MUSIC
Pop & Rock
DEFTONES Proof that one should never wave off a genre in toto, this California band emerged from the turn of the century’s nu-metal mire to become one of rock’s most compelling acts. Their 2016 album “Gore” is a stunning sound experiment, balancing churning guitars and storming drums with melodic touches that glitter even more brightly amid the gloom. Pictured: guitarist Stephen Carpenter. June 16, 7 p.m. $49.50-$125. Blue Hills Bank Pavilion. 617-728-1600, www.livenation.com
AUSTIN MAHONE This Texas-born singer-songwriter was once tipped to be the next Justin Bieber (blame his up-from-YouTube trajectory), but he’s since veered off in a more interesting direction. His 2015 single “Dirty Work” is a zippy come-on equal parts Derulo and Mars, while last year’s mixtape “ForMe+You” showcased his slick charm on the smooth late-night funk of “Except for Us” and the Mraz-echoing “Wait Around.” June 14, 7 p.m. $22.50. Paradise Rock Club. 617-562-8800, www.crossroadspresents.com
CHARLY BLISS Combining giddily charming riffs with gut-punching lyrics, this New York quartet’s mud-smeared blend of pop hooks, punk grit, and boundless energy makes their debut “Guppy” one of the year’s best albums to accompany wild pogo-ing around a room — whether the space in question is a club or a cramped bedchamber. June 17, 8:45 p.m. $15, $12 advance. Once Ballroom, Somerville. 617-285-0167, www.oncesomerville.com
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Folk & World
AYREHEART Crossover of a different sort: Ayreheart is an ensemble rooted in the music of the English Renaissance, but its arrangements incorporate elements of the modern by drawing on folk, Celtic, and bluegrass. The group’s late-night show is part of the Boston Early Music Festival. June 12, 11 p.m. $25. The Fenway Center, Northeastern University. 617-661-1812, www.bemf.org
DANIEL ROMANO The ever-restless Romano just keeps on moving: from the marvelous countrypolitan reimaginings of 2015’s “If I’ve Only One Time Askin’ ” to the power pop of his “Ancient Shapes” project to the swirling folk, pop, country, and psychedelica of his latest, “Modern Pressure.” Somehow, though, it’s all part of what he calls “mosey music.” June 13, 10 p.m. $12. Atwood’s Tavern, Cambridge. 800-838-3006. www.brownpapertickets.com
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CHUCK PROPHET The Bay Area singer-songwriter veteran has just released another superb album with “Bobby Fuller Died For Your Sins.” But the news for Thursday isn’t the new record, but that Prophet will be performing solo with a string quartet. This shapes up to be one of the more interesting shows of the season. June 15, 9 p.m. $18. Lizard Lounge, Cambridge. 800-838-3006. www.brownpapertickets.com
Jazz & Blues
ALEX LEE CLARK 8TET FEATURING ALI MCGUIRK Clark’s funk/jazz octet and powerhouse singer McGuirk perform a tribute to the late, great jazz vocalist and songwriter Abbey Lincoln’s classic second album, “That’s Him” (1957), on which her direct, dark-toned, and cannily phrased singing was backed by the likes of Sonny Rollins and Max Roach. June 13, 9 p.m. $10-$12. Lizard Lounge, 1667 Mass. Ave., Cambridge. www.lizardloungeclub.com
NAFTULE’S DREAM The alter ego of the more straight-ahead Shirim Klezmer Orchestra, this Boston-based sextet merges Jewish music, avant-jazz, and a touch of rock, and helped create the Radical Jewish Culture movement in the ’90s. With clarinetist Glenn Dickson, cornetist Gary Bohan, accordionist Michael McLaughlin, guitarist Andrew Stern, tubist Jim Gray, and drummer Eric Rosenthal. June 14, 7:30 p.m. $10. Lily Pad, 1353 Cambridge St., Cambridge. www.lily-pad.net
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DARRELL NULISCH WITH MATT STUBBS The soulful blues singer and harmonica player, a Dallas native and former frontman of Ronnie Earl & the Broadcasters, performs with local blues guitar hero Stubbs. June 17, 9 p.m. No cover. Chianti Restaurant, 285 Cabot St., Beverly. 978-921-2233, www.chiantibeverly.com
Classical
BOSTON EARLY MUSIC FESTIVAL The centerpiece of this year’s early-music extravaganza is André Campra’s 1699 opera-ballet “Le Carnaval de Venise,” in a fully staged production directed by Gilbert Blin (June 11-18). Among the many appealing concert offerings are performances by Ensemble Correspondances (June 13), Micrologus (June 14), and the duo of fortepianist Kristian Bezuidenhout and violinist Rachel Podger (June 16). 617-661-1812, www.bemf.org
