Updated. Arts Fuse critics select the best in film, theater, music, dance, visual arts, and author events for the coming week.

By The Arts Fuse Staff

Film

Boston Area Film Schedules — What is playing today, Where and When

Corn’s-A-Poppin’
August 3 at 7 p.m.
Harvard Film Archive, Cambridge, MA

Of all the films in this remarkable Robert Altman series this could well be oddest. It was written by Altman, but not directed by him. He rarely talked about it. He was 27. According to archivists at the Chicago Reader, the film originated with Elmer Rhoden Jr., an old school pal of Altman’s in Kansas City whose father co-owned Commonwealth Theatres and whose brother was chairman of the Popcorn Institute. They came up with the idea of a locally shot, popcorn-related feature that could play the circuit. For the project’s director, Rhoden turned to Robert Woodburn, who ran a local company that cranked out 16-millimeter industrial films. Altman helped out with the script. The pair auditioned talent and snagged nightclub singer Jerry Wallace. Hobie Shepp and the Cowtown Wranglers, a local band, provided musical back-up. Kansas City actors filled out the cast. The best catch was amateur child actress Cora Rice, whose snotty character monitors the progress of the TV extravaganza. She eventually renders her verdict: “It stinks!” Here’s the trailer.

E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial
Tuesday, August 4 (Rain Date: August 11)
On the Rose Kennedy Greenway Wharf District Park, Boston

Is there a better film for a family summer outing? The Coolidge Corner Theater and the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway Conservancy present a free outdoor screening of the Spielberg classic. A few factoids: Spielberg originally came up with a story that featured a family terrorized in their home by aliens. That idea became Poltergeist. E.T.’s real name is Zrek. His face was modeled after Albert Einstein, Carl Sandburg, and a pug. Directions

Mistress America
Thursday August 6th. Doors at 6:30 p.m. Screening at 7:30
Brattle Theatre, Cambridge, MA

The Independent Film Festival of Boston presents a free preview of Noah Baumbach’s new film, written with and starring actress Greta Gerwig. Passes can be downloaded here. First come, first served. “Tracy (Lola Kirke) is a lonely college freshman in New York, having neither the exciting university experience nor the glamorous metropolitan lifestyle she envisioned. But when she is taken in by her soon-to-be stepsister, Brooke (Greta Gerwig) — a resident of Times Square and adventurous gal about town — she is rescued from her disappointment and seduced by Brooke’s alluringly mad scheme.” (IFFB)

Caveat: One of our film critics was none too pleased with Baumbach’s latest outing. Gerald Peary called it “Provincetown’s number one dud — a dreadful attempt at speeded-up screwball comedy, stylized in a Whit Stillman way but without a modicum of Whit’s wit.” If you are fan, the screening is free, so decide for yourself. Be warned — the humorless spies from Fox Searchlight will be there to glower at the audience to make sure the friendly Cambridge crowd is not bootlegging the movie with secret eyeglass cameras — or whatever they imagine goes on.

— Tim Jackson

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Dance

ON TAP – Beantown Tapfest Faculty Showcase
August 7 at 8 p.m.
Arsenal Center for the Arts
Watertown, MA

Enjoy an evening of “the greats” in tap: the lineup includes Michelle Dorrance, Josh Hilberman, Sarah Reich, Barbara Duffy, Sean Fielder, and Ryan P. Casey. They will be performing alongside the Paul Arslanian Trio. For more events, classes, and lectures that are taking place throughout the festival (August 3-9) visit.

Titania | Mid-Summer Night’s Dance
August 8 at 8 p.m.
Green Street Studios
Cambridge, MA

Green Street Studios presents Titania — a part dance party, part performance event that serves as both a celebration of the local dance scene and fundraiser for the organization. Attendees are given chances to dance, drink, feast, and observe, with dinner provided by South End local Masa.

And further afield…

Malpaso Dance Company
August 5–August 8 at 8 p.m., August 8 and 9 at 2 p.m.
Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival
Becket, MA

Dance and music lovers alike should head out to Western Mass this weekend for Malpaso Dance Company at Jacob’s Pillow. Hailing from Cuba, the company will perform two new works, one to the music of Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Ensemble, the other to tunes by Grandma Kelsey. Guest choreography by the renowned Trey McIntyre and Malpaso’s Artistic Director Osnel Delgado.

— Merli V. Guerra

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Visual Arts

August Arts and Crafts Shows

If you happen to be in New England this time of year, the chances are very good that there’s a artisan festival, crafts fair, or outdoor art sale somewhere not far from you. These seasonal events typically mix art, crafts, music, food, local lore and products, the best available scenery, and old-fashioned country fun into an endless variety of diverting packages.

Below is a tiny sampling of the end-of-summer arts and crafts offerings. There are far too many to list in full, the majority coming up before Labor Day closes the warm weather season down until next spring. There will be plenty of original, creative pieces to acquire to remind you of the Summer of 2015 during the long Winter of 2016. And if you don’t buy anything this year so what? You will experience tons of local color.

Annual League of New Hampshire Craftsmen’s Fair
Though August 9
Newbury, New Hampshire

A big, fat granddaddy of New England crafts fairs, the 82nd annual edition of this festival takes place over an entire week on the grounds of the Mount Sunapee Ski Resort in Newbury. Less than two hours from Boston, the show is so huge and exhausting you might want to stay over and spend an extra day or two to recover. Everything is laid out below the ski lifts in a series of tents as well as scattered around the resort’s base lodges. The fare this summer features an intimidating 350 booths with every imaginable handmade product that might fall somewhere under the “Arts and Crafts” rubric, along with workshops, classes, demonstrations, lots of food, music, performers, and, for the creatively paranoid, strolling mindreaders.

Wilton Blueberry Festival
August 7 – 8, Wilton, ME

The theme may be blueberries, but the program of this locally based fair up in Wilton, Maine (a bit north of Livermore Falls) includes a little bit of everything: a Blueberry Pancake Breakfast, Maine-produced edibles, author talks, swimming at the town beach, a parade, fireworks, a Baby and Toddler Derby Race (watch out for the collisions!), and a decent selection of craftspeople vending their wares. Who knew the humble blueberry complemented so much?

Bar Harbor Fine Arts Festival 2015
August 7 – 9, Bar Harbor, ME

This distinctly upscale fair takes place in the grounds of the posh Bar Harbor Inn on the Bar Harbor waterfront. Pitched, in particular, at the area’s well-off summer visitors, this show features paintings and other fine art offerings. Even if you aren’t in the market for another sofa painting, the setting alone is well worth a stroll.

World Quilt Show – New England XIII
August 13 – 15, Manchester, New Hampshire

You can find handmade quilts at just about any New England crafts fair, but this professionally-managed venue takes place indoors at downtown Manchester’s air conditioned Radisson Center and draws from around the world. Its organizers bill it as “one of the most internationally diverse events of its kind” and throw in a free World Quilt Panel and Forum Ice Cream Social with your registration fee. A hotel package is also available.

41st Annual Milford Oyster Festival
August 14 – 15, Milford, CT

This famous food-themed fair was voted “5th Best Oyster Festival Nationwide” on foxnews.com. Along with a promised 30,000 sustainably fished oysters and clams, a shucking contest, and a lot of locally produced music and summer food, the festival boasts a hefty arts and crafts contingent featuring southern New England artisans. Admission is free. The oysters are not.

Gloucester Waterfront Festival
August 15 -16, Gloucester, MA

The seacoast town of Gloucester, MA, bills itself as “the oldest working art colony in North America.” In fact, the area has drawn the likes of Winslow Homer and other artistic worthies since Victorian times. Held in the historic and pastoral Stage Fort Park that over looks Gloucester Harbor, the 34th annual Gloucester Waterfront Festival will feature the work of over 175 artists and craftspersons, a juried selection drawn from throughout the U.S. Live music, local ethnic foods, and a Rotary Club Pancake Breakfast round out the festivities.

Bristol Boat and Artisan Show
August 17 – 18, Bristol, RI

Seaside Bristol, Rhode Island, mixes “a broad range of maritime businesses” with art and artists in this event, staged along the lovely Bristol Waterfront. Admission is free; exhibition fees and raffles benefit local charities.

Artists and Artisans in Paradise
August 30, Stratford, CT

Located in Paradise Green Park in Stratford, Connecticut (of Shakespeare Festival fame), Artists and Artisans in Paradise bills itself as “a true community arts celebration” and “a day of art, music, poetry for the family to enjoy.” At the tender age of three, this is one of the more youthful New England arts and crafts festivals but, so far as I know, it is the only one to feature “Poetry on the Hour.” The artisan exhibits will be especially rich in jewelry this year.

Mad River Valley Craft Fair
September 5 – 6, Waitsfield, VT

Set in a classic Vermont landscape between two famously challenging ski resorts, the Mad River Valley is also home to a long-running crafts fair. Held in a big field with surrounding views of the mountains, the 45th annual edition features more than 100 crafts-people along with the expected food, music, and fun (but no pets allowed). This Labor Day Weekend event will close out the summer season in inimitable Vermont style. See you next year!

— Peter Walsh

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Jazz

“Continuums”
Tuesday, August 4, 8 p.m.
Lily Pad, Cambridge, MA.

Here’s where the rubber meets the road (or, provide your favorite cliché here): Billed as “A Night of Pure Improvisation in Four Parts,” this event convenes the great alto saxophonist Jim Hobbs with esteemed cellist Daniel Levin for the first set, and then the band Leap of Faith, with PEK on clarinets and multiple reeds, Glynis Lomon on cello and voice, Steve Norton on clarinets and saxes, and Yuri Zbitnov on drums. The Hobbs/Levin segment is billed “Time,” the Leap of Faith act is “Space,” and a finale with both ensembles combined will be “Spacetime.” I’m guessing that the unbilled fourth segment will be the Event Horizon – I don’t doubt this aggregate of talent can take us there.

— Jon Garelick

Mixcla
Monday, August 3, 6 p.m.
Regattabar Courtyard, Cambridge, MA

The Charles Hotel’s Regattabar is pretty quiet during the month of August, but there are some interesting sounds to be heard at the free outdoor concerts presented by Berklee’s Summer in the City series. On Monday evening, savor the Cuban/Chilean flavors of this trio led by composer/pianist/vocalist Zahili Gonzalez Zamora, with bassist Gerson Esteban Lazo Quiroga and drummer Takafumi Nikaido.

Litchfield Jazz Festival
Friday, August 7 – Sunday, August 9
Goshen Fairgrounds, Goshen, CT

One of New England’s foremost jazz events celebrates its 20th anniversary with a strong lineup that includes clarinetist/saxophonist Anat Cohen, bassist Avery Sharpe’s celebration of Sister Rosetta Sharpe, harmonica man Grégoire Maret, drummer Matt Wilson, trombonist Wycliffe Gordon, guitarist Mike Stern, trumpeter Sean Jones, and bassist Christian McBride, as well as a salute to drummer Charli Persip and tributes to the late Thomas Chapin and Les Paul.

Springfield Jazz & Roots Festival
Saturday, August 8, 11 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Springfield, MA

Western Massachusetts welcomes a significant new summer event with the opening of the Springfield Jazz & Roots Festival. Featured artists include Jesus Pagan & Conjunto Barrio, vocalist Deva Mahal (daughter, yes, of Taj), Avery Sharpe’s “Sharpe Meets Tharpe” project, Big Chief Donald Harrison with special guest Dr. Lonnie Smith, and New Orleans piano master Henry Butler and trumpeter/arranger Steven Bernstein with their Hot 9.

Coladera
Sunday, August 9, 7 p.m.
Lily Pad, Cambridge, MA

Named after the Cape Verdean morna‘s uptempo cousin, this intriguing trans-Atlantic trio brings together Portuguese guitarist João Pires, Brazilian guitarist Vitor Santana, and guest Brazilian percussionist Fernando Saci (filling in for Marcos Suzano) for an exploration of the musical ties that bind Portugal, Cape Verde, Brazil, and other nations of the Lusophone world.

Gray Sargent
Tuesday, August 11, 7:30 p.m.
Sahara Club, Methuen, MA

Guitarist Gray Sargent has gotten some well-deserved moments in the limelight backing Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga on their “Cheek to Cheek” tour. Here he steps out as leader of a quartet with saxophonist Arnie Krakowsky, bassist Marshall Wood, and drummer Jim Gwin.

— J. R. Carroll

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Theater

Henry V by William Shakespeare. Directed by Jenna Ware. Staged by Shakespeare & Company in the Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre, Lenox, MA, through August 23.

Those hungry for more history plays by the Bard after Henry VI, Part 2 have an opportunity to continue the adventure with the prequel: “Henry V is rare among Shakespeare’s works because it contains explicit references to true events in England’s history. Following the death of his father, Prince Hal takes on the crown, rallies his exhausted troops and sets forth to repair his post-civil war nation.” Is the text pro-war? Anti-war? A little of both? It depends on where director Ware puts the emphasis.

Red Velvet by Lolita Chakrabarti. Directed by Daniela Varon. Staged by Shakespeare and Company at the Tina Packer Playhouse, Lenox, MA, August 6 through September 13.

A powerhouse line-up, featuring OBIE Award-winning actor John Douglas Thompson, presents the American premiere production of a play about the legendary Ira Aldridge, the first African-American actor to play Othello on the English stage in 1833. Aldridge played a number of roles in Shakespeare’s plays (including King Lear, Macbeth, Shylock, and Richard III), but Othello was his signature part. In his fine new book Great Shakespeare Actors, Stanley Wells writes that “he continued to develop [the role] over the course of his career. Aided (like Paul Robeson after him) by a powerful physique and noble voice, he played Othello with deep self-identification and at times terrifying passion.”

Unknown Soldier, Book & Lyrics by Daniel Goldstein, Music & Lyrics by Michael Friedman. Directed by Trip Cullman. Staged by the Williamstown Theatre Festival in the Nikos Stage, July 30 through August 9.

The world premiere of a musical that examines the relationship between memory and family mythology: “Ellen Rabinowitz sets out to understand her past after she discovers an enigmatic photograph while cleaning out her deceased grandmother’s home. As she chases the truth about the soldier featured in the photo, Ellen is drawn into a tangle of historical facts and mysteries that lead her to surprising love stories and unexpected truths.”

Waitress, Book by Jessie Nelson, Music and Lyrics by Sara Bareiles. Directed by Diane Paulus. Choreography by Chase Brock. Staged by the American Repertory Theater at the Loeb Drama Center, Cambridge, MA, through September 20.

The world premiere of a musical based on the motion picture written by Adrienne Shelly. “Jenna, a waitress and expert pie maker, is stuck in a small town and a loveless marriage. When a baking contest in a nearby county offers her a chance at escape, Jenna must weigh her commitments against a rare shot at freedom and recognition.” Tony Award winner Jessie Mueller (Beautiful) stars as the food server at the center of it all.

Memory House by Kathleen Tolan. Directed by Sheila Siragusa. Staged by the Chester Theatre Company at Chester’s Historic Town Hall, 15 Middlefield Road, Chester, MA, July 29 through August 9.

Tolan’s play explores a mother/daughter relationship, “a moving story about the complex issues raised by international child adoption.” Stage, film, and television actress Debra Jo Rupp stars. Arts Fuse review

National Puppetry Festival at the University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, August 10 through 16.

A feast, featuring puppeteers from 12 nations on five continents, for those who love puppets and the art of puppetry. “Highlights of the festival will include 20 public performances by more than 25 national and international puppeteers, 30 professional workshops, six visual art exhibitions, “Puppetry in Film” series, a giant puppet parade, and a nightly Festival Pub Showcase. Four master puppeteers also will be honored: Caroll and Debbie Spinney of Sesame Street, Peter Schumann of the politically radical Bread & Puppet Theater, and Chuck McCann, the New York children’s television star and voice actor.”

Thoroughly Muslim Millie by Ryan Landry. Performed by The Gold Dust Orphans. At the Provincetown Theater, 238 Bradford Street, Provincetown, MA, through September 6.

Leave it to Landry to take musical parody where most American theaters fear to tread. Seen many plays about the Middle East lately? With music? The satiric set-up: “A young girl from a Canadian convent! Thrust across the border into the Middle East and straight into the arms of the Prince of Persia! And what do Dick and Lynne Cheney have to do with all this?” WARNING: This is an ADULT parody! DO NOT BRING YOUR CHILDREN!

A Little More Alive, by Nick Blaemire. Directed by Sheryl Kaller. Staged in the St. Germain Stage by the Barrington Stage Company, Pittsfield, MA, through August 8.

The East Coast premiere of Blaemire’s songfest: “in this heartfelt and original folk-pop musical, two estranged brothers reunite at their childhood home after their mother’s funeral. An unexpected revelation distorts every memory they have as they uncover secrets that had been hiding in plain sight their whole lives. Brothers Nate and Jeremy find that no one is exempt from the grey area between right and wrong.”

King Lear by William Shakespeare. Directed by Steven Maler. Staged by Commonwealth Shakespeare on the Boston Common, through August 9.

The 20th season production of CSC’s Free Shakespeare on the Common is a special treat — the company’s first try at producing one of the Bard’s most challenging tragedies — King Lear. Will Lyman stars as the “aging king, faced with his own mortality and mental decline, who tries to secure the legacy of his kingdom by dividing it amongst his three daughters. Only through loss — of status, of love, of loyalty — does King Lear learn what is truly resonant at the end of a life.” Arts Fuse review

A Moon for the Misbegotten by Eugene O’Neill. Directed by Gordon Edelstein. Staged in the Nikos Stage at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, Williamstown, MA, August 5 through 23.

Broadway heavyweights take on O’Neill’s exploration of the fleeting satisfactions of love and forgiveness. Six-time Tony Award-winner Audra McDonald and Tony Award-nominee Will Swenson are in the cast.

The Unexpected Man by Yasmina Reza. Translated by Christopher Hampton. Directed by Seth Gordon. Staged by Shakespeare & Company at the Tina Packer Playhouse, Lenox, MA, through September 6.

The production stars Corinna May and, making his S&Co. debut, John Woodson in a story that “follows a middle-aged man and woman who sit opposite each other in the detached intimacy of a train compartment on a journey from Paris to Frankfurt. He is a world famous author; she, one of his biggest fans, carries his latest novel in her handbag and ponders the dilemma of reading it in front of him.”

The New Electric Ballroom by Edna Walsh. Directed by Robert Walsh. Staged by the Gloucester Stage at 267 East Main Street, Gloucester, MA, July 23 through August 15.

A New England premiere: “A dark comedy about three sisters living in a small town on the coast of Ireland. The youngest, Ada, works at the local fish-packing plant, but Breda and Clara stay home and relive their teenage encounter with a 1950s rocker at the New Electric Ballroom. Their surreal routine is interrupted by Patsy, a fishmonger who ends up offering the sisters more than just the catch of the day.” The impressive cast includes Nancy E. Carroll, Adrianne Krstansky, and Marya Lowry. Arts Fuse review

Eyes Shut, Doors Open by Cassie M. Seinuk. Directed by Christopher Randolph. Staged by Wax Wings productions at the Inner Sanctum Gallery, Dudley Square, Roxbury, MA, August 6 through 15.

A new play from a promising playwright is always worth a look: “A modern Cain and Able story set in the SoHo art scene of New York City. Turner Street’s bold paintings are the hottest thing to hit the scene – they’ve even captured the attention of the elusive Johanna, who has an agenda of her own. But things don’t go as planned, when in the middle of the night Turner’s one-eyed, pill-popping, younger brother Palmer shows up, and Turner must face the disturbing truth of his success, the haunting family secrets shut behind doors, and risk losing it all.”

Northside Hollow written and directed Jonathan Fielding and Brenda Withers. Directed by At the Harbor Stage Company, 15 Kendrick Avenue on Wellfleet Harbor, Wellfleet, MA, through August 8.

The world premiere production of a play expressly written for the HSC: “Trapped underground after a deadly collapse, a miner finds his salvation in the arrival of a scrappy first responder. An intimate portrait of mortality, memory, and redemption.”

I Saw My Neighbor On the Train and I Didn’t Even Smile by Suzanne Heathcote. Directed by Jackson Gay. Music by Ryan Kattner. Staged by the Berkshire Theatre Group and the New Neighborhood at the Unicorn Theatre, Stockbridge, MA, through August 15.

A world premiere production about the “utter loneliness of human existence”: “This is Rebecca’s life: she wakes up, eats a sensible breakfast, wraps herself in three layers, drives to the train station, commutes to her bookkeeping job in the city, watches the clock, goes home, cooks dinner for her domineering mother, watches TV, and falls asleep grieving for her dead dog. Every day is the same as the next until Rebecca’s underachieving brother begs her to take care of her troubled niece—and she does what she always does—she lets it happen. In an unforgivingly bitter month, three generations of women with nothing in common, except a deeply buried ache, try to keep the cold away.” Perfect summer theater counter-programming. Arts Fuse review

— Bill Marx

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Roots and World Music

Grandma’s Hands Gospel Concert featuring the Mighty Clouds of Joy
August 9 at 3 p.m.
United House of Prayer, 206 Seaver Street, Dorchester, MA

The Mighty Clouds of Joy are the last of the great gospel quartets still touring with their original lead singer (Joe Ligon). Although the band scored a disco-era hit with “Mighty High,” their most important legacy is keeping authentic gospel both alive and relevant since their 1960 debut. While Ligon now lets his younger bandmates dominate a portion of the set, his hard shouting vocals are still unbeatable. Any local appearance by the Clouds is a big event — and this program is no exception. 10 local and national groups are also on the bill.

Reggae in the Park featuring Beres Hammond
August 9 at 6:30 p.m.
Franklin Park Zoo, Boston, MA

Incredibly, two other musical greats are performing within a few feet of the Mighty Clouds of Joy on Sunday. Beres Hammond’s rasp has graced a seemingly endless string of hits. His songwriting tells mature stories of love, heartache, and good times: he is the undisputed king of “big people” music. The second edition of this outdoor mini-festival also features Freddie McGregor, a reggae crooner who got his start at Kingston’s Studio One label in the heyday of rocksteady. One caveat: tickets can only be bought in advance, not at the gate.

— Noah Schaffer

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Classical Music

Monadnock Music Finale
Presented by Monadnock Music
August 7, 7:30 p.m.
Peterborough Town House, Peterborough (N.H.)

The New Hampshire festival’s 50th anniversary-season finale is an all-Gershwin affair, including the Rhapsody in Blue and Piano Concerto in F. Former Monadnock music director Alan Feinberg is the soloist while current music director Gil Rose conducts the Monadnock Chamber Orchestra. Other selections orchestrated by Paul Whiteman will be included and the evening ends with a celebratory reception.

Mahler’s “Symphony of a Thousand”
Presented by the Tanglewood Music Festival
August 8, 8:30 p.m.
Tanglewood Music Shed, Lenox, MA

The Leonard Bernstein Memorial Concert comes early (and on a Saturday) this year, with a concert to celebrate the 75th birthday of the Tanglewood Music Center. If he were still around, no doubt Bernstein would be conducting the sole piece on the program — Mahler’s Symphony no. 8; in the event, Andris Nelsons leads the TMCO plus alumni of the TMC; an all-star cast of soloists; Tanglewood Festival Chorus; BUTI Chorus; and American Boychoir.

Spend a Sunday at Tanglewood
Presented by the Tanglewood Music Festival
August 9, 10 a.m., 2: 30 p.m., and 8 p.m.
Seiji Ozawa Hall and Tanglewood Music Shed, Lenox

You simply can’t go wrong with anything being played today. At 10, musicians from the TMC give a concert of chamber music by Schoenberg (Verklärte Nacht), Crumb (Ancient Voices of Children), Carter (String Quartet no. 5), Holloway-Nahum (The Geometry of Clouds), and Brahms (the String Sextet no. 1). In the afternoon, Joshua Bell plays Glazunov’s Violin Concerto with the BSO in the Shed. Charles Dutoit conducts and also leads the orchestra in Mussorgsky’s Night on Bare Mountain and Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique. To wrap things up, Yo-Yo Ma and Emmanuel Ax play the complete Beethoven cello sonatas that evening.

— Jonathan Blumhofer

Violinist Angelo Xiang Yu and Pianist Jonie Qiuning Huang
August 4 at 7:30 p.m.
At the Keiter Center/Walnut Hill School, 12 Highland Street, Natick, MA

On the program: Mozart’s Sonata for Violin and Piano K. 301 No. 18 in G Major; Beethoven’s Sonata for Violin and Piano No.7, Op.30 No.2; Stravinsky’s Suite Italienne for Violin and Piano;
Chausson’s Poeme; Ravel’s Tzigane.

Pianist George Li
August 7 at 7:30 p.m.
At the Keiter Center/Walnut Hill School, 12 Highland Street, Natick, MA

On the program: Chopin’s Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23, Impromptu No. 2 in F-sharp major, Op. 36, Waltz in A-flat major, Op. 42, and Andante Spianato and Grande Polonaise Brillante, Op. 22; Rachmaninoff’s Variations on a Theme of Corelli, op. 42; Ravel’s La Valse.

Clarinetist Todd Palmer and Pianist Ieva Jokubaviciute
August 8 at 7:30 p.m.
At The Carriage House, 203 High Street, Newburyport, MA

On the program: Debussy’s Première Rhapsodie; Brahms’s Clarinet Sonata No. 1 in F Minor, Op. 120;
Reise’s Disenchanted Forest (world premiere); Vaughan Williams’s Six Studies in English Folksong; Poulenc’s Clarinet Sonata.

— Susan Miron

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Rock

Thurston Moore Band
August 2
The Sinclair, Cambridge, MA

Best known for his role as co-leader of Sonic Youth, Thurston Moore has released four solo albums. His latest, 2014’s The Best Day, was his first to be released after the breakup of his marriage and his band. Since the release of the record, he’s been touring often and this show marks the second time he’s come to the Sinclair in the past 9 months.

Brandon Flowers
August 3
House of Blues, Boston, MA

The Killers frontman released his second solo album The Desired Effect in May of this year. It’s being received (mostly warmly) as a pop album, though that’s hardly a huge surprise. The Killers have always been poppy. If the group ever decides to call it a day, it’s clear Flowers will still have a long career ahead of him.

Jamie XX
August 9
Royale, Boston, MA

The producer, remixer, and DJ Jamie XX has had much success as a member of English group the XX, but it’s his solo work that has him on the minds of music fans lately. His album In Colour was released in May and he has released two singles from it, including the catchy “I Know There’s Gonna Be (Good Times).”

Upcoming and On Sale…

Dick Dale (8/15/2015, Middle East-Downstairs); Willie Nelson & Family (8/21/2015, Blue Hills Bank Pavilion); AC/DC (8/22/2015, Gillette Stadium); Counting Crows (8/23/2015, Blue Hills Bank Pavilion); Social Distortion (8/23/2015, House of Blues); J. Geils Band (8/27/2015, Blue Hills Bank Pavilion); The Vaccines (8/30/2015, The Sinclair); Speedy Ortiz (8/30/2015, Rock and Blues Concert Cruise); Death Cab For Cutie (9/11/2015, Blue Hills Bank Pavilion); Rancid (9/15/2015, House of Blues); Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters (9/20/2015, Blue Hills Bank Pavilion); Albert Hammond Jr. (9/20/2015, The Sinclair); Bob Mould (9/23/2015, The Sinclair); Frank Turner & the Sleeping Souls (9/25/2015, House of Blues); Boston Calling (featuring Avett Brothers, Alt-J, and Alabama Shakes) (9/25-27/2015, City Hall Plaza); Ghost (9/28/2015, House of Blues); The Jesus and Mary Chain (9/29/2015, House of Blues); Kurt Vile and the Violators (10/2/2015, Paradise Rock Club); Kraftwerk (10/3/2015, Wang Theatre); Ride (10/3/2015, Paradise Rock Club); Mark Knopfler (10/9/2015, Orpheum Theatre); Catfish and the Bottlemen (10/16/2015, Royale); Garbage (10/21/2015, