Pop & Rock
JILL SCOTT The high priestess of neo-soul, whose towering voice appeared on ’00s-defining songs like the romantic “A Long Walk” and the drama-heavy Lupe Fiasco collab “Daydreamin’,” holds court. Aug. 21, 7 p.m. $66 and up. House of Blues. 888-693-2583, www.houseofblues.com/boston
ZO! & CARMEN RODGERS Lorenzo “Zo!” Ferguson has been releasing and producing lovingly detailed R&B records for 15 years now, and his latest, the just-released “FourFront,” is another winner, full of sparkling keyboards and blissed-out grooves. He plays a stripped-down “piano & a microphone” show with one of that album’s featured vocalists, the smoldering Carmen Rodgers. Aug. 19, doors at 6 p.m. $22 and up. City Winery, Boston. 617-933-8047, www.citywinery.com/boston
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LILITH “Safer Off,” the latest album from this Allston trio, is a delightful addition to the end-of-summer listening pile, with winsome vocals and shimmering riffs leading the way on tracks like the spaced-out “Lines Align” and the melancholic “Garden.” Aug. 22, 8:30 p.m. $12, $10 advance. Great Scott, Allston. 617-566-0914, www.greatscottboston.com
MAURA JOHNSTON
Folk & World
LULA WILES One of the artists tapped by venerable label Smithsonian Folkways in its efforts to renew American folk music traditions represented by a catalog that stretches back over 60 years, Lula Wiles is doing exactly that with gorgeous harmonies, contemporary protest songs, and music that draws upon those traditions to forge a distinctive sound. Aug. 23, 10 p.m. $12. Great Scott, Allston. 888-929-7849, www.axs.com
KENDELL MARVEL There’s been a real resurgence of artists partial to the outlaw style of country music the past few years, and here’s another. In his mid-40s, Kendell Marvel turned from writing songs for others (Chris Stapleton, Jamey Johnson) to making his own records. His sophomore effort, “Solid Gold Sounds,” will be out on Dan Auerbach’s Easy Eye Sound in October; you can get a preview Friday when he opens for the Brothers Osborne. Aug. 23, 7:30 p.m. $48.25 and up. South Shore Music Circus, Cohasset. 781-383-9850, www.themusiccircus.org
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ROCKPORT CELTIC FESTIVAL Three days of music spread over seven concerts, workshops, and “back-room”-style sessions, this festival’s inaugural iteration, put together by Brian O’Donovan and Maeve Gilchrist and featuring a mighty lineup, promises a wide-ranging exploration of “Celtic Roots & Branches,” of origins, migrations, and cross-pollinations. Aug. 23-25. See website for times and tickets (each event priced separately). Shalin Liu Performance Center, Rockport. 978-546-7391, www.rockportmusic.org
STUART MUNRO
Jazz & Blues
KATIE THIROUX AND KEVIN HARRIS The Provincetown Jazz Festival presents two engaging jazz artists: poised and polished acoustic bassist, composer, and singer Thiroux, and probing pianist and composer Harris. Thiroux leads a quartet including Harris, trumpeter Jeremy Turgeon, and drummer Bart Weisman. For an independent set, Harris helms a trio featuring bassist Max Ridley and drummer Lee Fish. Aug. 19, 7:30 p.m. $30. Cotuit Center for the Arts, 4404 Route 28, Cotuit. 508-428-0669, www.ProvincetownJazzFestival.org
ULTRAFAUX AND JASON ANICK Acclaimed composer and guitarist Michael Joseph Harris and band perform original music inspired by traditional Balkan and Sinti music, French musette, jazz a la Django, blues, be-bop, Western swing, and funk. Eminent violinist Anick joins them for a string-jazz summit. Aug. 21, 7:30 p.m. $15-$20. Regattabar, Cambridge. 617-395-7757, www.regattabarjazz.com
JAMES MONTGOMERY BLUES BAND New England mainstay Montgomery, the dynamic singer/harmonica player and bandleader who’s played with everyone from Muddy Waters to the Allman Brothers, brings his seasoned band back to the ’burbs for another rollicking go-round. Aug. 23, 8 p.m. $22-$26. The Center for Arts in Natick, 14 Summer St., Natick. 508-647-0097, www.natickarts.org
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kevin lowenthal
Classical
TANGLEWOOD At the Linde Center, Bill Barclay (of Shakespeare’s Globe) presents “The Black Mozart,” a new play with music about Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (Aug. 19); at Ozawa Hall, an evening of Tan Dun’s chamber music (Aug. 21); at the Shed, the season ends with BSO assistant conductor Yu-An Chang leading a program with pianist Conrad Tao (Aug. 23). The classic Tanglewood tradition of Film Night with the Pops, hosted by John Williams (Aug. 24), and Giancarlo Guerrero leading the annual performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 (Aug. 25). Lenox. 888-266-1200, www.tanglewood.org
BOSTON LANDMARKS ORCHESTRA Kick it up at Landmarks Orchestra’s annual Dance Night, which closes down the season with music to move to from across cultures and centuries. The orchestra welcomes a full slate of collaborators on the Esplanade, including Castle of our Skins, Boston Ballet II, and students from Conservatory Lab Charter School. Aug. 22, 7 p.m. Hatch Memorial Shell. www.landmarksorchestra.org
PROMENADE OPERA PROJECT A sleepwalking opera by way of “Sleep No More.” In this small independent company’s immersive production of Bellini’s “La Sonnambula,” audiences can don costumes, join a cult, take part in a wedding ceremony, and interact with performers. Sung in Italian with English surtitles. Aug. 20-25.Rengo Studios, Somerville. www.promenadeoperaproject.com
Zoë Madonna
ARTS
Theater
GHOSTS Uma Thurman does not disappoint. Playing Helene Alving, a woman hemmed in by societal expectations and haunted by the actions of her long-dead husband but trying to finally wipe the slate clean of both, Thurman enters into the role as if Henrik Ibsen wrote it for her. Her expertly modulated and sterling performance is vital, because she is headlining a frustrating production hobbled by Carey Perloff’s misguided staging and Bernard White’s flaccid portrayal of a crucial supporting character. Through Aug. 18. Williamstown Theatre Festival, Main Stage, ’62 Center for Theatre and Dance, Williamstown. 413-458-3253, www.wtfestival.org
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THE CHILDREN When an old friend arrives at their cottage in the aftermath of nuclear plant meltdown, a retired couple has some soul-searching to do and a life-or-death decision to make. The implication of Lucy Kirkwood’s subtle, artful, altogether splendid play is that all the rest of us do, too. Starring Ariel Bock, Diane Prusha, and Jonathan Epstein. Directed by James Warwick. Through Aug. 18. Shakespeare & Company. At Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre, Lenox. 413-637-3353, www.shakespeare.org
HELLO, DOLLY! Betty Buckley stars as Dolly Gallagher Levi, the widowed matchmaker and indomitable free spirit who sets out to marry Horace Vandergelder, the curmudgeonly “half-a-millionaire’’ from Yonkers. Anyone familiar with Buckley’s musical-theater prowess and track record should be eager to see her put her stamp on a role that has attracted so many other renowned Broadway leading ladies, from Carol Channing to Pearl Bailey, Bette Midler, and Bernadette Peters. Directed by Jerry Zaks and choreographed by Warren Carlyle. Through Aug. 25. Presented by Broadway In Boston. At Citizens Bank Opera House, Boston. 800-982-2787, www.BroadwayInBoston.com
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DON AUCOIN
Dance
JACOB’S PILLOW DANCE FESTIVAL This year, Boston Ballet has the honor of closing the festival. For its first Pillow engagement in more than a decade, the company performs works by Forsythe, Elo, and Yakobson. In the smaller Doris Duke Theatre, Urban Bush Women, celebrating a remarkable 35 years, presents the evening-length “Walking With ’Trane,” inspired by the music and spirit of jazz giant John Coltrane. Aug. 21-25, $35-$88. Becket. 413-243-0745, www.jacobspillow.org
DANCES OF THE SPIRIT: THE WORKS OF ISADORA DUNCAN The nonprofit Dances by Isadora continues to honor the work and aesthetic of modern dance pioneer Isadora Duncan with free outdoor performances like this one in Longfellow Park. The concert features repertoire by Duncan as well as an original piece inspired by sculptor Daniel Chester French’s masterpiece “Mourning Victory.” The performance will be followed by an open audience workshop on Duncan technique. Aug. 24, 3 p.m., Free. Longfellow Park, Cambridge. www.dancesbyisadoraboston.com
ISLAND GROWN DANCE With this presentation, The Yard celebrates the choreographic creativity in its own back yard, featuring a varied slate of new works by Vineyard-based creators — Abby Bender, Tessa Permar, and Claire Page — as well as the 2019 Yard Interns and the professional artistic collective DanceTheYard. Aug. 22 and 24, $5-$45. Patricia N. Nanon Theater, Chilmark. 508-645-9662, www.dancetheyard.org
KAREN CAMPBELL
Galleries
CONTOURS OF MEANING An art installation can be like an altar, or the private nook where you place items with personal meaning: Arrayed, disparate elements take on new force. For this year’s exhibition of BCA studio artists, curator Jameson Johnson invited participants to create site-specific installations using resonant objects from their practices or their lives. Through Oct. 6. Mills Gallery, Boston Center for the Arts, 551 Tremont St. 617-426-5000, www.bcaonline.org
POETRY MOBILE The nomadic Revolving Museum is always part carnival, part art — hands-on, rejuvenating, and goofy. This year marks its 35th anniversary, and founder Jerry Beck is celebrating with poetry. His refurbished 1952 Ford pickup and trailer host workshops to create “Totem Poems,” a fashion show, a 50-foot artwork titled “Poetic Solution to Pollution,” and more. Aug. 19-20, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Downtown Crossing, corner of Summer and Washington streets. 978-590-3759, therevolvingmuseum.org
