MUSIC
Pop & Rock
MARK AMBOR: THE ROCKWOOD TOUR The New York folk-pop troubadour’s debut full-length, “Rockwood,” which came out earlier this year, includes the TikTok-beloved throwback to 2010s stomp-and-holler “Belong Together.” Nov. 30, 8 p.m. Paradise Rock Club. 617-562-8800, crossroadspresents.com
LEANNA FIRESTONE This Nashville-raised 21-year-old singer-songwriter blends her hometown’s commitment to top-notch songcraft with grungy guitars and gimlet-eyed lyrics about navigating the world: “I got my heart broken for the first time/ He did it on a Wednesday/ He did it on a school night,” she muses on her sugary recent single “Becoming Unbecoming,” projecting romantic malaise through her everyday obligations in crushingly real fashion. Dec. 4, 7:30 p.m. Crystal Ballroom at Somerville Theatre, Somerville. get2thegigbos.com
THE LADYBUG TRANSISTOR On their 1999 album, “The Albemarle Sound,” this Brooklyn band delivered chamber-pop grandeur with a ramshackle charm that felt immediately intimate. Its 25th-anniversary reissue, released earlier this month, includes b-sides and demos that show off the solid bones of their hooky tracks. Dec. 4, 8 p.m. Deep Cuts, Medford. 781-219-3815, deepcuts.rocks
MAURA JOHNSTON
Folk, World & Country
TWISTED PINE You can call them a roots band, or a stringband, or a sorta-bluegrass band, but it’s always been hard to pin down these locals, and with the music they’ve come up with on their new album, “Love Your Mind,” it’s harder still. They celebrate the release Saturday; some pals — Ali McQuirk and Damn Tall Buildings — will help. Nov. 30, 8 p.m. $20. The Sinclair, 52 Church St., Cambridge. 888-929-7849. www.axs.com
MIKE BLOCK AND SANDEEP DAS Yet another of the seemingly endless number of cross-collaborations in which Mike Block is involved, this one, which has been a going concern for over a decade, brings together his cello and the tabla of Sandeep Das. Dec. 1, 7:30 p.m. $20-$48. Crystal Ballroom, 55 Davis Square, Somerville. 617-876-4275. www.globalartslive.org
PATTERSON HOOD You usually see Patterson Hood in the middle of the force of nature that is the Drive-By Truckers. But occasionally he ventures out on his own, to play some of his non-Truckers material or to present songs from that band in a different context. This is one of those nights. Dec. 4, 7:30 p.m. $35. Bull Run Restaurant, 215 Great Road, Shirley. 978-425-4311. www.bullrunrestaurant.com
STUART MUNRO
Jazz & Blues
CREATIVE MUSIC SERIES BENEFIT FOR ALEX LEMSKI W/NATE MCCBRIDE & FRIENDS Lemski, founder and director of the area series that has presented adventurous jazz concerts since 2015, needs help as he faces cancer treatment. Bassist McBride and his boisterous band will present a night of joyous music to aid the cause. With saxophonist Seth Meicht, guitarist Eric Hofbauer, and drummer Curt Newton, plus special guests. Nov. 30, 7:30 p.m. $15-$20. The Lilypad, 1353 Cambridge St., Cambridge. lilypadinman.com
HEATHER PIERSON JAZZ TRIO: A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS Old Sloop Presents brings us pianist-vocalist Pierson and her band’s annual performance of the late Vince Guaraldi’s beloved score for the animated “Peanuts” classic (1965), plus more Guaraldi tunes and other holiday chestnuts. Dec. 1, 3 p.m. $5-$25. The First Congregational Church of Rockport, 12 School St., Rockport. oldslooppresents.org
ROB MO & WILLIE J. LAWS Two blazing blues guitarists go head-to-head: Willie J. from Texas’s Gulf Coast and the implausibly blues-adept native of Verona, Italy, Roberto Morbioli. Dec. 5, 8 p.m. $22-$25. Bull Run Restaurant, 215 Great Road, Rt. 2A, Shirley. www.bullrunrestaurant.com
KEVIN LOWENTHAL
Classical
BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA The BSO ends its fall Symphony Hall home stand with a program of Finnish and Norwegian pieces, as music director Andris Nelsons shares the podium with 2024 Tanglewood Music Center conducting fellows Ross Jamie Collins and Na’Zir McFadden. Benjamin Grosvenor appears as soloist in Grieg’s Piano Concerto. Nov. 29, 1:30 p.m.; Nov. 30, 8 p.m. Symphony Hall. 617-266-1200, www.bso.org
