MUSIC
Pop & Rock
KIANA LEDé This Los Angeles-based singer and actress performs R&B-pop that has a defiantly buoyant feel even when she’s singing of depression on the flinty “Heavy” or the angst of undefined relationships on the breezy “Title.” Oct. 1, 8 p.m. $30, $25 advance. The Sinclair, Cambridge. 617-547-5200, www.sinclaircambridge.com
TEAM DRESCH The latest riot grrrl-era act to reunite are these queercore pioneers, whose comeback single “Your Hands My Pockets” pairs the passionate vocals of co-lead singers Jody Bleyle and Kaia Wilson with riffs that sound rescued from a box of great lost ’90s 7-inches. Oct. 4, 8 p.m. doors. $15. ONCE Somerville, Somerville. 617-285-0167, www.oncesomerville.com
GIRL BAND This Dublin foursome’s just-released album, “The Talkies,” is the thrilling sound of rock eviscerating itself in order to save it, with frontman Dara Kiely’s acid-drenched vocals leading the charge through the chaos. Oct. 4, 10 p.m. $12, $10 advance. Great Scott. 617-566-0914, www.greatscottboston.com
Folk & World
WHITNEY It’s not exactly a wave, but there’s been a handful of bands emerging of late who wear the label “country soul” nicely. Add Chicago’s Whitney — the pairing of Julien Ehrlich and Max Kakacek — to the list, in their case as purveyors of the gentle, wistful version most recently articulated on their August release, “Forever Turned Around.” Oct. 2, 8 p.m. $25. Royale. 888-929-7849, www.axs.com
EMILY MURE The latest from this folk singer-songwriter comes with what sounds like a great title for a country record, “Sad Songs And Waltzes” — not surprising, since she cops it from the Willie Nelson song she covers. That selection aside, though, the collection nods toward the ’90s alt-rock of Mure’s youth with her takes on songs by Radiohead, Coldplay, and others. Oct. 3, 8 p.m. $16. Club Passim, Cambridge. 617-492-7679, www.passim.org
BU GLOBAL MUSIC FESTIVAL The sophomore edition of this event takes place this weekend and features another diverse range of sounds, including tende from Nigerian group Les Filles de Illighadad and the cumbia explorations of border band Frontera Bugalú. Oct. 4, 7 p.m.; Oct. 5, 2 p.m. Free, with registration. Boston University, various venues; see website for details. www.bu.edu/gmf
Jazz & Blues
HEATHER GALLAGHER Join the marvelous mezzo for an evening of music and memories from the worlds of musical theater, pop, and opera, encompassing everything from Stephen Sondheim to the Pet Shop Boys. Sept. 30, 7:30 p.m. $20. Napoleon Room at Club Café, 209 Columbus Ave. www.clubcafe.com
TYSHAWN SOREY The celebrated composer, multi-instrumentalist, and MacArthur Fellow’s New England Conservatory residency culminates with this concert showcasing his expansive musical vision, including an orchestral tribute to avant-jazz mentors Bill Dixon and A. Spencer Barefield, duets with keyboardist and faculty member Anthony Coleman, excerpts of arrangements for a Yiddish Theatre project, and much much more. Oct. 3, 7:30 p.m. Free (tickets required). NEC’s Jordan Hall. 617-587-1100, www.necmusic.edu
THE 42nd ANNUAL JOHN COLTRANE MEMORIAL CONCERT This edition of the long-running concert series also honors the late cofounder and perennial artistic director of the JCMC: saxophonist, composer, and Northeastern professor Leonard L. Brown. The 14-piece JCMC Ensemble, direction by Dr. Carl Atkins, features such area luminaries as saxophonists Bill Pierce and Stan Strickland, pianist George W. Russell Jr., and drummer Yoron Israel. Oct. 5, 7:30 p.m. $25-$35. Blackman Hall, Northeastern University. 617-373-4700, www.friendsofjcmc.org
Classical
BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA This week at Symphony Hall, Chinese pianist Yuja Wang takes center stage to lend her signature sparkle to Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 1. Also on the program: American composer James Lee III’s “Sukkot Through Orion’s Nebula,” and selections from Smetana’s “Má Vlast.” Oct. 3-5. Symphony Hall. 888-266-1200, www.bso.org
BOSTON MODERN ORCHESTRA PROJECT Where else are you going to hear not one, but two pieces for theremin and orchestra in a single night? Thereminist Carolina Eyck joins BMOP for the world premiere of Dalit Warshaw’s new concerto “Sirens,” and Joseph Schillinger’s “First Aerophonic Suite,” which was written just a year after the instrument was patented. The rest of the program stays in the Jazz Age spirit, with music by John Alden Carpenter and Kurt Weill. Oct. 4, 8 p.m. Jordan Hall. 781-324-0396, www.bmop.org
ATTACCA QUARTET This exciting young string quartet starts their program with some classic Haydn and then blasts off into less traveled territory: Giuseppe Verdi’s only string quartet and new pieces by jazz pianist Billy Childs and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw. (If you can’t make it, the quartet’s new album of Shaw’s music for string quartet is one of the best new classical releases around.) Oct. 6, 1:30 p.m. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. 617-278-5156, www.gardnermuseum.org
ARTS
Theater
NIXON’S NIXON Jeremiah Kissel and Joel Colodner are plenty impressive on their own, but when these two exemplary actors are paired up, you lean forward in your seat a little, aware that the evening has the potential for a case of brilliance squared, a duet of virtuosity. Kissel and Colodner deliver on those high expectations as a desperate President Richard M. Nixon and a self-serving Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in Elaine Vaan Hogue’s engrossing production of Russell Lees’s satire. It’s set on the night before Nixon resigned in August 1974, when he was facing, ahem, impeachment. Through Oct. 6. New Repertory Theatre. At MainStage Theater, Mosesian Center for the Arts, Watertown. 617-923-8487, www.newrep.org
THE STONE A fascinating production, ingeniously staged by Igor Golyak and inventively designed by David R. Gammons, of German playwright Marius von Mayenburg’s intricate drama of collective guilt. The mind-bending scope of Nazi crimes is distilled to the 60-year story of a single house in Dresden that is wrested from its Jewish owners in 1935 by a young German couple, who then proceed to construct a self-exculpating myth about the episode. A winding journey across historical epochs toward a kind of justice, “The Stone’’ features an indelible performance by Darya Denisova, the standout in a uniformly fine cast of eight. Through Sept. 29. Arlekin Players Theatre. At 368 Hillside Ave., Needham. 617-942-0022, www.arlekinplayers.com
THE PURISTS A rapper, a DJ, and a musical-theater purist banter, bicker, and sometimes bond outside an apartment building in Queens, joined by two ambitious young women who have their own ideas about what music should strive to be. This world premiere of Dan McCabe’s first-rate play, directed by the multitalented (and now Emmy-winning) Billy Porter, artfully juggles issues of race, gender, sexuality, craftsmanship, connoisseurship, cultural appropriation, generational conflict, the comparative virtues of hip-hop and show tunes, and the depredations of the recording industry. Through Oct. 6. Huntington Theatre Company. At Wimberly Theatre, Calderwood Pavilion, Boston Center for the Arts. 617-266-0800, www.huntingtontheatre.org
