Some like it Hot N Cold
KATY PERRY
“I am a champion/ And you’re gonna hear me roar.” That’s Perry flexing some muscle on last year’s “Prism,” her third studio album that wasn’t quite a commercial juggernaut, but still showed a strong effort by the pop star. Perry comes to town for a two-night stand that will skim the new album while dipping into her other inescapable hits, from “Hot N Cold” to “Teenage Dream.” Capital Cities open. Aug. 1-2, 7:30 p.m. Tickets: $25-$149.50. TD Garden. 800-745-3000, www.ticketmaster.com
Pop & Rock
MS. LAURYN HILL Before you even ask, the answer is: No, she doesn’t have a new album yet. Hill has been dogged by that inquiry — a plea, really — since releasing her last studio album, 1998’s hip-hop classic and Grammy winner “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.” While fans continue to wait for new music, Hill has enlivened her back catalog with updated and sometimes startling rearrangements of her songs, both as a solo artist and with the Fugees. July 31, 8 p.m. Tickets: $55-$75. House of Blues. 800-745-3000, www.ticketmaster.com
IMELDA MAY
Pitched somewhere between sultry Vegas nightclub act and Wanda Jackson on the 1950s rockabilly circuit, this Irish singer spits fire on her forthcoming album, “Tribal.” A new mother, May defies expectations and lets loose on her latest, burning low and slow one minute and burrowing deep
into her punk influences the next.
July 31, 8 p.m. Tickets: $17. Paradise Rock Club. 800-745-3000, www.ticketmaster.com
DICK DALE
A pioneer who’s now old enough to be taken for granted, 77-year-old Dale is a guitar god whose disciples who still hold him in high esteem for his 1960s work as the “King of the Surf Guitar.” Born in Boston, he regularly sets up shop at the Middle East, surveying his long career that stretches from “Misirlou” to more recent forays into a heavier sound that borders on hard rock. Local hellbillies Three Day Threshold open. Aug. 6, 9 p.m. Tickets: $30, $25 in
advance. Middle East Downstairs, Cambridge. 617-864-3278, www.ticketweb.com
Folk, World & Country
SPIRIT FAMILY REUNION/THE DESLONDES/WILLY GANTRIM A nicely packaged lineup of music on tap: headliners Spirit Family Reunion bring old-time and gospel fervor and racket; New Orleans’ the Deslondes, soon to release their debut album, offer their iteration of country-soul; New York-based folk singer Willy Gantrim plays alone with his guitar. July 31, 9 p.m. Tickets: $18. TT the Bear’s, Cambridge. 888-777-8932. www.ticketweb.com
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MARK EITZEL The former (and, who knows, future) American Music Club fulcrum returns to spread another round of his sly, exquisite gloom. He’ll be accompanied by fellow AMC member Bruce Kaphan on pedal steel guitar and Patrick Main on piano. Thalia Zedek opens. Aug. 1, 6:45 p.m. Tickets: $15. Johnny D’s, Somerville. 888-777-8932. www.ticketweb.com
TRACE ADKINS His 2005 hit “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk” notwithstanding, Trace Adkins is at a point in his career where he provides an elder-statesman alternative to the predominance of bro-ness in today’s mainstream country world. And whatever he’s singing, his seemingly fathomless baritone is always a marvel. Aug. 2, 8 p.m. Tickets: $46-$85.50. South Shore Music Circus, Cohasset. 781-383-9850. www.themusiccircus.org
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KINA ZORÉ Boston-based but with members hailing from around the world, this Afro-pop outfit will be bringing its swirling dance grooves and socio-political lyrical messages to the Lizard for “African Music Night” each Tuesday in August. The band will be joined by a special guest each week; first up, some Zimbabwean Rhumba from the Portland Rhumba Project. Aug. 6, 9 p.m. Tickets: $10. Lizard Lounge, Cambridge. 800-838-3006. www.brownpapertickets.com
Jazz, Blues & Cabaret
ALLISON ADAMS TUCKER QUARTET The acclaimed jazz vocalist possesses an agile, attractive voice and the ability to sing in six languages, animating American standards as well as French, Brazilian, Argentine, Mediterranean, and even Japanese songs. Aug. 1, 9 p.m. Tickets: $15. Ryles, 212 Hampshire St., Cambridge, 617-876-9330, www.rylesjazz.com
ONSET BLUES FESTIVAL The 22d edition of the venerable blues bash features some of the finest groups around: Fat City Band, Lloyd Thayer, Johnny Barnes & the Nightcrawlers, Johnny Hoy & the Bluefish, Rosemary’s Baby Blues Band, and Lil Ed Williams. Aug. 2, Noon to 9 p.m. Tickets: $20. Lillian Gregerman Bandshell, Prospect Park, 191 Onset Ave., Onset Village. www.onsetbluesfestival.com
JALEEL SHAW QUARTET Berklee College of Music and Boston’s ParkARTS present the annual “Jazz at the Fort” concert, this year featuring accomplished alto/soprano saxophonist Shaw, Berklee alumnus and current member of bands led by Tom Harrell and Roy Haynes, in a rare appearance with his own group. Aug. 3, 5 p.m. Free. Highland Park, Fort Ave., Roxbury. (Rain location: Roxbury Community
College’s Media Arts Center, 1234 Columbus Ave.) 617-747-6057, www.berklee.edu/events
STEVE SWALLOW, OHAD TALMOR & ADAM NUSSBAUM This remarkable trio features electric bass legend Swallow and dynamic drummer Adam Nussbaum with classically trained composer, arranger, and tenor saxophonist Talmor. Their imminent release, “Singular Curves,” is an adept addition to the tradition of two of the format’s great masters, Sonny Rollins and Lee Konitz (a frequent Talmor collaborator). Aug. 5, 7:30 p.m. Tickets: $25. Regattabar. 617-395-7757, www.regattabarjazz.com
Classical
TANGLEWOOD Boston Lyric Opera visits Ozawa Hall (July 31) with a fully staged chamber version of Jack Beeson’s opera “Lizzie Borden,” conducted by David Angus and directed by Christopher Alden. At the Shed, the BSO under Lehninger performs works by Tchaikovsky and Schumann alongside Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with soloist Jean-Yves Thibaudet (Aug. 1); John Williams returns to lead the Pops in this summer’s Film Night (Aug. 2); and Juanjo
Mena conducts works by Beethoven, Mozart, and Haydn (Aug. 3). Lenox. 617-266-1200, www.tanglewood.org
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YELLOW BARN It’s an enticing final weekend of concerts at Yellow Barn’s intimate summer festival, starting with a program of works by Schumann, Mozart, Eisler, Gao Hong, and Lei Liang. July 31, 8 p.m., Big Barn, Putney, Vt. 800-639-3819, www.yellowbarn.org
MARLBORO MUSIC Saturday afternoon’s program features music by Britten and Dvorak alongside two works by this summer’s composer-in-residence Kaija Saariaho. On Sunday it’s chamber music by Dvorak, Brahms, and Elliott Carter. Marlboro, Vt., 802-254-2394, www.marlboromusic.org
CAPE COD CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL The Emerson String Quartet heads out to the Cape with music by Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. July 31,
7:30 p.m., First Congregational Church, Wellfleet. 508-247-9400, www.capecodchambermusic.org