Things to do around Boston this weekend and beyond

ELLE KING The straight-shooting belter, who had a left-field hit with the swaggering “Ex’s and Oh’s” in the mid-’10s, leans fully into country on her latest album, “Come Get Your Wife,” which pairs her saucy vocals with pedal-steel licks, boot-stomping beats, and cameos from Nashville stars Miranda Lambert and Dierks Bentley. Feb. 24, 8 p.m. Roadrunner Boston. roadrunnerboston.com

GILLA BAND This Irish foursome makes noisy, hard-hitting mini-maelstroms, with vocalist Dara Kiely’s scorched-earth yelp matched in intensity and excitement by his bandmates’ riotous churn. Feb. 24, 8 p.m. Sonia, Cambridge. 617-864-3278, mideastoffers.com

SZA “SOS,” the second album from this R&B singer-songwriter, hit big when it was surprise-released at the end of 2022; it’s a deep dive into the bleaker side of romance, with SZA’s pinpoint lyrics surfacing middle-of-the-night feelings over a sonic palette that includes the grinding guitars of “F2F” and the suspended-in-air strings of “Blind.” Feb. 28, 8 p.m. TD Garden. 617-624-1000, tdgarden.com

MAURA JOHNSTON

THE WOLFF SISTERS Rebecca, Kat, and Rachael Wolff, with a little help from their friends, continue to offer Americana with grit, playing while trading off vocal leads and twining together beautiful harmonies, most recently on their fall release, “Dark River.” Feb. 25, 8:30 p.m. $15. Boston Harbor Distillery, 12R Ericsson St. www.bostonharbordistillery.com

MORGAN WADE Wade, who put out “Reckless” in 2021, a gut-punch of raw vulnerability that led to her being scooped up by a major label, has been through town as a supporting act on a couple of occasions, but this is the first time she gets to stretch things out as the feature act. Opener Kaitlin Butts is also worth catching. March 2, 8:30 p.m. $26.50. Royale, 279 Tremont St. 888-929-7849, www.axs.com

KELLY WILLIS/BRENNEN LEIGH/MELISSA CARPER This is a phenomenal distaff triple bill of country music. After achieving significant success in the ‘90s commercial country world, Kelly Willis pivoted away from its confines to marvelous artistic effect. Brennen Leigh has covered most of the bases in her music, from honky-tonk to bluegrass-tinted acoustic country to western swing. And two albums in, Melissa Carper is making classic country sound new again. March 2, 8 p.m. $25. 2nd SHIFT Music Series, Charles River Museum, 154 Moody St., Waltham. www.charlesrivermuseum.org/second-shift-music-series

STUART MUNRO

QUINN SULLIVAN The New Bedford-born blues guitar prodigy has been wowing audiences since his pre-teen years, performing with the likes of B.B. King and longtime mentor Buddy Guy. Fellow New England phenom Veronica Lewis, the rootsy teenage pianist, singer, and songwriter, will open. Feb. 25, 8 p.m. $36. The Center for Arts in Natick, 14 Summer St., Natick. 508-647-0097, www.natickarts.org

BERT SEAGER’S HEART OF HEARING The poetic pianist and composer’s intimate ensemble features clarinetist and saxophonist Rick Dimuzio, bassist Max Ridley, drummer Dor Herskovits, and singer Lili Shires. Its music refracts influences ranging from classical to world music through the prism of jazz-rooted improvisation. March 2, 6:30 p.m. $10. Lilypad, 1353 Cambridge St., Cambridge. www.lilypadinman.com

JAZZ & THE STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM & EQUALITY The NEC Jazz Orchestra, conducted by Ken Schaphorst, will perform socially conscious jazz classics including Charles Mingus’s “Haitian Fight Song” and pieces from Duke Ellington’s “Black, Brown and Beige.” Plus, guest composer and NEC alum Omar Thomas will conduct his own “We Will Know: an LGBT Civil Rights Piece in Four Movements.” March 2, 7:30 p.m. Free, tickets required. NEC’s Jordan Hall. necmusic.edu/events/nec-jazz-orchestra-jazz-and-struggle-freedom-and-equality

KEVIN LOWENTHAL

BOSTON PHILHARMONIC The Boston Philharmonic joins forces with Chorus Pro Musica, Boston University’s Marsh Chapel Choir, and soloists Liv Redpath, Ashley Dixon, Nicholas Phan, and Alfred Walker for Beethoven’s immortal Symphony No. 9, conducted by founder Benjamin Zander. Feb. 24, 8 p.m. Symphony Hall. Livestream also available for Carnegie Hall performance, Feb. 26, 3 p.m. 617-236-0999, www.bostonphil.org

HAAS: HYENA In this haunting concerto for orchestra and narrator, American storyteller and sex educator Mollena Lee Williams-Haas takes center stage to chronicle her own battle with alcoholism and the “hyena,” her name for the inner voice that encouraged her to drink. The music was composed by her husband, Austrian composer Georg Friedrich Haas, who is in residence this season at the Boston University Center for New Music. Feb. 24, 8 p.m. Institute for Contemporary Art Boston. www.icaboston.org/events/

AWAKENINGS “Sleeping Beauty” meets scientific innovation in this new opera by married composer Tobias Picker and librettist Aryeh Lev Stollman, which adapts and expands upon the book of the same name by the late neurologist and writer Oliver Sacks, a friend of the pair. East Coast premiere presented by Odyssey Opera. Feb. 25, 7:30 p.m. Huntington Avenue Theatre. www.odysseyopera.org

A.Z. MADONNA

FAIRVIEW There’s a lot going on in Jackie Sibblies Drury’s bracing, inventive, Pulitzer Prize-winning drama. By exploring the act of watching, and being watched, and the power dynamics at play, Drury has constructed an ingenious, meta-theatrical framework within which to examine the white gaze and the multiple forms racism can take. Starring Yewande Odetoyinbo, Lyndsay Allyn Cox, Dom Carter, and Victoria Omoregie. Directed by Pascale Florestal. Through March 11. SpeakEasy Stage Company. At Roberts Studio Theatre, Calderwood Pavilion, Boston Center for the Arts. 617-933-8600, www.SpeakEasyStage.com

SEVEN GUITARS Part of August Wilson’s Century Cycle, “Seven Guitars” is set in 1948 in Pittsburgh, where bluesman Floyd “Schoolboy” Barton (Anthony T Goss) has died, just when his career seemed on the verge of taking off. Through flashbacks, we see the events that led to Floyd’s death. Wilson’s dialogue is a kind of music, and Goss and the other six cast members of this stellar production know how to play all the notes. So does director Maurice Emmanuel Parent. Through March 5. Actors’ Shakespeare Project. At Hibernian Hall, Roxbury. 617-241-2200, www.ActorsShakespeareProject.org

MAKE WAY FOR DUCKLINGS, THE MUSICAL Becky Bass plays Mrs. Mallard and Jared Troilo portrays Mr. Mallard in this musical adaptation of Robert McCloskey’s beloved children’s story about a family of ducklings who make their home at the Boston Public Garden. Adaptation by Sandra B. Eskin and Michael J. Bobbitt, who wrote the book for the musical, with music and lyrics by William Yanesh. Directed by Emily Ranii. Through March 12. Wheelock Family Theatre at Boston University. 617-353-3001, www.wheelockfamilytheatre.org

ALMA This two-hander by Benjamin Benne, which won the National Latinx Playwriting Award, is set in 2016, when anti-immigrant sentiment has single mother Alma (Karina Beleno Carney) fearful of being deported. It’s the eve of the SAT test for her 17-year-old daughter, Angel (Luz Lopez). To Alma, the family’s future is riding on Angel acing the test and getting into a good college. Angel has a different conception of that future. Directed by Elena Velasco. Feb. 23-March 26. Central Square Theater, Cambridge. 617-576-9278 (ext. 1), www.CentralSquareTheater.org

DON AUCOIN

LOVE & HAPPINESS With Valentine’s Day just behind us, the always entertaining Wondertwins (Boston natives Billy and Bobby McLain) keep it alive in this exploration of concepts and manifestations of love. Grounded in hip-hop, the performers have developed a distinctive style that also recalls the humor of vaudeville, the sophistication of Cotton Club glory days, and the flashy pizzazz of Las Vegas. Feb. 25-26, $15-$35. Dance Complex, Cambridge. www.dancecomplex.org/events/

BLACK GRACE The most recent addition to Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival’s online streaming lineup is last summer’s performance by this celebrated New Zealand company, which is acclaimed for mining the rich storytelling traditions of the South Pacific through vivid contemporary dance. The program features the riveting signature piece “Minoi” and two US premieres, “Fatu” and “O Le Olaga — Life,” a tribute to artistic director Neil Ieremia’s parents. $15 for unlimited viewing through March 6. www.jacobspillow.org/events/online-stream-black-grace/

KAREN CAMPBELL

SPIRITS: TSHERIN SHERPA WITH ROBERT BEER Sherpa, perhaps the best-known contemporary Himalayan artist working today, mines the aesthetics of traditional Buddhism to remix and resituate the ancient spiritual practice in the fractured landscape of the contemporary world. Sherpa’s paintings, drawings, and sculptures are joined by a selection of drawings by the British artist Robert Beer, a pioneer in the West for his study of thangka paintings. Beer’s work tracks a Westerner’s aesthetic journey into an ancient spiritual culture that Sherpa works joyfully to recontextualize in the present day. Through May 29. Peabody Essex Museum, 161 Essex St., 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. Last chance to see this exhibition, which 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., Building E15, Cambridge. 617-253-4680, listart.mit.edu

AMERICAN PERSPECTIVES: STORIES FROM THE AMERICAN FOLK ART MUSEUM A traveling exhibition from the American Folk Art Museum in New York, this show includes 70 significant pieces ranging from the 18th century to the present day. With works that include textiles, sculpture, pottery, and painting, the show asserts that folk art is a genre that affirms that “everyone has a story to tell.” Through May 7. Portland Museum of Art, 7 Congress Square, Portland, Maine. 207-775-6148, portlandmuseum.org

MURRAY WHYTE

BORROWED TIME Artist/curator Bess Paupeck crafts community-sourced exhibitions, seeking to reinforce and expand local ties. The last one was “Our Stories, Our Stuff, Our Somerville,” at the Somerville Museum, in 2019. This exhibition considers the many ways time can shift, and Paupeck invited folks to lend her their clocks, watches, and calendars. She calls it “a shared time machine.” Through March 25. Washington Street Art Center, 321 Washington St., Somerville. washingtonstreet.squarespace.com/events/2023/02/11/paupeck-borrowed-time

CATE McQUAID

KATHERINE BLANFORD Before comedy, Blanford says she was a nanny, because she was passionate about eating rich people’s food. Sometimes the parents would complain. “First of all,” she would reply, “you don’t know how hard it is to be a stay-at-your-home mother.” Feb. 24 at 7 p.m., Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. $29. Laugh Boston, 435 Summer St. 617-725-2844, www.laughboston.com

MIKE BINDER “You know you’re getting old when you’re constantly waking up out of a deep sleep to [urinate],” says the stand-up comic, writer, and director. “And it’s daytime and you’re driving.” Feb. 24-25, 8 p.m. $20. Nick’s Comedy Stop, 100 Warrenton St. www.nickscomedystop.com

THE BLACK COMEDY EXPLOSION Jonathon Gates brings his long-running stand-up showcase to an unusual venue, the Golden Banana, normally known for adult entertainment. Featuring Chris Tabb, Marlen Baker, Demetrius “Big D” Hullum, and Corey Manning. Feb. 27, 8 p.m. $40. The Golden Banana, 151 Newbury St. (Route 1), Peabody. www.olddirty.boston

NICK A. ZAINO III

DISNEY ON ICE PRESENTS FROZEN & ENCANTO Watch your favorite animated characters from movies “Frozen” and “Encanto” come to life on ice skates. The ice show, hosted by Mickey and Minnie, will move from Arendelle and snowy scenes to Casa Madrigal in Colombia. Feb. 22-26. $30.50-$80.50. TD Garden, 100 Legends Way, Boston. disneyonice.com

BHM CHILDREN’S EVENT UMOJA MILELE — meaning “unity forever” in Swahili — is hosting an event to celebrate Black History Month with arts and crafts, stories, face-painting, a screening of “The Proud Family Movie,” and more. J. Lucky Realty will cover the cost of admittance for families that could use help with tickets. Feb. 24, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. $0-$10 per person. Nubian Square Open Studio for the Arts, 2377 Washington St., Roxbury. eventbrite.com

KIDS ITALIAN CARNEVALE Families will come together to enjoy magician George Saterial’s show “Magic by George” and watch students present on Carnevale — an Italian celebration at the end of winter with parades, masks, food, and drinks. There will also be snacks, music, and face-painting. Feb. 26, 4-6 p.m. $10-$15 per family. Carnevale Dante Alighieri Society of Massachusetts, 41 Hampshire St., Cambridge. eventbrite.com

MADDIE BROWNING