MUSIC
Pop, Etc.
YOLA: SOVEREIGN SOUL TOUR Last year, this English multi-hyphenate made her Broadway debut when she played Persephone in the myth-inspired musical “Hadestown”; her latest EP, “My Way,” lives up to its name, with forays into mirrorball-lit electro, serpentine funk, and soulful truth-telling that place her formidable voice front and center. June 6, 8 p.m. The Sinclair, Cambridge. 617-547-5200, sinclaircambridge.com
VICTOR MANUELLE The Puerto Rican singer celebrates a quarter-century of celebrating salsa’s rich history and romanticism. June 7, 8 p.m. Agganis Arena. 800-745-3000, ticketmaster.com
LILY SEABIRD “Trash Mountain,” the latest release from this Vermont troubadour and Leonard Cohen disciple, is immediate and raw, with cuts like the loose-limbed jam “Arrow” and the mournful piano ballad “How far away” showcasing her silvery voice and ability to write gut-punch lyrics. June 7, 8 p.m. The Lilypad, Cambridge. lilypadinman.com
MAURA JOHNSTON
Folk, World & Country
LAURIE MACALLISTER Laurie MacAllister has been a member of distaff Americana group Red Molly (currently on hiatus) since she helped form it in 2004 and has made records both with that group and periodically on her own. So it’s a bit of a surprise to find that she’s currently touring as a solo artist for the first time in her lengthy career. She comes to this Norwood venue by herself this Friday. June 6, 7 p.m. $30. The Fallout Shelter, 61 Endicott St., Norwood. www.extendedplaysessions.com
DUTCH INTERIOR The genre tags on the bandcamp page for this West Coast band’s latest release, “Moneyball:” rock, alt country, emo, freak folk, indie, indie folk. In other words, this is music that runs the gamut, and you can throw “southern rock” into the mix as well, courtesy of their Allman Brothers-channeling song, “Sweet Time.” June 7, 8 p.m. $20.72. Warehouse XI, 11 Sanborn Court, Somerville. wl.seetickets.us
THE EAST COASTERS True to their name, this rising young trad Irish trio does indeed come from the East Coast: Irish fiddle and flutist Calum Bell is from Boston, fiddler and sometime bluegrasser Madeline Dierauf is from North Carolina, and guitarist Richard Osban hails from Maryland. They’ll be playing tunes from their self-titled debut album on Wednesday. June 11, 7:30 p.m. $30. The Burren, 247 Elm St., Somerville. 617-776-6896. www.burren.com
STUART MUNRO
Jazz & Blues
THE MAKANDA PROJECT The invaluable, Boston-based big band performs its third annual concert at one of the area’s lesser known public spaces: DCR Malibu Beach. This occasion also celebrates the 20th anniversary of the group’s first concert in 2005. June 8, 2 p.m. Free. DCR Malibu Beach, 530 Morrissey Boulevard, Dorchester. makandaproject.com
CAROLYN WONDERLAND The powerhouse Texas blues artist is equally astonishing as a singer, guitarist, and songwriter. Among other feathers in her cap, she was John Mayall’s final lead guitarist, and the first woman ever to hold that role. June 6, 8 p.m. $30-$35. Chan’s Fine Oriental Dining, 267 Main St., Woonsocket R.I. chanseggrollsjazz.com; June 7, 8 p.m. $32-$36. Spire Center, 25½ Court St. Plymouth. www.spirecenter.org
ALBINO MBIE Mandorla music presents an outdoor show featuring the award-winning, Berklee-educated, Mozambican guitarist and vocalist, who built his first guitar from a 5-liter oil can, scrap wood, and electrical cord strings! His engaging music melds jazz and Afro-pop. June 12, 6:30 p.m. $10-$20. Eustis Estate, 1424 Canton Ave., Milton. mandorlamusic.net
KEVIN LOWENTHAL
Classical
AROUND HEAR Family-friendly program “Of All The Instruments There Are” sends six performers on a merry-go-round of chamber ensemble configurations, including oboe/clarinet/cello and flute/violin/harpsichord, before all join in at the end for a Manuel de Falla concerto and the Purcell round that gives the program its name. What’s more, there’s pizza afterward. June 7, 2 p.m. Mystic Activity Center, Somerville. sites.google.com/view/aroundhear
DINOSAUR ANNEX The Dinosaur crew closes out its golden anniversary season with the fourth installment of “Hub of the Musiverse,” a program of pieces by international composers who have worked and lived in Boston, including Lei Liang, Andreia Pinto Correia, former artistic director Yu-Hui Chang, and more. June 7, 8 p.m. First Parish Church, Watertown. www.dinosaurannex.org
BOSTON EARLY MUSIC FESTIVAL “Love and Power” is the theme of the upcoming iteration of Boston‘s biennial bonanza of early music. During the week, the Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre hosts four performances of the festival‘s mainstage opera, Reinhard Keiser’s 1705 “Octavia,” a tale of political maneuvering and betrayal from ancient Rome, while world-class performers of early music present several themed concerts each day at venues including Jordan Hall and Emmanuel Church. Try to get to one of the 10:30 p.m. concerts, which often offer unorthodox programs and empty seats. June 8-15, various venues. www.bemf.org
A.Z. MADONNA
ARTS
Theater
WAITRESS A musical adaptation of the 2007 film written and directed by Adrienne Shelly, “Waitress” stars Christine Dwyer as Jenna, a waitress and gifted pie-maker. Jenna is looking for a way out of an abusive marriage while coping with an unexpected pregnancy — and a sudden romance. The score by Sara Bareilles includes the heart-melting “She Used to Be Mine” and such gems as “What Baking Can Do.” Directed by Kevin P. Hill. Through June 15. North Shore Music Theatre, Beverly. 978-232-7200, www.nsmt.org
HELLO, DOLLY! Nobody goes to see this Jerry Herman-Michael Stewart musical in the expectation of a life-changing experience. They go to have frivolous, escapist fun. (There’s a lot to escape from at the moment, no?) And that’s what director Maurice Emmanuel Parent delivers in his delightful production, with matchmaker and “marriage broker” Dolly Gallagher Levi winningly portrayed by Aimee Doherty, and an entertainingly stuffy Joshua Wolf Coleman as Horace Vandergelder, “the Yonkers half-a-millionaire” whom Dolly is trying to reel in for herself. Through June 22. Lyric Stage Company of Boston. 617-585-5678, lyricstage.com
THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA The eye and the ear are mostly well-served by “The Light in the Piazza.” The rules of dramatic logic? Not so much. In any case, what this quasi-operatic musical is ultimately after is the heart. If you can accept those trade-offs, you’ll be in a position to savor this production, directed by Loretta Greco. In particular, you’ll have a chance to experience the stunning vocal power of Sarah-Anne Martinez as Clara, a young woman who falls for a young man named Fabrizio (Joshua Grosso) while on vacation in Florence with her mother, Margaret (Emily Skinner), in the summer of 1953. The music and lyrics are by Adam Guettel, and the book is by Craig Lucas. Through June 15. Production by The Huntington. At the Huntington Theatre. 617-266-0800, www.huntingtontheatre.org
LEARNING HOW TO READ BY MOONLIGHT Natsu Onoda Power directs the premiere of Gaven D. Trinidad’s drama about the struggles of an undocumented Filipino family in 2017-18 as they try to stay afloat in a hostile political environment shaped by two presidents: Rodrigo Duterte in the Philippines and Donald J. Trump in America. We see the story through the eyes of a 6-year-old boy who is learning English from an imaginary friend. Coproduction by Company One Theatre and CHUANG Stage features original songs composed by Trinidad. At The Umbrella Arts Center, Concord, from June 5-8. www.companyone.org
DON AUCOIN
Dance
DANCE FOR WORLD COMMUNITY FESTIVAL Sponsored by José Mateo Ballet Theatre, this 15th annual Harvard Square event is a full day of performances and classes presented by more than 60 local companies on outdoor stages along Mass. Ave. and inside JMBT studios. In addition, nearly two dozen nonprofits and social justice organizations are on hand to highlight the potential of dance to address social and environmental issues. June 7. Free. Massachusetts Avenue between Bow and Putnam, Cambridge. https://www.danceforworldcommunity.org
TREMBLED TO WALK ON In 1831 in Fall River, a skeleton in armor was found buried in a seated position, a discovery that inspired a poem by Longfellow and music by composer Arthur Foote. It also has inspired The Click to create this new work, titled after a line in the poem, that blends dance with music, poetry, and history while examining how art can shape our view of the past. June 8. Free. The Longfellow House, 105 Brattle St., Cambridge. https://www.nps.gov/long/planyourvisit/calendar.htm
EVERETT OPEN STAGE The young dancers of Rhode Island-based Valiant Arts headline the last Open Stage of the season. Hosted by Intuitive LogiQ, the event also features short drop-in performances from whoever is brave enough to take this stage and display their skills in dancing, singing, spoken word, and comedy. June 6. $5. Everett, 9 Duncan Ave., Providence. https://everettri.org/
KAREN CAMPBELL
Visual art
