ERYKAH BADU
“But You Caint Use My Phone,’’ the 2015 mixtape by this restless funk explorer, lyrically ruminates on missed calls and bad connections (including a fuzzed-out cover of the New Edition classic “Mr. Telephone Man’’) while whirling through stripped-down space funk and a biting riff on Drake’s inescapable “Hotline Bling.’’ April 28, 7:30 p.m. $65-$79.50. House of Blues. 888-693-2583, www.houseofblues.com/boston MAURA JOHNSTON
Pop & Rock
CLEAN BANDIT This British outfit’s sound blends dance-pop thump, classical’s finicky licks, and up-and-coming pop singers while hooking pop-radio listeners. Their besotted “Rather Be,’’ featuring blue-eyed soul thrush Jess Glynne on vocals, ruled the airwaves in 2014, and their current hit, the reggae-tinged bounce “Rockabye,’’ nudged its way into the Hot 100’s top 10 earlier this year. April 26, 7 p.m. $20. Paradise Rock Club. 617-562-8800, www.crossroads presents.com
BEAUTY PILL In 2015 this D.C. collective, led by the composer Chad Clark, released “Beauty Pill Describes Things As They Are,’’ a gorgeous, labyrinthine exploration of the existential laced with zinging wit and a crackling urgency. With New York No Wave veteran Arto Lindsay, whose first album in 14 years comes out Friday. April 27, 7 p.m. $20. ONCE Somerville. 617-285-0167, www.oncesomerville.com
MAURA JOHNSTON
Folk & World
MAEVE GILCHRIST AND VIKTOR KRAUSS Harpist Gilchrist and bassist Krauss met a few years ago at an American roots festival put on by Berklee College, where Gilchrist teaches. Their collaborations during the festival kindled a mutual desire to work together, which resulted in “Vignette,’’ an album of original instrumental music released just last week. April 25, 8 p.m. $20. Club Passim, Cambridge. 617-492-7679. www.passim.org
MARTY STUART AND HIS FABULOUS SUPERLATIVES Since his release of “The Pilgrim’’ in 1999, Marty Stuart has been dedicated to preserving and reimagining the sounds of classic country music, forging something that is unmistakably country yet draws in everything from Staples-style gospel to Berry-picking rock ’n’ roll. His latest release, “Way Out West,’’ adds another spectacular chapter to the story. April 25, 9 p.m. $35. The Sinclair, Cambridge. 888-929-7849. www.axs.com
NATHANIEL BRADDOCK Recent Cambridge transplant Braddock is a man of many musical hats, and he’s just put on another to record his new release, “Quadrille & Collapse,’’ an engaging, rooted-yet-exploratory collection of instrumental acoustic guitar music. Saturday’s show celebrates its release. Master balafon player Balla Kouyaté will also perform. April 29, 5 p.m. $10. The Lilypad, Cambridge. 617-955-7729. www.lilypadinman.com
STUART MUNRO
Jazz & Blues
JOE MCPHEE The renowned avant-garde saxophonist makes a rare area appearance with drum master Ra-Kalam Bob Moses and adventurous improvisers Jeb Bishop (trombone) and Damon Smith (bass). April 23, 8 p.m. $20. Outpost 186, 186½ Hampshire St., Cambridge. www.outpost186.com
AMERICAN CLASSICS: BY THE BOOK Concluding its season of book-to-musical adaptations, the acclaimed cabaret specialists look to lighter sources, singing songs by Rodgers & Hart, Lerner & Loewe, Harold Arlen, and others, from such shows as “The Wizard of Oz,’’ “Mary Poppins,’’ “Mame,’’ and more. April 28, 7:30 p.m. Follen Community Church, 755 Mass. Ave., Lexington; April 30, 3 p.m., Pickman Concert Hall, Longy School of Music, 27 Garden St., Cambridge. $20-$25. 617-254-1125, www.amclass.org
THE AARDVARK JAZZ ORCHESTRA The progressive big band celebrates Duke Ellington’s birthday with a concert of socially significant Ellingtonia and pieces in that vein by director Mark Harvey, including contemporary tone-parallels “Fake News Blewz’’ and “Waltz of the Oligarchs,’’ plus dedications to Hub jazz figures Fred Taylor (“Main Man’’), Nat Hentoff (“Boston Boy’’), and Steve Schwartz (“Studio Four’’). April 29, 8 p.m. Free. MIT’s Kresge Auditorium, 48 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge. www.aardvark jazz.comKEVIN LOWENTHAL
Classical
BOSTON PHILHARMONIC YOUTH ORCHESTRA Conductor Benjamin Zander is often at his best when working with young musicians. Here he leads his group of talented 12-to-21-year-olds in an exceptionally difficult assignment: Mahler’s Sixth Symphony. April 23, 3 p.m., Symphony Hall. 617-236-0999, www.bostonphil.org
BOSTON LYRIC OPERA The company offers a new production of Mozart’s well-loved “The Marriage of Figaro’’ directed by Rosetta Cucchi, which sets the opera in 1950s Italy. April 28-May 7, John Hancock Hall at the Back Bay Events Center. 617-542-6772, www.blo.org
NATALIE DESSAY The French soprano brings a program called “Portraits of Women’’ that includes a rare performance of Hans Pfitzner’s song cycle “Alte Weisen,’’ as well as works by Mozart, Debussy, and Schubert. April 29, 8 p.m., Jordan Hall. 617-482-6661, www.celebrity series.orgDAVID WEININGER
ARTS
Theater
THE KING AND I Laura Michelle Kelly, as the British schoolteacher Anna Leonowens, and Jose Llana, as the King of Siam, generate some genuine chemistry in this lavish touring version of Bartlett Sher’s Lincoln Center production. Kelly and Llana also sustain the equilibrium on the verbal seesaw that’s needed for Rodgers & Hammerstein’s musical to work. Through April 23. Broadway in Boston at Boston Opera House. 800-982-2787, www.broadway inboston.com
RENT The young cast has something to prove, and they do in this dynamic production of Jonathan Larson’s rock ’n’ roll reworking of Puccini’s “La Boheme.’’ Directed by Evan Ensign and choreographed by Marlies Yearby, this “Rent’’ pulses with insurrectionary energy as it takes us through a year in the lives of young lovers and friends in the East Village at the height of the AIDS epidemic. Through April 23. Boch Center at Shubert Theatre, Boston. 866-348-9738, www.bochcenter.org
THE GIFT HORSE Obehi Janice, Maurice Emmanuel Parent, and Lewis D. Wheeler star in the Boston-area premiere of a comic drama by Lydia R. Diamond (“Stick Fly,’’ “Smart People’’) about Ruth, a teacher and artist who confronts the forces that shaped her as she takes the audience on a journey through her sometimes-wrenching past. Directed by Jim Petosa. Through May 14. New Repertory Theatre, at Mainstage Theater, Mosesian Center for the Arts, Watertown. 617-923-8487, www.newrep.orgDON AUCOIN
Dance
THE SLEEPING BEAUTY Boston Ballet reprises one of its classics, this brilliant fairy tale ballet with choreography by Petipa and Ashton and glorious music by Tchaikovsky. The production sports eye-catching sets and vivid costumes for its cast of fairies and animal characters, designed by Emmy Award-winner David Walker. This one is especially good for all ages. April 28-May 27. $45-$189. Boston Opera House. 617.695-6955, www.bostonballet.org
ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATER What would spring be without the return of this legendary company? Over the course of five performances, the company is presenting Boston premieres by artistic director Robert Battle (“Ella’’), Johan Inger, Mauro Bigonzetti, Kyle Abraham, and Hope Boykin, as well as Ailey’s beloved “Revelations.’’ April 27-30. $35-$85. Boch Center’s Wang Theatre. 617-482-6661, www.celebrityseries.org
JOSÉ MATEO BALLET THEATRE The company’s final program of its 31st year, “Inescapable Orbit,’’ features the world premiere of a new work by Mateo, the only one this season. It’s set to Marjan Mozetich’s violin concerto “Affairs of the Heart.’’ The program also includes the veteran neo-classicist’s “Risk of Repetition’’ and “Still Waters.’’ April 28- May 14. $42. Sanctuary Theatre, Cambridge. 617-354-7467, www.ballettheatre.org
KAREN CAMPBELL
Galleries
ZANE/OSTENDARP Absurdist conceptual artist Joe Zane and Pop painter Carl Ostendarp team up for an existentialist installation in which chicken sculptures crane their heads at paintings of question marks, cheekily evoking the experience of engaging with provocative or confounding art. Through May 13. Carroll and Sons, 450 Harrison Ave. 617-482-2477, www.carrolland sons.net
ALEX JACKSON: PHANTOM FLESH This young painter, a 2017 MFA candidate at Yale, approaches the figure through space and environment, through texture, through pattern and zingy color. He deploys narrative fragments to question notions of race. Through May 27. Steven Zevitas Gallery, 450 Harrison Ave. 617-778-5365, www.steven zevitasgallery.com
GAMES AND POLITICS: AN INTERACTIVE EXHIBITION This show, presented jointly with Goethe-Institut Boston, features 16 games that confront players with ethical dilemmas and power dynamics reflecting social and geopolitical issues, from the refugee crisis to the surveillance state. Through May 21. Boston Cyberarts Gallery, 141 Green St., Jamaica Plain. 617-522-6710, www.bostoncyberarts.org
CATE McQUAID
Museums
FRANK STELLA PRINTS: FROM THE COLLECTIONS OF JORDAN D. SCHNITZER AND HIS FAMILY FOUNDATION Printmaking has been central to this restless abstract artist’s oeuvre, helping him reinvent himself in his evolution from sober minimalism to jubilant expressionism. Through July 30. Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy, 180 Main St., Andover. 978-749-4015, www.addisongallery.org
THE DIAMOND TRACE: KIMBERLEY SOUTH AFRICA IN PHOTOGRAPHS BY PATRICK TOURNEBOEUF A century ago, Kimberley, South Africa, was sitting pretty atop a diamond mine. Then the gems ran out. Tourneboeuf documents the mine’s remains, and what life remains in the city. Through Sept. 4. MIT Museum, 265 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge. 617-253-5927, mitmuseum.mit.edu/
EXPANDING ABSTRACTION: NEW ENGLAND WOMEN PAINTERS, 1950 TO NOW Until recently, the history of women artists has been largely hidden. The deCordova starts to reveal the local story by way of its mostly Abstract Expressionist collection. Through Sept. 17. deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, 51 Sandy Pond Road, Lincoln. 781-259-8355, www.decordova.org
CATE McQUAID
EVENTS
Comedy
ARTISANAL COMEDY AT DORCHESTER BREWING COMPANY Bethany van Delft hosts this monthly show, with a particularly strong bill for this edition, with Lamont Price, Tooky Kavanagh, James Patterson, Jim Whitman, Carolyn Plummer, Mark Gallagher, and, back from LA, Jamie Loftus. April 26, 7:30 p.m. Suggested donation: $5. Dorchester Brewing Company, 1250 Massachusetts Ave., Dorchester. 617-514-0900, www.dorchesterbrewing.com
TOM COTTER The Providence native honed his rapid-fire delivery in the Boston scene in the late ’80s. He released his first book, “Bad Dad: A Guide to Pitiful Parenting,’’ last year. April 28-29, 8 p.m. and 10:15 p.m. $29-$39. Laugh Boston, 425 Summer St., Boston. 617-725-2844, www.laughboston.com
DEMETRI MARTIN The dry, imaginative comic has been busy outside of stand-up — he wrote, directed, and stars in the comedy “Dean,’’ which comes out June 2, and voices Ice Bear on the Cartoon Network’s “We Bare Bears.’’ April 29, 7 p.m. and 9:45 p.m. $41.75-$141.75. The Wilbur, 246 Tremont St., Boston. 617-248-9700, www.thewilbur .com
NICK A. ZAINO III
Family
Scavenger Hunt for Harry Potter Fans If you ask me, it’s about time the MFA celebrates one of this generation’s finest works of art: the Harry Potter universe. The hunt will let kids track down giants, potion masters, and more, all while connecting them to unique pieces of art. Fear not, adult wizards, you can participate too. April 29, 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. $23-$35. Museum of Fine Arts, 465 Huntington Ave. 877-946-4868. www.watsonadventures.com
Family Day at the Davis: A Grand Tour of Italy Can’t quite afford that dream trip to Italy? This might be the next best thing. There will be performances, treasure hunts, and chances to get your Michelangelo on in art-making sessions. All that for free? Bellissimo. April 29, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Free. The Davis Museum, 106 Central St., Wellesley. 781-283-2051. www.wellesley.edu/ davismusuem
Annie For A Day Contest Odds are, if your kid isn’t obsessed with “Annie,’’ you know someone’s kid who is. This is their chance to prove that they’re the most talented superfan of them all by singing a popular song from the musical in front of judges. The winners move on for a chance to win a grand prize the week after. April 29, 1-3 p.m. Free. Northshore Mall, 210 Andover St., Peabody. 978-531-3441. www.event brite.com
Alex Frandsen
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
May 1 Smino at Brighton Music Hall ticketmaster.com
May 6 Dwight Yoakam at House of Blues concerts.livenation.com
May 9 The Zombies at The Wilbur ticketmaster.com
May 12 Empire of the Sun at Blue Hills Bank Pavilion concerts1.livenation.com
May 19 TJR at The Royale ticket fly.com
May 20 Eric Paslay at Lawn on D ticketmaster.com
May 25 Old Crow Medicine Show at Orpheum Theatre ticket master
May 27 Wale at House of Blues concerts.livenation.com
Lexi Peery
