MUSIC
Pop & Rock
NORA EN PURE The Swiss-South African DJ and producer spins chilled-out, yet dynamic downtempo house that sustains moods and moves into the late hours. Jan. 14, 9 p.m., Big Night Live. bignight.com
CASS MCCOMBS “Heartmind,” the latest full-length from this indie-rock lifer, is an eight-song selection that balances afternoon-jam looseness with crisp hooks (and backing vocals from Wynonna Judd on the stretched-out “Unproud Warrior”). Jan. 15, 8 p.m. The Sinclair, Cambridge. 617-547-5200, sinclaircambridge.com
LAYZI The project of local bedroom-pop stylist Carissa Myre specializes in beguiling, catchy gems. Layzi’s single from last year, “Ego + Shop Around,” is a fine introduction, with “Shop Around” having a suspended-in-a-dream vibe and “Ego” feeling like a homespun update of late-’80s dance-pop. With spiky new wave artist Stefan Thev and synth act CHYLD. Jan. 18, 9 p.m. O’Brien’s Pub, Allston. 617-782-6245, obrienspubboston.com
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MAURA JOHNSTON
Folk, World & Country
BCMFEST The Boston Celtic Music Festival celebrates its 20th anniversary this year with another fine extended weekend of music and dance from across the Celtic world, including a Roots & Branches concert and Boston Urban Ceilidh on Friday, and events throughout the day, leading up to a grand finale concert, Saturday. Jan. 13-15, various day and evening start times. Tickets priced per individual event; see website for details. Club Passim, The Sinclair, First Parish Church, Cambridge, the Crystal Ballroom, Somerville. 617-492-7679. www.passim.org/bcmfest
SOUTHERN RAIL With more than four decades of putting the focus on entertaining performance as well as a dozen albums made along the way, this Boston-based trad-oriented bluegrass band has earned the right to be called “venerable.” Jan. 14, 8 p.m. $20. Bull Run Restaurant, 215 Great Road, Shirley. 978-425-4311, www.bullrunrestaurant.com
R.D. KING A Boston native whose accomplishments have been recognized well beyond the local, including winning the International Fingerstyle Guitar Competition at the 2017 Canadian Guitar Festival, R.D. King freights the music he makes with the weighty aim of, in his words, “exploring the evolution of consciousness through sound.” He celebrates the latest iteration of that exploration, “The Edge of Winter,” Thursday. Jan. 19, 8 p.m. $18. The Lilypad, 1353 Cambridge St., Cambridge. 617-955-7729, www.lilypadinman.com
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STUART MUNRO
Jazz & Blues
DONNA BYRNE QUARTET A singer’s singer (Tony Bennett digs her!), Byrne is known for her cool, clear voice, light touch with lyrics, and mastery of melody. With ace accompanists Tim Ray (piano), Marshall Wood (acoustic bass), and Les Harris, Jr. (drums). Jan. 14, 7 p.m. and 8:45 p.m. Free, reservations recommended. The Mad Monkfish, 524 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge. 617-441-2116, www.themadmonkfish.com
DELTA GENERATORS This galvanizing quartet of New Englanders more than lives up to its name, merging deep blues and roots for an electrifying take on Americana. Featuring singer/harmonica player Brian Templeton, brothers Charlie and Rick O’Neal on guitar and bass respectively, and drummer Jeff Armstrong. Jan. 14, 8 p.m. $15-$30. The Music Room, 541 Main St., West Yarmouth. 508-694-6125, www.musicroomcapecod.com
GREGORY GROOVER QUARTET Mandorla Music kicks off its 2023 Dot Jazz Series with gospel-steeped tenor saxophonist Groover and his group, featuring trumpeter Jason Palmer, pianist Santiago Bosch, bassist Max Ridley, and drummer Tyson Jackson. Jan. 19, 7:30 p.m. $15. Peabody Hall at All Saints Church, 209 Ashmont St., Dorchester. www.mandorlamusic.net
KEVIN LOWENTHAL
Classical
BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA This week at Symphony Hall, guest conductor Alan Gilbert leads one of the winter’s more intriguing programs, which pairs turn-of-the-century music by Lili Boulanger, Wilhelm Stenhammar, and Dvořák with the world premiere of Justin Dello Joio’s new piano concerto “Oceans Apart,” written for Garrick Ohlsson. (Jan. 13-14) Next week, Karina Canellakis takes a turn on the podium for an all-Central European program of Dvořák, Karol Szymanowski, and Witold Lutosławski, with violinist Nicola Benedetti making her BSO debut in Szymanowski’s Violin Concerto No. 2. (Jan. 19-21). Symphony Hall. 617-266-1200, www.bso.org
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NIGHTINGALE VOCAL ENSEMBLE Somerville’s elusive, colorful Museum of Modern Renaissance opens its doors to the public for a one-night-only concert from Nightingale Vocal Ensemble, which features music by ensemble members alongside selections by Hildegard von Bingen, Tomas Luis de Victoria, and Reena Esmail. Jan. 14, 8 p.m. Museum of Modern Renaissance, Somerville, www.nightingalevocalensemble.com
