WILCO
The revered alt-rockers led by Jeff Tweedy (above) went the “gotcha’’ route in 2015, dropping their latest album, “Star Wars,’’ out of the blue and making it available for free in July. You have to pony up now, but it’s well worth it, as are tickets to the group’s pleasingly unpredictable live shows. Friday is sold out, but limited tickets remain for Saturday. Jan. 30. 7:30 p.m. $33.50-$73.50. Orpheum Theatre. 800-745-3000. www.ticketmaster.com SARAH RODMAN
ON EXACTITUDE IN SCIENCE
Dina Deitsch curates this show, in which four artists approach environments through touch. They record the textures of stoops, sidewalks, and walls, intimately evoking the stories and sensations of architectural sites. (Pictured: Elizabeth McAlpine’s “Pieta.’’) Through March 6. School of the Museum of Fine Arts, 230 The Fenway. 617-369-3718, www.smfa.edu/exactitude-science CATE McQUAID
Pop & Rock
BRUCE IN THE USAIf you couldn’t get tickets to see the genuine article at TD Garden next week, this Vegas-spawned, AXS TV-approved Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band tribute outfit hopes that you’ll consider its three-night stand in Cambridge the next best thing. Saturday is sold out, but tickets remain for Thursday and Friday. Jan. 28, 29. 8 p.m. $22. The Sinclair. 800-745-3000. www.ticket master.com.
THE DICTATORS NYC “Handsome’’ Dick Manitoba and the gang return to kick out the jams, and at $15 this is a must-see for old-school fans and anyone who’s never caught the seminal punk band’s ferocious live show. The group even has a rollicking new tune, “Supply and Demand,’’ to add to its set list. The B-side? “Kick Out the Jams.’’ Jan. 30. 9 p.m. $15. Great Scott. 800-745-3000. www.ticket master.com SARAH RODMAN
Folk & World
MARSHALL CRENSHAW AND THE BOTTLE ROCKETS With almost four years of tour work to date, this pairing seems to be working out quite well. The Bottle Rox start things off by doing their own thing (which this time will include songs from their fine new record, “South Broadway Athletic Club“), and then put a little crunch in Marshall Crenshaw’s pop as his backing band. Jan. 29, 8 p.m. Tickets: $35. The Center for Arts, Natick. 508-647-0097. www.natickarts.org
SLEEPY LABEEF It seems like this original rockabilly has been playing Johnny D’s for as long as the club has been around, so it only makes sense that he’d stop by one more time before the doors close for good. Plenty of music beforehand, too, from Roy Sludge, the Hubcaps, and Juliet and the Lonesome Romeos. Jan. 30, 7:30 p.m. Tickets: $25. Johnny D’s, Somerville. 617-776-2004. www.johnnyds.com
SPUYTEN DUYVIL The Yonkers high-test jug band with the mouthful of a name returns to the area showcasing its latest release, “The Social Music Hour Vol. 1,’’ a self- described valentine to Harry Smith’s famous anthology of American folk that’s stuffed full of covers of Mississippi John Hurt, Woody Guthrie, Leadbelly, and others. Jan. 30, 8 p.m. Tickets: $18. Club Passim, Cambridge. 617-492-7679. www.passim.org
STUART MUNRO
Jazz & Blues
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. CELEBRATION WITH LEDISI This collaborative presentation by Berklee College of Music and the Museum of African American History (Boston and Nantucket) features R&B and jazz vocalist, songwriter, and actress Ledisi Anibade Young, a nine-time Grammy Award nominee who played and sang the role of Mahalia Jackson in Ava DuVernay’s film “Selma.’’ Jan. 29, 7 p.m. Free. Berklee Performance Center. 617-747-2261, www.berklee.edu/BPC
GUTBUCKET The aggro-jazz quartet — saxophone, guitar, bass, and drums — more than lives up to its moniker, fusing hardcore improvisation with punk intensity, as heard on its latest recording, “Dance,’’ a fierce and feverish live joint documenting a weeklong stand at the Stone, John Zorn's NYC performance space. BoCo Percussion opens. Jan. 29, 8 p.m. Tickets: $15. The Record Company, 960 Mass. Ave., Boston. www.timestwoseries.com
DARRELL NULISCH A Dallas native, the soulful singer and harmonica player fronted Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters, and was drafted to sing for legendary blues harpist James Cotton’s band after the leader lost his voice. Jan. 29, 9 p.m. No cover. Chianti Restaurant, 285 Cabot St., Beverly. 978-921-2233, www.chiantibeverly.com
KEVIN LOWENTHAL
Classical
BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Andris Nelsons returns to the podium to kick off the BSO’s three-week Shakespeare celebration with a program featuring Mendelssohn’s Incidental Music to “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,’’ to be presented in a theatrical adaptation directed by Bill Barclay. Also on the bill will be Hans Werner Henze’s BSO-commissioned Symphony No. 8. Jan. 28-Feb. 2, Symphony Hall. 617-266-1200, www.bso.org
ISRAEL IN EGYPT The Cantata Singers under David Hoose’s direction performs the rarely spotted three-part original version of Handel’s popular oratorio. Jan. 29 at Cary Memorial in Lexington, Jan. 31 at Jordan Hall. 617–868-5885, www.cantatasingers.org
A FAR CRY + BLUE HERON Two of the city’s most eloquent ensembles join forces for a program titled “Devotion’’ and featuring the Fauré Requiem, along with works by Francaix, Gombert, and Daniel-Lesur. Jan. 29, 8 p.m., Old South Church, 645 Boylston St. www.afarcry.org, www.blueheronchoir.org
JEREMY EICHLER
ARTS
Theater
VIOLET Boston Conservatory grad Alison McCartan shines as a young North Carolina woman who takes a bus journey across the South in 1964, clinging to the conviction that a TV preacher can heal her disfigured face. Director Paul Daigneault deftly pulls together the disparate pieces of this idiosyncratic musical. Through Feb.?6. SpeakEasy Stage Company, at Wimberly Theatre, Calderwood Pavilion, Boston Center for the Arts. 617-933-8600, www.speakeasystage.com
DISGRACEDAyad Akhtar’s Pulitzer-winning drama about a Pakistani-American attorney who has repudiated his Islamic faith plunges right into the choppy currents of contemporary discourse. Akhtar finds tragedy in the plight of a man locked in an unwinnable war with himself, his heritage, and the assumptions the wider world makes about him. Through Feb. 7. Huntington Theatre Company in association with Long Wharf Theatre at BU Theatre, Boston. 617-266-0800, www.huntingtontheatre.org
SONDHEIM ON SONDHEIM Leigh Barrett and Aimee Doherty are the standouts in this fine revue, though the real star is Sondheim. The nonpareil composer-lyricist is seen frequently in videotaped interviews that offer an illuminating blend of backstage anecdotes, autobiographical insights, and glimpses of his creative process. Through Feb. 21. Lyric Stage Company of Boston. 617-585-5678, www.lyricstage .com
DON AUCOIN
Dance
BALLETBOYZThe innovative all-male modern dance troupe, founded by Royal Ballet principal dancers Michael Nunn and Billy Trevitt, promises a dazzling display of virility, skill, and athleticism in two commissions from leading British choreographers Christopher Wheeldon and Alexander Whitley. Jan. 29, 30. $60-$75. Shubert Theatre. 617-482-6661, www.celebrity series.org
TRINITY IRISH DANCE COMPANY The renowned company has created a legacy based on deep traditional roots combined with imaginative artistic vision, not to mention extraordinary technical skill and exuberant spirit. The troupe presents the Boston premiere of “The Dawn’’ for its first visit to the city in more than a decade. Jan. 30, 31. $35-$68. Emerson/Cutler Majestic Theatre. 617-876-4275, www.worldmusic.org
CATALYSTSThis new Dance Complex initiative spans three weekends of performances that showcase five choreographers chosen for their unique artistic voices: Chavi Bansal, Callie Chapman, Michael Figueroa, Sarah Mae Gibbons, and Kat Nasti. A different lineup each night. Through Feb. 6. $15-$30. Dance Complex, Cambridge. 617-547-9363, www.dancecomplex.org
KAREN CAMPBELL
Galleries
PAUL EMMANUEL: REMNANTS In 2014, the South African artist staged “The Lost Men France,’’ near the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme. The tattered banners depicting his body imprinted with names of lost servicemen anchor this show. Jan. 29-March 20. 808 Gallery, Boston University, 808 Commonwealth Ave. 617-353-3371, www.bu.edu/art
SANDRINE SCHAEFER: PACE INVESTIGATIONS NO. 2 The performance artist investigates time and speed, prioritization and alteration as she repeats a performance eight times, each time shortening its duration. The first one takes four hours; the last, two minutes. Jan. 30, 12-8 p.m. Mobius, 55 Norfolk St., Cambridge. 617-945-9481, www.mobius.org
CATE McQUAID
Museums
ERIC AHO: ICE CUTS A superb suite of paintings by the resident of Vermont, showing Finnish-style plunge pools cut from the surrounding ice in a lively, painterly idiom, austere but full of satisfying complexities. Through March 13. Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H. 603-646-2808. hoodmuseum.dartmouth.edu
MADE IN THE AMERICAS: THE NEW WORLD DISCOVERS ASIA A show of nearly 100 objects from all across the colonial Americas, demonstrating the influence of Asia on creativity in the Americas from the 17th to the early 19th centuries. Features furniture, silverware, textiles, ceramics, and painting from Mexico City, Lima, Quito, Quebec City, Boston, New York, and Philadelphia. Through Feb. 15. Museum of Fine Arts. 617-267-9300, www.mfa.org
BIRDS OF A FEATHER: SHELBURNE MUSEUM’S DECOY COLLECTION Eighty decoys, representing 13 bird species, from this famous collection. Through May 1. Shelburne Museum, Shelburne, Vt. 802-985-3346 www.shelburne museum.org
SEBASTIAN SMEE
EVENTS
Comedy
ROAST BATTLE II Shaun Bedgood hosts this head-to-head roast battle with four main matches, including Andy Ofiesh vs. Dan Sally, Shawn Carter vs. Scott Oddo, Niraj Shah vs. Dana Jay Bein, and Dana Cairns vs. Chris Pennie, put together by Matt Kona. Jan. 28, 8 p.m. $10-$15. Davis Square Theatre, 255 Elm St., Somerville. 617-684-5335, www.davissquare theatre.com
COREY HOLCOMB The Chicago native, one of the stars of Adult Swim’s “Black Jesus,’’ comes to town to tape a new comedy special at the Wilbur. Jan. 29, 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. $25. Wilbur Theatre. 246 Tremont St., Boston. 866-448-7849, www.thewilbur.com
MOLLY POPE LIKES YOUR STATUS This night of songs and laughs has been selling out in New York City. Pope’s brassy show kicks off the Glowberon series, highlighting edgy cabaret performers. Jan. 29, 8 p.m. $25. Oberon, 2 Arrow St., Cambridge. 617-495-2668, www.americanrepertory theater.org/oberon
NICK A. ZAINO III
Family
National Kazoo Day Come see what all the buzz is about. Guests will make all manner of musical miscellania, and while not all parents may be totally jazzed, remember that art doesn’t always need to be understood. Jan. 28, 2 p.m.-4:30 p.m. $11.50. The Discovery Museums, 177 Main St., Acton. 978-264-4200. www.discoverymuseums .org/events/national-kazoo-day
Chocolate Fest Do you honestly need more convincing? Meet local chocolate-makers and, yes, sample their wares. You can always tell yourself you’re getting into the Valentine’s Day spirit. Jan. 30, 31, 10?a.m.-4 p.m. Free. Wilson Farm, 10 Pleasant St., Lexington. 781-862-3900. www.wilsonfarm .com/v2.0/events/events.html
Travel Tuesday: China Over 1.3 billion people live there, so why not get to know China a little better? Countless crafts and activities will introduce globally-minded kids from 5 to 11 to Chinese culture, geography, and wildlife. Feb. 2, 4:30-5:30 p.m. Free. Boston Public Library, 700?Boylston St. 617-859-2387. maps.bpl.org/events
Joe Incollingo
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Feb. 11 Baio at Brighton Music Hall. www.ticketmaster.com
Feb. 13 and 14 Ms. Lauryn Hill at Paradise Rock Club www.ticket master.com
Feb. 14 1984 at American Repertory Theater www.american repertorytheater.org
Feb. 22 Animal Collective at Royale www.ticketmaster.com
Feb. 27 Jason Isbell at House of Blues concerts.livenation.com
March 2 Neko Case at Orpheum Theatre www.ticketmaster.com
Joe Incollingo
Sarah Rodman can be reached at srodman@globe.com.