CHOIR BOY Directed by Maurice Emmanuel Parent, Tarell Alvin McCraney’s Tony-nominated drama-with-music powerfully if sometimes choppily explores the complexities that arise when young men try to forge individual identities within the charged atmosphere of a group. Isaiah Reynolds brings a blend of insouciance and vulnerability to his portrayal of Pharus, a gay prep school student dealing with questions about his sexuality as he assumes the leadership of a highly competitive choir. With superb choreography by Yewande Odetoyinbo and Ruka White, razor-sharp music direction by David Freeman Coleman, and excellent vocals by the cast. Extended through Oct. 19. SpeakEasy Stage Company. At Roberts Studio Theatre, Calderwood Pavilion, Boston Center for the Arts. 617-933-8600, www.speakeasystage.com
Dance
WHEN AIR MEETS WATER III Dangling from ropes and suspended in canvas slings, dancers will swing from the arches of the Green Street Bridge and hover over the surface of the water as Ipswich Moving Company presents another of its aerial dance site-specific installations over the Ipswich River. The work features four dancers plus original music by Chris Florio. Oct. 4-5, Free. Green and Water Streets, Ipswich. 978-356-5565, www.ipswichmovingco.org
EVOLVE DYNAMICZ Founded by Lisa Costello and Nicole Zizzi, this young all-female dance collective shares its concern for those suffering from mental illness through the evening-length “Lucidity.” The show features a series of choreographic vignettes and stories told by performers from This Is My Brave, ending with an audience/performer discussion with mental health professionals. Oct. 4, $15-$25. Dance Complex, Cambridge. 617-547-9363, www.evolvedynamicz.com
SAPTA: ENCORE Triveni Ensemble presents an adaptation of their show “Sapta: The Seven Deadly Sins.” With new choreography and live musicians from the music ensemble Natraj, this cross-cultural collaboration fuses Indian classical dance with the Western concept of the seven deadly sins. Oct. 6, $25-$30. Scottish Rite Masonic Museum, Lexington. 617-232-5485, www.trivenidance.org
Galleries
GLITCHKRAFT: ALISON TANENHAUS + FRIENDS Tanenhaus leads a crew of Boston-area new media artists, glitching (or digitally altering) images usually found only on screens. They flood the gallery with projections on walls and windows, immersing viewers in a pulsing, pattern-rich digital world. Through Oct. 6. Media Art Gallery, Emerson College, 25 Avery St. 617-824-8667, www2.emerson.edu/urban-arts/media-art-gallery
JO ANN ROTHSCHILD: ONLY YOUR LOVES MATTER In Rothschild’s hands, paint can be ethereal, patchy, swirling, or spiky. This mini-retrospective by the long-time Boston abstract expressionist (winner of the MFA’s first Maud Morgan Prize in 1993) dates as far back as the early 1970s and includes recent canvases. Through Nov. 30. AREA at The Yard, 120 St. James Ave. [email protected], www.area.gallery
ART ON SCIENCE: 26 ÉTUDES The Boston/Strasbourg Sister City Association matched 13 artists with 13 scientists from the two cities to cross-fertilize. Each pair chose a theme; labs and studios were visited. The result: artworks with scientific commentary. Local artists include Michelle Samour, Elli Crocker, and Jesseca Ferguson. Through Nov. 8. French Cultural Center, 53 Marlborough St. 617-912-0400, www.frenchculturalcenter.org
Museums
YAYOI KUSAMA: LOVE IS CALLING + BEYOND INFINITY Here come the selfies: When the ICA announced it had acquired one of the celebrated Japanese nonagenarian’s “Infinity Rooms” earlier this year, it almost had to include crowd control strategies, due to the runaway success of Kusama’s “Infinity Mirrors” exhibition in various cities last year. Now on view, the ICA offers a deep dive to offset the Instagram onslaught, with thoughtful accompaniments that help tease out both Kusama’s long art-historical lineage and resonant emotional depth. Through Feb. 7, 2021, Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston. 617-478-3100, www.icaboston.org