ESCHER STRING QUARTET AND JOYCE YANG The quartet and pianist team up for Shostakovich’s Piano Quintet. Before that, Yang offers a selection of Rachmaninoff Preludes and the Escher plays Shostakovich’s powerhouse String Quartet No. 9. June 16, 8 p.m., Shalin Liu Performance Center. 978-546-7391, www.rockportmusic.org
CARDAMOM QUARTET The foursome presents a program of music by female composers, including Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, Rebecca Clarke, Gabriela Lena Frank, and Caroline Shaw. June 16, 7:30 p.m., Taylor House Bed & Breakfast, Jamaica Plain. 617-983-9334, www.taylorhouse.com
ARTS
Theater
RIPCORD Nancy E. Carroll and Annie Golden portray mismatched nursing home roommates who keep upping the ante in their attempt to win a bet until it becomes an intensely personal competition. This comedy by gifted South Boston native David Lindsay-Abaire (“Rabbit Hole,’’ “Good People’’) aims to, and does, hit close to the bone. Through July 2. Huntington Theatre Company. Wimberly Theatre, Calderwood Pavilion, Boston Center for the Arts. 617-266-0800, www.huntingtontheatre.org
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THE EFFECT In this New England premiere of a play by Lucy Prebble (“Enron’’), Lindsay Crouse and Brad Hall portray physicians in a medical research center who give a new antidepressant to a pair of volunteers as part of a controlled drug test. When the volunteers, played by Mickey Solis and Susannah Hoffman, fall for each other, they aren’t sure if they’re feeling true love or simply the effects of the drug. Directed by Sam Weisman. June 16-July 8. Gloucester Stage Company, Gloucester. 978-281-4433, www.gloucesterstage.com
CAMELOT Spiro Veloudos directs a sharp and streamlined production of the Lerner & Loewe musical that offers close-up, human-scale intimacy and a showcase for three performers who have the chops to make that intimacy mean something: Ed Hoopman as Arthur, Maritza Bostic as Guenevere, and Jared Troilo as Lancelot. Through June 25. Lyric Stage Company of Boston. 617-585-5678, www.lyricstage.com
Dance
DANCE NOW | BOSTON David Parker’s initiative to create choreographic connections between Boston and New York returns for three shows. Friday features commissions by four Boston choreographers: Carey McKinley, Jimena Bermejo, McKersin Previlus, and Ian Berg. Saturday’s Snap • Crackle • Bang! is a free gala to benefit Parker’s The Bang Group. Sunday’s show is by New York-based collaborative trio LMnO3. June 16-18. Free to $25. Dance Complex, Cambridge. 617-547-9363, www.thebanggroup.com
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SHAPING SOUND Emmy Award winner Travis Wall (“So You Think You Can Dance”) returns to Boston with his company for a new live show called “After the Curtain.” This one uses jazz, hip-hop, and modern dance to tell the story of a man who struggles to regain his creative voice after a devastating loss. June 17. $43-$94. Boch Center Wang Theatre. 617-482-9393, www.bochcenter.org
DANCE VISIONS, INC Margot Parsons’s intrepid little ballet enterprise celebrates its 35th anniversary with “35.” The evening’s program features 10 dancers in choreography by the always dependable Parsons, Marin Orlosky Randow, and Christine McDowell, some featuring original musical scores by Ai Isshiki, Steven Milton, and Abby Swidler. June 16-17. $15-$25. Boston University Dance Theater. 617-484-3783, www.dancevisions.net
Galleries
OVERLAY Artist Xaviera Simmons spent time in the stacks at Radcliffe’s Schlesinger Library, pulling voices and stories from cookbooks, travelogues, and other sources for this exhibition, which brings characters to life in photographs, sound, and video. Through July 1. Johnson-Kulukundis Family Gallery, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, 8 Garden St., Cambridge. 617-496-1153, www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/event/2017-xaviera-simmons-exhibition
KIM FALER: YOU DON’T KNOW MY HORIZON Faler, who has a concurrent drawing show at LaMontagne Gallery, finds wonder in the ordinary, making sculptures by electroplating grapevines, painting porcelain with nail polish, and more. Through July 9. David Winton Bell Gallery, Brown University, 64 College St., Providence. 401-863-2932, www.brown.edu/campus-life/arts/bell-gallery/
