MUSIC
Pop & Rock
POST MALONE “Hollywood’s Bleeding,” the third full-length from this hip-pop juggernaut, rides the bummer that took him to radio domination even harder, with cameos by Ozzy Osbourne, Halsey, and Meek Mill. The title track updates the moody, brooding ideal of post-grunge bands like Staind for the trap-pop era, while “A Thousand Bad Times” answers the unasked-until-now question: “What if OutKast’s ‘Hey Ya’ amped up its self-pity quotient by a thousand percent while also blunting its hookiness?” Oct. 8-9, 8 p.m. $53.50 and up. TD Garden. 617-624-1000, www.tdgarden.com
LUCKY DAYE This New Orleans-born singer’s debut, “Painted,” synthesizes elements of the last four decades of R&B — robo-funk basslines, glossy strings, trap snares, cavern-echo vocals, a bit of Ginuwine’s “Pony” — into a heady, irresistible whole. Oct. 9, 8 p.m. $18, $16 advance. The Sinclair, Cambridge. 617-547-5200, www.sinclaircambridge.com
KERO KERO BONITO “Civilisation I,” the just-released EP from this oddball London trio, is a climate-change rally in an abandoned roller rink; the swirling “When the Fires Come,” inspired by the band touring through last year’s Camp Fire in California, throws down a change-the-world gauntlet over mournful synths. Oct. 11, 7 p.m. $20 and up. Brighton Music Hall. 617-779-0140, www.crossroadspresents.com
Folk & World
OVER THE RHINE “Each record we’ve released is authentic to a particular time in our lives. They’re all mile markers,” observes Linford Detweiler, who with his wife, Karin Bergquist, has been performing as Over the Rhine for 30 years. The same holds true for their latest, “Love & Revelation,” which finds them contemplating loss, grief, and hope in the face of all. Oct. 8, 8 p.m. $25-$38. City Winery. 617-933-8047, www.citywinery.com/boston
BEDOUINE Syrian-born, California-dwelling Azniv Korkejian (a.k.a. Bedouine) recently released her sophomore album, “Birdsongs of a Killjoy,” which maintains the pastoral sensibility of her acoustic folk while filling out its sound via the use of strings, horns, and other instrumentation. She plays with a full band Wednesday. Oct. 9, 9 p.m. $15. Great Scott, Allston. 888-929-7849, www.axs.com
THE GIBSON BROTHERS The Gibsons are two bands these days: the classic bluegrass outfit through which they made their name, and the electric alter ego that came about through teaming up with Dan Auerbach to make their “Mockingbird” album. These dates will feature the Mockingbird band. Oct. 11, 8 p.m. $30. The Spire Center, Plymouth. 508-746-4488, www.spirecenter.org; Oct. 12, 8 p.m. $30. The Center for Arts, Natick. 508-647-0097, www.natickarts.org
Jazz & Blues
FRED WOODARD COLLECTIVE Dot Jazz continues its 2019-20 concert series with the veteran Boston jazz guitarist and band playing straight-ahead jazz with a tinge of R&B. Featuring Woodard’s son Frederick on violin, bassist Akili Jamal Haynes, and drummer Matthew Williams. Oct. 10, 7:30 p.m. $15. Peabody Hall, Parish of All Saints, 209 Ashmont St., Dorchester. www.dotjazz.org
AARDVARK JAZZ ORCHESTRA Boston’s own progressive big band, now in its 47th year, presents a concert of compositions by trumpeter and music director Mark Harvey, ranging from the Boston premiere of “Consecration” to political satires “Trumputin Tango” and “Fake News Blewz.” Oct. 12, 8 p.m. Free. Killian Hall, 160 Memorial Drive, Cambridge. www.aardvarkjazz.com
DIANE BLUE AND HER ALL-STAR BAND The dynamic blues singer-harmonica player, a vital member of legendary guitarist Ronnie Earl’s Broadcasters, leads her own band featuring fellow Broadcaster Dave Limina on keyboards, guitarist Chris Vitarello of the Bruce Katz Band, upright bassist Jesse Williams, and Roomful of Blues drummer Chris Anzalone. Oct. 12, 8 p.m. $15-$25. 9 Wallis, 9 Wallis St., Beverly. 978-525-9093,www.gimmelive.com
Classical
BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Russian-Finnish conductor Dima Slobodeniouk jumps on the podium this week for his subscription series debut, featuring a rare BSO performance of Carl Nielsen’s Symphony No. 5 and cellist Truls Mork in Elgar’s Cello Concerto. Oct. 10-12. Symphony Hall. 888-266-1200, www.bso.org
LORELEI ENSEMBLE In its only hometown show of the 2019-20 touring season, the formidable women’s vocal ensemble presents “Without Walls,” a program that braids the secular with the sacred and the very old (Hildegard and Perotin) with the very new (Jessica Meyer’s Sappho-inspired song cycle “I long and seek after.”) Oct. 12, 8 p.m. First Church in Cambridge. www.loreleiensemble.com
SPHINX VIRTUOSI This self-conducted chamber orchestra of black and Latinx musicians swings back around to Calderwood Hall after last year’s debut. This year’s program, “For Justice and Peace,” takes its name from a piece by Sphinx bassist Xavier Foley, and its fare ranges from Schubert and Bartók to Jessie Montgomery’s tribute to her parents’ civil rights activism “Source Code” and Philip Herbert’s memorial to hate crime victim Stephen Lawrence. Oct. 13, 1:30 p.m. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. 617-278-5156, www.gardnermuseum.org
ARTS
Theater
ROSENCRANTZ & GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD In Peter DuBois’s splendidly executed production, Tom Stoppard’s breakthrough play retains its power as a breathtakingly audacious intellectual gambit. Crucially, DuBois and his cast do full justice to the knotty philosophical condundrums, the humor, and the subtle aura of dread that suffuse “Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead.’’ Existential angst has seldom been funnier — but a genuine chill is palpable, too, just under all those laughs. Through Oct. 20. Huntington Theatre Company. At Huntington Avenue Theatre, Boston. 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. Through Oct. 19. SpeakEasy Stage Company. At Roberts Studio Theatre, Calderwood Pavilion, Boston Center for the Arts. 617-933-8600, www.speakeasystage.com
LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS Director-choreographer Rachel Bertone brings this musical adaptation of the Roger Corman film to life in all its deranged glory. With a book and lyrics by Howard Ashman and music by Alan Menken, it’s about the fateful, Faustian bargain struck by nebbishy flower-shop employee Seymour (Dan Prior) with a very hungry plant named Audrey II (voiced by Yewande Odetoyinbo, with puppetry by Tim Hoover). Seymour’s goal is to win the girl of his dreams, co-worker Audrey (the excellent Katrina Z Pavao), but . . . Well, you’ve heard of the law of unintended consequences? Through Oct. 6. Lyric Stage Company of Boston. 617-585-5678, www.lyricstage.com
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, a time 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
Dance
FERNANDA GHI DANCE COMPANY The internationally-renowned tango artist brings her eight dancers for the Boston premiere of “Black + White,” set to the irresistible music of Astor Piazzolla. Blending Argentine tango with other dance styles, the theatrical dance work in four acts examines concepts of opposition: love vs. hate, dream vs. reality, man vs. woman, naked vs. clothed. Presented by Global Arts Live. Oct. 11-13, $58. Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA. 617-876-4275, www.globalartslive.org
I AM TANGO This award-winning multimedia touring production from Argentina and Uruguay, featuring 24 professional dancers and musicians, traces the artistic evolution over time of this most sensual of dance genres. A central character named Tango journeys through time and different cultures to illuminate how tango has changed over the years yet kept its passionate essence. Oct. 9, $49-$95. Regent Theatre, Arlington. 781-646-4747, www.regenttheatre.com
LION’S JAW PERFORMANCE + DANCE FESTIVAL This Boston-based festival presented by New Movement Collaborative offers a five-day intensive with some nationally recognized dancer/choreographer/teachers, such as Faye Driscoll and Miguel Gutierrez. The public can get a window into all this fertile creative exchange in two performances, with different lineups each night. Oct. 11-12, $20-$25. Green Street Studios, Cambridge. 857-207-8127, www.lionsjaw.com
Galleries
FENWAY CONNECTIONS The Massachusetts Historical Society teams up with its neighbor, Fenway Studios. Built in 1905 with input from its residents, Fenway Studios is the country’s oldest purpose-built artists’ studios building still fulfilling its original mission. The exhibition spotlights work by current residents and paintings from the MHS vaults by past residents, such as portraitist Charles Hopkinson. Through Oct. 19. Massachusetts Historical Society, 1154 Boylston St. 617-536-1608, www.masshist.org
SHELLBURNE THURBER: PHANTOM LIMB Thurber, a member of the Boston School, a group of photographers who went to art school here in the 1970s and made vividly personal images, has for years shot contemplative portraits of places that reveal much about their inhabitants. In “Phantom Limb,” she explores her family homestead in New Hampshire. Through Nov 2. Krakow Witkin Gallery, 10 Newbury St. 617-262-4490, www.krakowwitkingallery.com
ELI BROWN: MUSEUM OF QUEER ECOLOGIES Brown, a transgender artist with a background in sustainable agriculture, looks to reproductively versatile fungi as part of a cross-species trans lineage. His multimedia exhibition picks apart scientific hierarchies, maps out trans histories, and examines community as a source of strength. Through Oct. 25.Distillery Gallery, 516 E 2nd St., South Boston,
www.distillerygallery.com
Museums
CROSSING LINES, CONSTRUCTING HOME In tune with the times, this show says it “opens up new ways of understanding the immigrant experience.” With that experience in radical flux — closing borders and country-specific bans dominating a fractious global conversation about immigration often led by our own president, enlightenment has never been more needed. Through Jan. 6. Harvard Art Museums, 32 Quincy St., Cambridge. 617-495-9400, www.harvardartmuseums.com
WOMEN TAKE THE FLOOR The MFA, like most museums worth a damn, has been interrogating and rebuilding its own practices to better reflect the world we live in now — and the litany of ills from the world we’d like to leave behind. That means a more inclusive agenda where race and gender are concerned, and this show, a reinstallation of the third floor of the museum’s Art of the Americas wing, was conceived to focus “on the overlooked and underrepresented work and stories of women artists.” Through May 3, 2021. Museum of Fine Arts, 465 Huntington Ave., Boston. 617-267-9300, www.mfa.org
FATIMAH TUGGAR: HOME’S HORIZONS A terrifically ambitious solo exhibition of the Nigerian-born, Kansas-based Tuggar, the Davis Museum’s installation will include pieces ranging from sculpture, video, and augmented reality all the way to handmade craft. Tuggar, on theme, muses on the meaning of home for a society in radical motion and flux, with social justice at its heart. Through Dec. 15. The Davis Museum at Wellesley College, 106 Central St., Wellesley. 781-283-2051, wellesley.edu/davismuseum
EVENTS
Comedy
THE SKLAR BROTHERS There aren’t a lot of duo acts in American comedy at the moment, much less identical twins who are both funny. For a little holiday atmosphere, check out the title bit to last year’s “Hipster Ghosts” special on Starz, about how annoying it would be to discover a spirit in the middle of the night judging your record collection. Oct. 11-12, 7:30 p.m. and 9:45 p.m. $25. Laugh Boston, 425 Summer St. 617-725-2844, www.laughboston.com
MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 LIVE: THE GREAT CHEESY MOVIE TOUR Joel Hodgson takes one last ride live-riffing Crow and Servo on this farewell tour. Two nights, two cheesy movies — “No Retreat, No Surrender” on Friday and “Circus of Horrors” on Saturday. Oct. 11-12, 8 p.m. $49.50. Emerson Colonial Theatre, 106 Boylston St. 888-616-0272, www.emersoncolonialtheatre.com
CRISTELA ALONZO: MY AFFORDABLE CARE ACT Music and television helped Alonzo get through some tough times, including, at one point, living in an abandoned diner in Texas as a child. She writes about those experiences in her new memoir, “Music to My Years: A Mixtape Memoir of Growing Up and Standing Up.” Oct. 12, 7 p.m. $27-$57. WBUR CitySpace, 890 Commonwealth Ave. 617-358-8672, www.wbur.org/events
Family
SCI-K FUN RUN It’s time to get those running shoes on for the inaugural Sci-K Fun Run, hosted by the Museum of Science. All ages are welcome to participate in this fun race. The museum is also asking families to wear their favorite science-themed costume for a costume contest. Oct. 6, 8 a.m., $18-$35. Fiedler Field, Boston. mos.org
APPLE HARVEST RUN Runners of all ages are welcome to West Newbury for a closed course run, spectacular foliage, food, and entertainment. Hosted by the town government, the harvest run will include a 5-mile run, a 5K, and a children’s 1-mile fun run. There will also be food, beer, music, and family activities. All proceeds benefit educational programs at the Dr. John C. Page Elementary School. Oct. 6, 9:30 a.m., $0-$30. Bachelor St., West Newbury. appleharvestrun.org
NOT SO SPOOKY HALLOWEEN Can you believe it’s nearly Halloween? If you have younger trick or treaters who don’t like getting spooked, head over to the Edaville Family Theme Park’s annual children’s trick or treating event. Guests are encouraged to dress up in their favorite costumes and visit the park for a full day of trick or treating and rides. Oct. 7-27, all day, $37. Edaville Family Theme Park, 5 Pine St., Carver. edaville.com
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Oct. 22 Ingrid Michaelsonat House of Blues ingridmichaelson.com
Oct. 24 Bob Seger at TD Garden tdgarden.com
Oct. 25 Bad Bunny at Agganis Arena livenation.com
Nov. 1 Mumiy Troll at Royale royaleboston.com
Nov. 8 The Bruisers at Royale royaleboston.com
Nov. 13 Mayday Parade at Paradise Rock Club crossroadspresents.com
Nov. 17 Neon Indian at Big Night Live ticketmaster.com