HANDEL AND HAYDN SOCIETY Artistic director Jonathan Cohen leads Handel’s evergreen oratorio “Messiah,” a Christmastime tradition that H+H has kept going for 170 years straight. This year’s performance incorporates a larger chorus than usual for H+H, including singers from the organization’s most advanced youth chorus and adults participating in the new CitySing program. Nov. 29-Dec. 1. Symphony Hall. 617-262-1815, www.handelandhaydn.org
BOSTON EARLY MUSIC FESTIVAL BEMF continues its yearly tradition of Thanksgiving weekend baroque chamber operas with a staged performance of Telemann’s one-act wedding-crasher comedy “Don Quichotte,” interspersed with instrumental music from the composer’s separate orchestral suite based on Cervantes’s novel. Nov. 30, 8 p.m.; Dec. 1, 3 p.m. NEC’s Jordan Hall. 617-661-1812, www.bemf.org
A.Z. MADONNA
ARTS
Theater
BLACK NATIVITY IN A NEW LIGHT There is no more cherished holiday tradition in the Boston area than this annual production of a “gospel song-play” that tells the Nativity story from a Black perspective. Created by legendary poet Langston Hughes and Boston composer/arranger John Andrew Ross, it’s directed by Voncille Ross and features a cast of 67, including Ross, Milton Wright, Desiree Springer, Stephen P. O’Neal, and Stephen Hunter Sr. Production by the National Center of Afro-American Artists. Dec. 6-22, Emerson Paramount Center. 617-824-8400, blacknativity.org
DID YOU EAT? (밥 먹었니?) As both writer and actor, Zoë Kim holds nothing back. She delivers an unflinching and altogether extraordinary performance in this autobiographical solo play about how she survived a nightmarish childhood and early adolescence in South Korea, filled with physical and psychological abuse. Directed by Chris Yejin. Choreography by Christopher Shin. Dramaturgy by Amrita Ramanan. Coproduction by CHUANG Stage and Seoulful Productions. At Plaza Black Box Theatre, Boston Center for the Arts. Through Nov. 30. Production is sold out, but sign-ups for wait list are at https://tinyurl.com/dye-waitlist
EMMA As the meddling-and-matchmaking title character in Kate Hamill’s screwball-comedy take on Jane Austen’s Regency-era novel, Josephine Moshiri Elwood takes a big swing and absolutely knocks it out of the park. Director Regine Vital establishes and sustains an accelerated, hold-nothing-back pace as her cast brings to life “Emma”’s farrago of matches, mismatches, misunderstandings, and misplaced ardor, laced with hidden agendas, belated revelations, and a couple of happily-ever-afters. Actors’ Shakespeare Project. At Multicultural Arts Center, Cambridge. Through Dec. 15. 617-241-2200, ActorsShakespeareProject.org/Emma
THE THANKSGIVING PLAY An entertaining sendup of political correctness by Native American playwright Larissa FastHorse, of the Sicangu Lakota Nation. Several “teaching artists’' set out to create a theater piece for elementary school students that offers a “culturally sensitive’' take on Thanksgiving. But when a cast member believed to be Native American turns out to be no such thing, turmoil ensues. Directed by Tara Moses. Through Dec. 15. Moonbox Productions. At Arrow Street Arts, Cambridge. 617-299-2300, https://bit.ly/MBXThanksgiving
DON AUCOIN
Dance
MIKKO NISSINEN’S THE NUTCRACKER With the opening of Boston Ballet’s opulent version of the treasured holiday classic, “Nutcracker” season officially begins. This production showcases not just world-class dancing but also spectacular sets and costumes, plus a live orchestra playing Tchaikovsky’s rousing score. In an effort to be more inclusive, the company is now offering entry ticket prices starting at $25. Last year’s performances sold out, so plan ahead. Nov. 29-Dec. 29. $25 and up. Citizens Opera House. www.bostonballet.org