ECHO Artist Azita Moradkhani curates a show of work by seven Iranian women who investigate how our environments shape us, within and without. Their art evokes tensions between past and present, trauma and sexuality, and myth and reality. Through July 8. Gallery Kayafas, 450 Harrison Ave. 617-482-0411, www.gallerykayafas.com
Museums
JULIE BLACKMON: THE EVERYDAY FANTASTIC Most of the actors in the scenes this photographer stages in her hometown of Springfield, Mo., are children. It’s as if they’ve taken over. The images consequently feel both playful and tinged with potential peril. Pictured: “New Chair.’’ Through Aug. 27. Hood Downtown, 53 Main St., Hanover, N.H. 603-646-2808, hoodmuseum.dartmouth.edu/
INVENTING AMERICA: ROCKWELL AND WARHOL Two of the 20th century’s most celebrated artists made work that reflected on society and popular culture, and indeed shaped it. Rockwell leaned toward the wholesome and brave; Warhol went for the glitz and shadows. Through Oct. 29. Norman Rockwell Museum, 9 Glendale Road, Stockbridge. 413-298-4100, www.nrm.org
ADORNING THE INNER COURT: JUN WARE FOR THE CHINESE PALACE Academic controversies, especially with regard to dating, swirl around these rare blue and purple ceramics from the Chinese Imperial Palace. This show looks at those disagreements, as well as typology and technique. Through Aug. 13. Harvard Art Museums, 32 Quincy St., Cambridge. 617-495-9400, www.harvardartmuseums.org
EVENTS
Comedy
KEVIN JAMES The “Kevin Can Wait” star is back performing stand-up and getting ready to shoot his first special since 2001 later this year. It’s expected to debut on Netflix in 2018. June 16 at 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m., June 17 at 7 p.m. and 9:45 p.m., and June 18 at 7 p.m. $45-$75. The Wilbur, 246 Tremont St., Boston. 617-248-9700, www.thewilbur.com
GIGGLES Lenny Clarke head-lines his hometown club Friday night with Jackie Flynn and Bill Farrell in support, and then Flynn headlines Saturday with Dave Russo and Farrell. June 16 at 8:30 p.m., June 17 at 7:15 p.m and 9:30 p.m. $27.50 Friday, $20 Saturday. Giggles Comedy Club, 517 Broadway (Route 1), Saugus. 781-233-9950, www.gigglescomedy.com
DOUG LOVES MOVIES Doug Benson tapes an episode of his podcast, with guests to be revealed. If you like your comedy early, thank Benson’s devotion to 4:20 for these shows. Saturday’s show was sold out at press time, but tickets for Sunday remained. June 18 at 4:20 p.m. $20. Laugh Boston, 425 Summer St., Boston. 617-725-2844, www.laughboston.com
Family
THE COLOR RUN BOSTON On Sunday morning you’ll see more than just Red, White, and Blue at Gillette Stadium. Colorful chalk will fly through the air as participants run, jog, or walk the 5K near the stadium. If you’re not one to exercise, there is music, food, and lots of color at the finish line. June 11, 10 a.m. $49.99-$54.99. Gillette Stadium, 1 Patriot Place, Foxborough. thecolorrun.com/locations/boston/
LINX THEATER PRESENTS THE LION KING JR. If you’re nostalgic for “Hakuna Matata” and that iconic ’90s flick set in Africa, head to Natick to see a production of “The Lion King Jr.” put on by young local performers. June 14-16, 6:20 p.m. Adult $10, Children $5. Walnut Hill School for the Arts, 12 Highland St., Natick. www.linxtheater.com/order_tickets
EUREKAFEST 2017 DESIGN CHALLENGE For those who can’t create, watch. Watch as brainy high schoolers across the country design and create a wind-powered device that can carry rubber ducks, all while hovering three stories in the air. The innovators will start at MIT and then head to the Science Museum to test their creations. June 17, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. General admission. Museum of Science, 1 Science Park, Boston. lemelson.mit.edu/events/eurekafest-2017
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
June 18 Dead and Company at Fenway Park m.mlb.com
June 20 Huey Lewis and The News at House of Blues concerts1.livenation.com
June 25 Megadeth at House of Blues concerts1.livenation.com
July 2 Blackbear at House of Blues concerts1.livenation.com
July 5 Alex G at The Sinclair axs.com
July 7 Florida Georgia Line , Backstreet Boys , and Nelly at Fenway Park m.mlb.com
July 12 Gorillaz at Blue Hills Bank Pavilion concerts1.livenation.com
July 15 Mike Stud at Paradise Rock Club crossroadspresents.com