unreliable Narrator: Me, Myself, and Imposter Syndrome,” released this week. Sept. 22 at 7 p.m., Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. $33. Laugh Boston, 425 Summer St. 617-725-2844, www.laughboston.com
GARY GULMAN: MISFIT TOUR The hometown comic returns to the Wilbur for stand-up in support of his extraordinary memoir, “Misfit: Growing Up Awkward In the ‘80s,” chronicling his youth in Peabody and tracing the origins of his mental health issues, and how returning home led to a breakthrough. Sept. 23, 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. $36-$54. The Wilbur, 246 Tremont St. www.thewilbur.com
FRUIT BASKET LGBTQ performers from Improv Asylum’s various casts come together for a one-hour set of improv, part of the house’s late-night offerings after their Main Stage shows. Free for those who attend the early show, $5 for those who don’t. Sept. 28, 10 p.m. $5. Improv Asylum, 216 Hanover St. 617-263-6887, www.improvasylum.com
NICK A. ZAINO III
Family
HOUSE DANCE PARTY Join the City of Boston for a dance party with DJ Bruno, a Boston-based DJ who’s been performing throughout the city since 1987. Participants can enjoy his curated set of house music at this outdoor event. Sept. 22, 5 p.m.-8 p.m. Free. 1 City Hall Square. boston.gov
ROSLINDALE PORCH FEST Wander the streets of Roslindale for a dose of live music this weekend. Over 150 performers will take their acts to 90 different porches throughout the neighborhood. The festival features musical acts from all different genres, from jazz to rock to hip-hop and more. There is a map of porches and musicians available on the website. Sept. 23, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. Free. Roslindale roslindaleporchfest.org
TOUCH A TRUCK EXTRAVAGANZA For all the truck lovers out there, the Bierman Autism Centers will bring the monsters of the road to Needham for a sensory-friendly experience. Among the vehicles featured at the event are a firetruck from the Needham Fire Department, a police car from the Needham Police Department, and tow trucks from Roadside Rescue. Participants can also enjoy free sweet snacks. Sept. 26, 5 p.m-6:30 p.m. Free. 145 Rosemary St., Needham eventbrite.com
ELENA GIARDINA