MUSIC
Pop & Rock
PEARL JAM Big hits, deep cuts, surprise guests (Cheap Trick! Sting! Jack White!) — no wonder the current trek by this seasoned Seattle group has been acclaimed far and wide as one of the year's top tours. Officially these two shows are sold out, but miracles happen and the resourceful have their ways. Aug. 5 and 7, 6:30 p.m. Fenway Park. boston.redsox.mlb.com
YES The art-rock institution plays its first Boston-area show since founder Chris Squire's death in June 2015. With drummer Alan White sidelined by surgery, it falls to guitarist Steve Howe to rally the troops; happily, the evening's agenda will feature two albums on which Howe's influence is strongest, "Tales From Topographic Oceans" and "Drama." Aug. 4, 8 p.m. $47-$87. Lynn Auditorium, Lynn. 800-745-3000, www.ticketmaster.com
Advertisement
BOSTON ROCK OPERA Dormant for some years now, the conceptual music-theater troupe comes back to life with "Stardust to Blackstar: The Lives of David Bowie," a program that ranges from the ascent of Bowie's star to its premature extinguishment. Aug. 6 and 7, 8 p.m. $20, advance $18. ONCE Lounge & Ballroom, Somerville. 617-285-0167, www.oncesomerville.com
Folk & World
JULIET SIMMONS DINALLO + STEVE MAYONE A double-bill effort in the service of previewing new records: Simmons Dinallo will give a taste of the distinct country-soul flavor of soon-to-be-released "Dream Girl," Mayone of the gritty singer-songwriter fare of the upcoming "Sideways Rain." Aug. 4, 8 p.m. $18. Club Passim, Cambridge. 617-492-7679. www.passim.org
BLOODSHOT BILL AND THE HICK UPS The Montreal wildman crosses the border (which apparently he was banned from doing for five years) to bring his brand of rockabilly back to Cambridge. As often as not he's a one-man show; here, as the conjunction and what follows indicates, he's operating in full-band mode. Aug. 7, 10 p.m. $10. Atwood's Tavern, Cambridge. 800-838- 3006. www.brownpapertickets.com
Advertisement
DALLAHAN; DERVISH A Wednesday-night choice between the old and the new in Irish music: long-running trad-rooted band Dervish plays in genteel confines in the Fens, while the rising, boundary-pushing Dallahan stops into a back room in Davis Square. Dallahan: Aug. 10, 7:30 p.m. $23. The Burren, Somerville. 800-838-3006. www.brownpapertickets.com. Dervish: Aug. 10, 7:30 p.m. $30, $60. Museum of Fine Arts. 800-440-6975. www.mfa.org
Jazz & Blues
NATALIE DIETZ The young Australian jazz singer-composer, a winner of ASCAP's 2016 Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Award, has been garnering accolades from around the globe for her graceful voice and atmospheric writing. Aug. 5, 7:30 p.m. $10. Lily Pad, Cambridge. 617-395-1393, www.lilypadinman.com
GLOUCESTER BLUES FESTIVAL Once again, a world-class lineup of artists assembles at Gloucester's waterfront for an all-day bash; performers include Popa Chubby, Mr. Sipp, Slam Allen, Sean Chambers, Bruce Katz, Annika Chambers, and Tas Cru. Aug. 6, 11 a.m.–7:15 p.m. $28-$50. Stage Fort Park, Gloucester. www.gloucesterbluesfestival.com
JAZZ AT THE FORT An annual event co-sponsored by Boston Parks and Recreation and Berklee College, this year's concert features Bill Banfield, Berklee professor of Africana Studies/Music and Society, and his 13-piece Imagine Orchestra, which exists at the crossroads where groove and pocket meet improvisation, and draws on such influences as Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, and Frank Zappa. Aug. 7, 5 p.m. Free. Highland Park, Roxbury (rain location: Roxbury Community College's Media Arts Center). 617 747-6057, www.berklee.edu/events
Classical
TANGLEWOOD It promises to be a week of formidable piano power in the Berkshires, with an Ozawa Hall recital by Marc-André Hamelin (Thursday) and BSO appearances by Ingrid Fliter (Saturday) and Nelson Freire (Sunday). Yefim Bronfman will get the weekend started with Liszt (Piano Concerto No. 2) on Friday in the Shed. Giancarlo Guerrero conducts Friday and Saturday, then passes the baton to Moritz Gnann for the Sunday program of Mozart and Mahler. Also of special note will be a concert (Saturday at 2:30 in Ozawa Hall; Ken-David Masur, conductor) celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Boston University Tanglewood Institute. Lenox. 617-266-1200, www.tanglewood.org
Advertisement