EDVARD MUNCH: TECHNICALLY SPEAKING I know, I know: “The Scream.” There’s no getting around the cultural oversaturation of Munch’s most famous work, but recent efforts have done much to broaden our understanding of Norway’s most-loved artist beyond his all-time smash hit. In the summer of 2023, “Edvard Munch: Trembling Earth,” the Clark Art Institute’s voluminous presentation of the artist’s deep affinities with — and anxieties for — the natural world opened a universe of difference for all but the most devoted Munch fan. “Technically Speaking,” at Harvard, takes a different tack, exploring the artist’s material genius and almost manic enthusiasm for media across painting, drawing, and every manner of printing. With it, a view of an artist too long seen as one-note broadens. Through July 27. Harvard Art Museums, 32 Quincy St., Cambridge. 617-495-9400,harvardartmuseums.org
VAN GOGH: THE ROULIN FAMILY PORTRAITS Vincent van Gogh met few successes in his short, unhappy life, but between 1888 and 1889, he was as content as he’d ever been. In the French town of Arles, he found peace in the friendship of local postman Joseph Roulin and his family. A collaboration with the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, the show brings together some 20 portraits made in that moment, and a glimpse of a famously tortured artist momentarily calmed. Through Sept. 7. Museum of Fine Arts Boston, 465 Huntington Ave. 617-267-9300, mfa.org
SARAH CWYNAR Using film, video, photography, and installation, Cwynar creates dizzying cascades of overlapping images that capture —and critique — the contemporary reality of an image-saturated consumer culture in hyperdrive. Art imitates life: Her work is as disorienting as it is seductive, a dark mirror to the smartphone-and-social media world that dominates contemporary society. Her show at the ICA features a brand-new two-part photo installation in collaboration with — how else to put it? — the whims of search-engine algorithms. Through Aug. 3. Institute of Contemporary Art Boston, 25 Harbor Shore Drive. 617-478-3100, icaboston.org
MURRAY WHYTE
MARYAM SAFAJOO: REPETITIOUS INSECURITY Safajoo, a Persian-American painter who calls herself a “visual ethnographer,” takes a journalistic approach to representing the persecution of people of the Baha’i faith in Iran following the Iranian Revolution in the late 1970s. She interviews witnesses and fact-checks stories, then crafts detailed paintings in the style of Persian miniatures. The artist, who was recently awarded a 2025 Guggenheim Fellowship, last year published “Our Story Is One,” a book about Iranian Baha’is. Through July 20. ShowUp, 524B Harrison Ave. www.showupinc.org
CATE McQUAID
EVENTS
Comedy
MIKE CANNON In his new YouTube special, “Traumatized Animal,” Cannon laments that he tends to get subjugated in social situations. “I’m the guy at your party that gets cornered by the worst guy at every party,” he says. “If you have a Flat-Earther at your event, that’s who I’m talkin’ to for six straight hours.” June 6 at 7 p.m. and June 7 at 6:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. $40.46. Laugh Boston, 425 Summer St. 617-725-2844, www.laughboston.com
RAINBOW REVOLUTION! This Pride Month event features music and socializing, but the heart of it is a stand-up comedy show featuring Will Smalley, Gina Christo, Sky Nockels, Steph Dalwin, Alexis Cristaldi, and Shelby Lecuyer. June 7, 7 p.m. $15. GrandTen Distilling, 383 Dorchester Ave. www.eventbrite.com
PROJECT CATHARSIS Kathe Farris and Shruti Datari host this multi-faceted showcase with comedy from Liam McGurk, music and comedy from Shelby LeCuyer, drag from Chito, and rock ’n’ roll from Jessye DeSilva. The mood of the show moves from raw and emotional to lighter and more humorous, for those seeking healing and connection from their entertainment. June 12, 7 p.m. $15-$20. The Rockwell, 255 Elm St., Somerville. www.therockwell.org
NICK A. ZAINO III
Family
SALEM ARTS FESTIVAL The three-day arts festival in Salem is back again to kick off the month of June. Day one includes live student performances, an art gallery featuring regional creators, as well as a tiny art spree where participants can snag mini artworks made by community creatives. The following two days, visitors can enjoy art galleries showcased at the Old Town Hall, live music performances, a street fair, and a live painting competition. June 6-8, times vary. Free admission, optional costs within festival. Old Town Hall, 32 Derby Square, Salem. salemartsfestival.com
CARIBBEAN AMERICAN HERITAGE FESTIVAL Honor National Caribbean American Heritage Month at the Caribbean American Heritage Festival. Check out live entertainment from Caribbean band Dis-N-Dat, steelpan music by Darren Fenty, and Moko Jumbie stilt walkers. Attendees can also browse food and art vendors from local businesses. June 8, noon-8 p.m. Free admission. Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center, 1350 Tremont St. eventbrite.com
HALEY CLOUGH
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