GRAND KYIV BALLET The company, whose touring performances around the world help spread awareness of Ukraine’s rich culture and help support the Main Ballet Academy of Ukraine, returns to Boston with two different ballets on tap. The first is “The Nutcracker” on Nov. 29, and the second is the company’s most recent holiday ballet, “The Snow Queen” on Nov. 30. Adapted from Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale, it is set to music by Grieg, Massenet, Mozart, and Vivaldi, among others. Nov. 29-30. $39-$154. Emerson Colonial Theatre. www.emersoncolonialtheatre.com
COMMONWEALTH BALLET’S THE NUTCRACKER Formed by Kathryn Anderson and Chip Morris more than three decades ago, this intrepid metrowest company presents a fully-staged, family-friendly “Nutcracker” that might be more manageable than the bigger fully professional productions. In addition, the matinee performance on Nov. 29 is specifically a shorter sensory-friendly version. Nov. 29-Dec. 22. $17-$55. Regis College’s Eleanor Welch Casey Theater, Weston. www.commonwealthballet.org/nutcracker
YAA SAMAR! DANCE THEATRE For dance that has nothing to do with sugar plums and waltzing flowers, this New York-based company led by Palestinian American founder-artistic director Samar Haddad King offers a performance of two promising works. The solo “Losing It” explores the generational trauma of living in a war zone, and “Noah” uses one man’s personal journey to illuminate themes of love, courage, and regret. Dec. 4. $15-$37. Bowker Auditorium, UMass Amherst. https://fac.umass.edu/Online/default.asp
KAREN CAMPBELL
Visual art
JEFFREY GIBSON: POWER FULL BECAUSE WE’RE DIFFERENT Gibson, who is Choctaw-Cherokee, made history earlier this year as the first Native American artist to be named the United States’s official representative at the Venice Biennale of Art. From that really big show, Gibson goes even bigger this fall at Mass MoCA’s voluminous Building Five, an indoor football-field-size gallery that he’ll fill with seven brand-new oversize garment works — Gibson works frequently with textiles — that evoke performances integral to an array of Native American faiths. Among them, the Ghost Dance, born from a pacifist movement from the Northern Paiute people in the late 19th century, offers a key to the tenor of the show: Hope. Through May 2026. Massachusetts Musuem of Contemporary Art, 1040 Mass MoCA Way, North Adams. 413-662-2111, massmoca.org
ALAN MICHELSON: PROPHETSTOWN The Museum of Fine Arts just installed Michelson’s “The Knowledge Keepers,” a pair of shimmering sculptures of living Indigenous members of Massachusetts tribes, meant to respond to “Appeal to the Great Spirit,” Cyrus Dallin’s nation-non-specific bronze of an Indigenous man on horseback that’s stood on the front lawn for more than a century. Those seeking a deeper look at Michelson’s longstanding practice of critical inquiry into Native American history (he is a Mohawk member of the Six Nations of the Grand River) can find it at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site in the Catskills where “Prophetstown,” his site-specific installation, is on view until Dec. 1. Named after a community founded in 1808 by the Native leaders Tecumseh and his brother Tenskwatawa to unite the tribes against settler incursion, the exhibition uses video, sculpture, and mixed media to explore forgotten legacies of colonialism and its complex histories buried in the ground beneath your feet. Through Dec. 1. Thomas Cole National Historic Site, 218 Spring St., Catskill, N.Y. 518-943-7465, www.thomascole.org