EMERSON STRING QUARTET The venerable Emersons return to the Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival with a program of much-admired quartets by Schubert, Shostakovich, and Tchaikovsky. Aug 4, 7:30 p.m., Congregational Church, Wellfleet. 508-247-9400, www.capecodchambermusic.org
YELLOW BARN This high-spirited Vermont festival is known for its imaginative pairing of bread-and-butter chamber masterworks with lesser known repertoire. For its celebratory final weekend of programs, look out for music by composers ranging from Fauré and Schubert to Stefano Gervasoni. Big Barn, Putney, Vt. 800-639-3819, www.yellowbarn.org
ARTS
Theater
LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST A scholarly king and three studious lords learn there's more to life than learning when a princess and three ladies arrive at court and turn their carefully arranged world upside down. Director Steven Maler augments Shakespeare's wordplay with horseplay, and his strong cast is equal to both sides of that task, especially Remo Airaldi and Fred Sullivan Jr. Through Aug. 7. Commonwealth Shakespeare Company on Boston Common. Free. For reserved chairs, 617-426-0863, www.commshakes.org
Advertisement
THE T PARTY A bracingly original take on gender identity by playwright-director Natsu Onoda Power, told in a whirling theatrical language that is all her own: playful, idiosyncratic, self-indulgent at times, often bursting with energy and ideas. Through Aug. 13. Company One Theatre at Roberts Studio Theatre, Calderwood Pavilion, Boston Center for the Arts. 617-933-8600, www.bostontheatrescene.com
THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE As the Pirate King in Gilbert & Sullivan's still-piquant operetta, Will Swenson delivers a performance that rivals Kevin Kline's storied turn in the role 35 years ago. The rest of the cast is topnotch, too, especially Scarlett Strallen as fair Mabel. All in all, there's not a better time to be had in the theater this summer than at this joyous and inspired production, directed by John Rando, with choreography by Joshua Bergasse. To borrow from W.S. Gilbert himself: It is, it is a glorious thing. Through Aug. 13. Barrington Stage Company at Boyd-Quinson Mainstage, Pittsfield. 413-236-8888, www.barringtonstageco.org
Dance
ON TAP — BEANTOWN TAPFEST FACULTY SHOWCASE Each year, tap maven Julia Boynton gathers an outstanding lineup of teacher-dancers for a rhythm fest of classes, performances, and workshops. The highlight is this Friday night showcase. The cast includes New York tap legend Brenda Bufalino, Los Angeles firecracker Sarah Reich, hometown expat Josh Hilberman, Khalid Hill, Ryan P. Casey, and Sean Fielder. Expect this to sell out. Aug. 5, 6 and 8:30 p.m. $36. Boston University Dance Theater. 617-616-5124, www.beantowntapfest.com
Advertisement
COMPAGNIE HERVÉ KOUBI Those who missed this powerful Algerian company when it came to the Institute of Contemporary Art in March may want to scurry out to the Berkshires for a second chance. The all-male troupe combines street dance with acrobatics, capoeira, martial arts, and contemporary dance in the desert-inspired "Ce que le jour doit à la nuit" (What the Day Owes to the Night). Aug. 3-7. $10-$69. Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, Becket. 413-243-0745, www.jacobspillow.org
REVEALED This summer, BoSoma Dance Company has been complementing the Rodin exhibit at the Peabody Essex Museum with daily improvisations amid the sculptures. This concert of mixed repertoire includes an original piece inspired by that experience as well as company favorites. Aug. 7, 5 p.m. $15-$30. Manchester Essex Regional High School Auditorium, Manchester-by-the-Sea. 978-500-3057, www.BoSoma.org
Galleries
BOUND EAST FOR PROVINCETOWN This centennial celebration of "The Great Summer of Provincetown" recalls 1916, when P-town buzzed with creative activity, from a seminal production of Eugene O'Neill's play "Bound East for Cardiff" to paintings and prints by Charles W. Hawthorne, Blanche Lazzell, and more. Pictured: Oliver Chaffee's "Road to Coursegoules, Vence, France.'' Through Aug. 14. Berta Walker Gallery, 208 Bradford St., Provincetown. 508-487-6411, www.bertawalkergallery.com
GUNNAR NORRMAN: FORCES IN REPRIEVE, YOUNG-JAE LEE: WITNESS TO AN ANCIENT TRUTH Norrman's delicate prints and drawings — landscapes, plant studies — and Lee's deceptively humble spindle vases, plates, and bowls display extraordinary technique that imbues their works with quiet reverence. Through Sept. 4. Pucker Gallery, 240 Newbury St. 617-267-9473, www.puckergallery.com
NICOLE & CAITLIN DUENNEBIER: FRAGMENT OF SISTER HEAD The Duennebier sisters have radically different styles: Caitlin paints punky, cartoonish figures in existential crisis; Nicole paints lush scenes straddling gorgeous and repellent. They collaborate for this First Friday pop-up. Aug. 5, 6 p.m.-8:30 p.m. Lens Gallery, Clear Design Lab, 524 Harrison Ave. 857-753-4875, www.cleardesignlab.co/lensgallery
Museums
O'KEEFFE, STETTHEIMER, TORR, ZORACH: WOMEN MODERNISTS IN NEW YORK This show examines the parallel careers of Georgia O'Keeffe, Marguerite Thompson Zorach, Florine Stettheimer, and Helen Torr in New York in the early 20th century. Through Sept. 18. Portland Museum of Art, 7 Congress Square, Portland, Maine. 207-775-6148, www.portlandmuseum.org
RODIN: TRANSFORMING SCULPTURE A survey of sculptures in plaster, bronze, and marble, along with related drawings by the greatest sculptor of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Through Sept. 5. Peabody Essex Museum, East India Square, Salem. 978-745-9500. www.pem.org
GRANDMA MOSES: AMERICAN MODERN More than 60 paintings and works on paper by the legendary self-taught artist, presented here in a context of developments in modernism, alongside work by other 19th- and 20th-century folk and modern artists. Through Oct. 30. Shelburne Museum, 6000 Shelburne Road, Shelburne, Vt. 802-985-3346, www.shelburnemuseum.org
EVENTS
Comedy
THE NASTY SHOW Lenny Clarke, Bobby Slayton, and Christine Hurley will tell jokes to blow your hair back for this Giggles tradition, billed as an anti-politically correct show. Aug. 5-6, 8:30 p.m. $27.50. Giggles Comedy Club, 517 Broadway (Route 1), Saugus. 781-233-9950, www.gigglescomedy.com
SUPER GAY COMEDY FUN BENEFIT Kevin Quigley hosts Lorelei Erises, Dylan Uscher, Nonye Brown-West, The Reckus, Danielle Cromartie, Accidental Awkwardness, Reece Cotton, Vitamin Snake, and World of Hurt to benefit Florida LGBTQ organizations in the wake of the Pulse nightclub shootings. Aug. 7, 7:30 p.m. $16. ImprovBoston, 40 Prospect St., Cambridge. 617-576-1253, www.improvboston.com
HANNIBAL BURESS The slow-burning, wonderfully offbeat comic heads to Boston after headlining a show at Montreal's Just for Laughs Festival. He's a familiar face, and voice. He was "Buddy" in "Secret Life of Pets," and pops up on TV in "Broad City" and in films like "Neighbors" and "Daddy's Home." Aug. 10-11, 7:30 p.m. $39. Wilbur Theatre, 246 Tremont St., Boston. 617-248-9700, www.thewilbur.com
Family
Sword Adventure Night Hear ye, hear ye, all young warriors ages 6 and older are needed to protect the land from evil spirits and nefarious creatures. The quest begins at Guard Up, where mysteries will be solved, plots will be uncovered, and the bonds of friendship will be strengthened. Foam swords are provided to all the youth who pledge themselves to the forces of good. Aug. 5, 7-9 p.m. $25 per person. Burlington www.guardup.com/0805-blackwatch/
City Kids Skate Jam Strap on those knee pads and get ready for a gnarly day at the ramps. The tubular dudes down at Orchard skate shop teamed up with the City Kids group to bring you some ultra fun contests and totally sick prizes. Helmet up and head over to the East Boston Skatepark to see what's going down. Aug. 6, 1-3 p.m. Free. 312 Border St., Boston.
orchardshop.com/east-boston-skate-jam/
300 lb Block of Ice This weekend is going to be a scorcher and what better way to chill out than with a massive block of ice? Kids can experiment with salt, keys, and watercolors as they explore the cool things ice can do. Aug. 9, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Free with admission. Discovery Museums, Acton. discoverymuseums.org/upcoming-events-calendar/day/2016-08-09
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Aug. 12 Halsey at Agganis Arena www.ticketmaster.com
Aug. 14 98 Degrees and O-Town at House of Blues concerts.livenation.com
Aug. 16 Barbra Streisand at TD Garden www.ticketmaster.com
Aug. 19 Aretha Franklin at Blue Hills Bank Pavilion concerts.livenation.com
Aug. 29 Flume at House of Blues concerts.livenation.com
Sept. 3 Kanye West at TD Garden www.ticketmaster.com
Sept. 4 Steven Tyler at Citi Performing Arts Center Wang Theatre www.ticketmaster.com
Sept. 7 Corinne Bailey Rae at Royale Boston www.ticketmaster.com
Sept. 7 The Lumineers and BORNS at Blue Hills Bank Pavilion concerts.livenation.com