COLLAGE NEW MUSIC Collage New Music is charting some new territory and bringing back some old friends in celebration of its 50th anniversary season, and this weekend’s concert features Boston premieres from Scott Lindroth and Laura Schwendinger, a reprise performance of Marjorie Merryman’s 1997 Collage commission “Duomo,” and the world premiere of a new piece by Joan Tower. Jan. 15, 8 p.m. Killian Hall, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge. www.collagenewmusic.org
A.Z. MADONNA
ARTS
Theater
THE ART OF BURNING Premiere of drama by Kate Snodgrass about an artist (Adrianne Krstansky) who seeks to change the terms of her shared parenting agreement with her soon-to-be-ex-husband (Rom Barkhordar) as their divorce negotiations near the final stage. Clio Contogenis plays the couple’s teenage daughter, with a cast that also includes Michael Kaye, Laura Latreille, and Vivia Font. Directed by Melia Bensussen. Jan. 13-Feb. 12. Huntington Theatre Company at the Wimberly Theatre, Calderwood Pavilion, Boston Center for the Arts. In addition, digital access to filmed performance available from Feb. 6-26. Tickets for in-person and digital performances are at 617-266-0800, www.huntingtontheatre.org
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HAMILTON Lin-Manuel Miranda’s game-changing musical about Alexander Hamilton, the other Founding Fathers, and the tumultuous origins of these United States returns to Boston — and for a pretty lengthy stay. Jan. 17-March 12. Broadway In Boston. Citizens Bank Opera House. www.BroadwayInBoston.com
MIDWINTER REVELS: A SOLSTICE CELEBRATION – TALES FROM ELLIS ISLAND With music, puppetry, story, and song, “Midwinter Revels: A Solstice Celebration” takes place on Christmas Eve in the 1920s on Ellis Island, where a delay in processing requires new arrivals from Ireland and Jewish immigrants from Ukraine and Germany to spend an extended time together. Inspired by their children and by the Mexican nurses in charge of their care, the families slowly transcend their differences and build a rapport. Written and directed by Patrick Swanson. Music direction by Elijah Botkin. Featuring Carolyn Saxon, Ricardo Holguin, Stephanie Clayman, Rosalba Solis, Maeve Leahy, Ewan Swanson, and David Coffin, along with instrumentalists Glenn Dickson, Tom Pixton, and Keith Murphy. “Virtual Encore Streaming Window” has been extended through Jan. 15. Filmed at Harvard University’s Sanders Theatre, Cambridge. Tickets to virtual performances at revels.org/midwinter
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DON AUCOIN
Dance
LOOK WHO’S COMING TO DINNER Inspired by the iconic similarly titled 1967 movie, this provocative evening-length work by Company SBB/Stefanie Batten Bland presents a different kind of gathering that echoes the past in exploring ongoing social concerns, like who gets invited to the table, and who gets to sit down and actually be part of moving forward. Jan. 14-15, $75. Plimpton Shattuck Black Box Theatre at New England Conservatory. www.celebrityseries.org
THE JAZZ CONTINUUM LaTasha Barnes calls this dynamite show “an offering to the continuum” that brings out common jazz roots in genres ranging from Lindy Hop to voguing. For audiences, it’s a chance to come to the party, reveling in the energy as first-rate dancers and musicians celebrate the shared history and interconnections of jazz music and dance. Presented by Celebrity Series of Boston. Jan. 19-21, $75. Plimpton Shattuck Black Box Theatre at New England Conservatory. www.celebrityseries.org
ONSTAGE DANCE COMPANY The avocational dance troupe presents a new show of live and filmed dance featuring the creativity of more than a dozen emerging and experienced local choreographers. The original repertoire ranges from contemporary and popular dance to jazz and tap. Jan. 14, 2 and 7 p.m., $20-$50. Boston University Dance Theater. https://onstagedanceco.com/performance.html
KAREN CAMPBELL
Visual art
FRANK BOWLING’S AMERICAS Bowling was born in British Guiana and educated in London, but he found his painterly voice in 1960s and ′70s New York, where a rising Black Power movement ran parallel to the convulsions of late Modernism, as Abstract Expressionism struggled to maintain its hold on American art. This survey of Bowling’s work, often a collision of abstract painting and silk-screened images charged with the political tumult of the Black diaspora, rises to meet the artist’s own declaration: that “Modernism belonged to me also.” Through April 9. Museum of Fine Arts Boston, 465 Huntington Ave. 617-267-9300, www.mfa.org.