FAHEEM MAJEED: WHO TAKES THE WEIGHT Arts educator Elma Lewis (1921-2004), founder of the National Center of Afro-American Artists and a legendary leader in Boston, once asked, “Who takes the weight?” Chicago artist Majeed’s installations use building materials, foster community, and shed light on social and institutional hierarchies. Aug. 22-Oct. 26. School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University, 230 The Fenway. 617-627-3518, artgalleries.tufts.edu
CATE McQUAID
Museums
MAYA WATANABE: LIMINAL Some 70,000 people vanished, many into mass graves, in the grueling two-decade conflict that defined Peruvian reality through the ’80s and ’90s. Watanabe, who is Peruvian, filmed at the site of various mass graves unearthed by the Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission, where roughly tilled earth mingled with tooth and bone comes in and out of focus of the langorous sweep of her lens. Haunting and visceral, the piece asks a critical question about the missing, reduced to fragments: Even turned up from the earth, are they ever really found? Through Aug. 25. Rose Art Museum, 415 South St., Waltham. 781-736-2028, brandeis.edu/rose
OCCUPY COLBY: ARTISTS NEED TO CREATE ON THE SAME SCALE THAT SOCIETY HAS THE CAPACITY TO DESTROY The second year of an ongoing curatorial project to embrace unrepentant activism on a whole slate of political and social disasters (which, in the current climate, seems inexhaustible), “Occupy Colby” dives deep into the looming environmental Armageddon. Through Jan. 5, 2020. Colby College Museum of Art, 5600 Mayflower Hill Drive, Waterville, Maine. 207-859-5600, colby.edu/museum
WILLIAM WEGMAN: OUTSIDE IN Faced with the inescapable images of his beloved Weimaraners — embedded in landscape paintings, dressed in haute couture, draped in a flowing blond wig — it’s easy to forget that Wegman had a career before the canines that made him famous. This show at Shelburne is hardly dog-free, never fear. But it offers a broader view of a beloved artist’s long and fruitful career. Through Oct. 20. At the Shelburne Museum, 6000 Shelburne Road, Shelburne, Vt. 802-985-3346, shelburnemuseum.org
Murray Whyte
EVENTS
Comedy
AEL GAVISH: ISRAELI WONDER The musical comedian and stand-up started her career at 15 telling jokes in Hebrew at a club in Tel Aviv, and moved to Boston in 2015. Her one-woman show covers her personal story of growing up with a single mother and living in America. Aug. 18, 6:30 p.m. $20. The Cabot, 286 Cabot St., Beverly. 978-927-3100, www.thecabot.org
AFFIRMATIVE REACTION: AN ASIAN (AMERICAN) COMEDY SHOW Isha Patnaik and Brandon Lee host this monthly show featuring Asian and Asian-American stand-up, sketch, and improv. On the bill for August: Diana Lu, Jiayong Li, Anjan Biswas, Shafi Hossein, Connie Chung, and Bibek Gurung. Aug. 22, 9:30 p.m. $15. ImprovBoston, 40 Prospect St., Cambridge. 617-576-1253, www.improvboston.com
JOSH JOHNSON The “Daily Show” writer might be too cheerful. “I was fired from being in a gang,” he says in his act. “They kicked me out because I was too positive.” A fellow gang member asked why he smiles so much. His reply? “I mean, none of us are dead or in jail, and, we’re a gang!” Aug. 22 at 8 p.m., Aug. 23 at 7:30 p.m., Aug. 24 at 7:30 and 9:45 p.m. $20-$25. Laugh Boston, 425 Summer St., 617-725-2844, www.laughboston.com
NICK A. ZAINO III
Family
BOSTON CHILDREN’S FESTIVAL The summer may be coming to a close, but that doesn’t mean the fun has to stop! The City of Boston will present a festival featuring performing arts, science-related activities from ParkSCIENCE, take-home art projects, face painting, and a visit from Zoo New England. Aug. 20, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Free. Franklin Park, 1 Franklin Park Road, Dorchester. boston.gov
RIVERFEST SEASIDE MUSIC FESTIVAL 92.5 The River is throwing its annual music festival. Perfect for all ages, it will feature performances from bands like Guster, Noah Kahan, Mt. Joy, and Tall Heights. Aug. 24, noon-6 p.m., Free. Stage Fort Park, Gloucester. theriverboston.com
BOSTON CARNIVAL PARADE Families can celebrate Caribbean culture with this parade that starts on MLK Boulevard and ends at Franklin Park/Peabody Circle. Aug. 24, noon, Free. MLK Boulevard. www.bostoncarnival.org
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Sept. 13 Marina at Rockland Trust Bank Pavilion livenation.com
Sept. 14 Billy Joel at Fenway Park stubhub.com
Sept. 16 Two Door Cinema Club at House of Blues livenation.com
Sept. 17 Lizzo at Agganis Arena ticketmaster.com
Sept. 18 Tycho at Boch Center Wang Theatre bochcenter.org
Sept. 18 Frankie Cosmos at Royale royaleboston.com
Sept. 20 Tinariwen at Royale royaleboston.com
Sept. 21 Massive Attack at Boch Center Wang Theatre bochcenter.org CHRIS TRIUNFO