MAGWINTEGWAK: A LEGACY OF PENOBSCOT BASKETRY The basket-making tradition of the four tribes that make up the Wabanaki nations in Maine — Passamaquoddy, Penobscot, Maliseet, and Micmac — stretches back thousands of years, making it one of the oldest continuous art forms anywhere in the world. But its contemporary iterations are having a very modern moment: Witness the star treatment afforded to Passamaquoddy weaver Jeremy Frey, whose recent solo survey was the Portland Museum of Art’s marquee summer offering. Alongside it is this exhibition, which chronicles the tireless advocacy and preservation efforts of Penobscot basketmaker Robert Anderson, whose shop on Lincolnville Beach was a hub of Wabanaki craft for more than 70 years. Works included range from the early 20th century to the present day, and show an ever-evolving practice still thriving with innovation in the current moment. Through Jan. 5. Farnsworth Museum of American Art, 16 Museum St., Rockland, Maine. 207-596-6457, www.farnsworthmuseum.org
MURRAY WHYTE
DISTANT FIGURES Los Angeles artists Kristen Liu-Wong and Luke Pelletier curated this exhibition of work by six artists, all friends with California ties. Their figurative paintings and drawings tell stories about characters and places; some are mythical, some are erotic, some are comical. They share a strong graphic aesthetic, a taste for Pop Art, and — in the case of the paintings — a bold palette. Through Dec. 22. LaiSun Keane, 460C Harrison Ave. 978-495-6697, www.laisunkeane.com
CATE McQUAID
EVENTS
Comedy
TONY ROCK Tony (yes, he has a famous brother) has been kicking around the stand-up world for years, but just released his debut special, “Rock the World,” last month, a good barometer of what you might see at his five Boston shows. Nov. 29-30 at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. and Dec. 4 at 7 p.m. $33. Laugh Boston, 425 Summer St. 617-725-2844, www.laughboston.com
IMROV ASYLUM The North End theater is diving into the holiday spirit with “Holidazed and Confused,” it’s new Mainstage improv and sketch show, plus “Twas,” their family-friendly take on “The Night Before Christmas,” both running throughout December. Twas: Nov. 29-Dec. 1 at 3.p.m. $15-$30. Holidazed and Confused: Nov. 29-30 at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. $35-$40. Improv Asylum, 216 Hanover St. 617-263-6887, www.improvasylum.com
THE JINX & DELA HOLIDAY SHOW The “RuPaul’s Drag Race” standouts bring a brand-new holiday production to the Wang, complete with song and dance numbers and the odd-couple humor they’ve been refining for more than a decade. Dec. 2, 8 p.m. $49-$299. The Boch Center Wang Theatre, 270 Tremont St.. www.bochcenter.org
NICK A. ZAINO III
Family
POP UP TREE FARM Pick out the perfect Christmas tree this weekend at Revere. Kicking off the opening of Suffolk Downs’ new public space, the event will feature live music, sweet treats, food trucks, and arts and crafts, and will also take place next weekend. Families not looking for a tree are welcome to peruse the selection of wreaths, tree stands and skirts, and lights. Nov. 30, noon. Free admission. The Yard @ Suffolk Downs, 10 Suffolk Downs Blvd. atsuffolkdowns.com
THAT HOLIDAY FEELING MATINEE Head over to Stoughton for a one-time-only family holiday show, featuring special appearances by beloved children’s characters like Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph, and Olaf, Elsa, and Anna from “Frozen,” joined by Santa and his elves. Children will also receive goody bags, refreshments, and the chance to decorate their own Christmas tree and snowman. Dec. 1, 1 p.m. Tickets start at $25. Paris Cabaret Starline Room Dinner Theatre, 49 Monk St., Stoughton. starlineroom.weebly.com
FENWAY LIGHTING & LUMINARY WALK Stop by Fenway for a tree lighting ceremony this Wednesday where attendees can make holiday crafts, mingle with community members, and click a few pictures with the Red Sox’s Wally and Tessie. Indulge in some seasonal goodies, enjoy the live music, and don’t forget to say hi to Santa! Dec. 4, 6 p.m. Free admission. James P. Kelleher Rose Garden, 73 Park Drive. thefenway.com
ARUSHI JACOB