HYMAN BLOOM: MATTERS OF LIFE AND DEATH Bloom, a Boston painter, made visceral images of bodies post-autopsy and denuded trees at a time during the 1940s and ’50s when American art became narrowly defined by the cognoscenti as being exclusively an enterprise of gestural abstraction. Thus Bloom, despite the rigor of his project, drifted to the margins, a problem the Museum of Fine Arts looks to rectify with 40 paintings that reinsert him into a prominent place in art history. Through Feb. 23. Museum of Fine Arts, 465 Huntington Ave. 617-267-9300, www.mfa.org
DANIELA RIVERA: LABORED LANDSCAPES (WHERE HAND MEETS GROUND) This year’s winner of the Rappaport Prize, a $25,000 honor given annually by the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Rivera has a coincident solo exhibition now open in Fitchburg. Rivera, who teaches at Wellesley College, examines the scars labors leave on the land, the body, and the psyche through her paintings of miners’ bodies and hands. Through Jan. 12. Fitchburg Art Museum, 185 Elm St., Fitchburg. 978-345-4207,fitchburgartmuseum.org
EVENTS
Comedy
JOSH GONDELMAN Those who follow the stand-up comedian and writer for Showtime’s “Desus and Mero” know he occasionally offers pep talks to his readers. In that spirit of helpfulness, Gondelman has written a new book of essays, “Nice Try: Stories of Best Intentions and Mixed Results,” which he presents Tuesday at Brookline Booksmith. Oct. 1, 7 p.m. Free. Brookline Booksmith, 279 Harvard St., Brookline. 617-566-6660, www.brooklinebooksmith.com
NAKED COMEDY SHOWCASE If stand-up comedians performing in the nude sounds like a gimmick, it’s a gimmick with legs . . . and other parts. Andy Ofiesh has been hosting this odd showcase for roughly 14 years at ImprovBoston. Oct. 3, 9:30 p.m. $12. ImprovBoston, 40 Prospect St., Cambridge. 617-576-1253, www.improvboston.com
LEAGUE OF LAUGHS The first Saturday of each month, the back room at Comicazi in Davis Square becomes a comedy club for this showcase. This month, Elisha Siegel hosts David McLaughlin, Sean Duffy, Rachel Jane Andelman, Daniel McRobbie, and Ricardo Perez. Oct. 5, 7:30 p.m. $5. Comicazi, 407 Highland Ave., Somerville. 617-666-2664, www.comicazi.com
Family
ALLSTON VILLAGE STREET FAIR Attracting over 100,000 visitors annually, the Allston Village Street Fair this year will feature an international food court, a public art and street mural area, giveaways, and two outdoor stages with live music. It’s sure to be fun for the whole family! Sept. 29, noon. Free. Harvard Avenue, Allston. allstonvillagestreetfair.org
BOLLYWOOD FUNK DANCE CLASS Aiming to teach young children the magic of Bollywood funk, dance instructor Chavi Bansal leads an hour of sweat and fun. Bollywood funk is a high-energy dance that mixes elements of jazz, hiphop, and funk with the beats and moves that are known across Bollywood. Oct. 1, 4 p.m. Free. Egleston Square Branch Library, 2044 Columbus Ave., Roxbury Crossing. bpl.org
TOPSFIELD FAIR Bring the whole family to one of Massachusetts’ most famous country fairs. The Topsfield Fair has been bringing guests traditional agricultural exhibits, entertainment, rides, games, shopping opportunities, and great food for years. Plus, you’ll get to witness the annual New England Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off! Oct. 4, all day, $12. Topsfield Fairgrounds, 207 Boston St., Topsfield. topsfieldfair.org
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Oct. 19 The Band Perry at Paradise Rock Club crossroadspresents.com
Oct. 23 Mahalia at Sinclair bowerypresents.com
Oct. 25 Bad Bunny at Agganis Arena livenation.com
Oct. 25 Tegan & Sara at Wilbur Theatre thewilbur.com
Nov. 5 Logic at Agganis Arena agganisarena.com
Nov. 14 Tool at TD Garden tdgarden.com
Nov. 15 Gus Dapperton at Royale royaleboston.com
Nov. 19 Angel Olsen at Royale royaleboston.com