SHELAGH KEELEY: DRAWN TO PLACE Keeley, whose work spans photography, film and performance, is likely best known for her large-scale, site-specific wall drawings, one of which she’s created for the Peabody Essex Museum. The drawings, which she sees as a way “to explore the structural essence of an object and the spirit of a space or institution,” embed in a location’s history. This one, 58 feet long, is the product of the artist’s research into PEM’s Phillips Library Collection, where revelation and surprise load her work with the spontaneous energy of discovery. Through Nov. 26. Peabody Essex Museum, East India Square, 161 Essex Street, Salem. 978-745-9500, www.pem.org.
SYMBIONTS: CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS AND THE BIOSPHERE “Symbionts” is the scientific term for species that thrive on interdependence — a honeybee and an apple blossom, or the beneficial bacteria in your belly that you try to keep happy with probiotics. This exhibition offers a collision of art and science where some of the 14 artists included will not only examine those relationships but nurture them right there in the gallery as their work lives and grows before your eyes. Through Feb. 26. MIT List Visual Arts Center, 20 Ames St., Cambridge. 617-253-4680, listart.mit.edu
MURRAY WHYTE
WHAT’S GOING ON Violence Transformed,an arts and social justice initiative of the Public Health Advocacy Institute, spotlights art’s potential to contend with violence and trauma. It presents this juried show inspired by Marvin Gaye’s 1971 song of protest, witnessing, and change. Curators Ellen Jacob and Hakim Raquib tapped 30 artists who address the awakening and possibility for healing that Gaye’s song counsels. Through Jan. 29. Piano Craft Gallery, 793 Tremont St. https://violencetransformed.com/portfolio/whats-going-on/
CATE McQUAID
EVENTS
Comedy
STACKED LINEUP: STAGE TO SCREEN Amma Marfo, part of the FODball production team behind the monthly “Stacked” show, records her debut half-hour special “Enjoy the Nachos” as part of this lineup, while Matt Shore, Alexa Albanese, Stephanie Dalwin, and Ariana Seymourian will record 15-minute sets. Jan. 13, 8 p.m. $20. All She Wrote Books, 451 Artisan Way, Somerville. 617-440-4623, www.allshewrotebooks.com
THE COMEDY STUDIO ALL-STAR FUND-RAISER Rick Jenkins is trying to raise some cash to cover unforeseen expenses in bringing his club back home to Harvard Square. He’ll host Juston McKinney, Kaitlin McFee, Meghan Dahl, and some other surprise guests yet to be announced. Jan. 18, 8 p.m. $20. The Rockwell, 255 Elm St., Somerville. www.therockwell.org
THE FRINGES COMEDY NIGHT Will Smalley and Andrew Mayer bring Kelly MacFarland, Dan Boulger, Owen Linders, and Kaitlin Buckley to their monthly burst of stand-up, sketch, and assorted tomfoolery in Jamaica Plain. Jan. 18, 8 p.m. $15. The Haven, 284 Armory St. https://thehavenjp.com
NICK A. ZAINO III
Family
WINTER WILDLIFE TRACKING AND SURVIVAL HIKE Test out your wilderness skills with guide Tim Puopolo, a Trustees ranger and naturalist. He will take you on a journey tracking animal prints and teach you about how the animals are able to survive the winter. If you have any questions, reach out to ChestnutHillFarm@thetrustees.org. Jan. 14, 10 a.m.-11:30 a.m. $25 per adult, $15 per child. Chestnut Hill Farm, Chestnut Hill Road, Southborough. thetrustees.org
KIDS CRAFT: NATIONAL HAT DAY Celebrate National Hat Day by designing a headband hat at IKEA. The store will provide the supplies for your child to make a fun hat to take home. You must create an IKEA family account online to register for this event. Jan. 15, 4-6 p.m. Free. IKEA, One IKEA Way, Stoughton. ikea.com
KIDDOS IN THE KITCHEN: SCHOOL HOLIDAY SPECIAL Kids will learn to make three different types of whoopie pies at this cooking class for ages 7-12. Participants must pre-register at least two days before the class. To find out about availability, e-mail jpicard@thetrustees.org or call 508-785-0339. Jan 16, 9 a.m.-noon. $95 per child. Powisset Farm, 37 Powisset St., Dover. thetrustees.org
MADDIE BROWNING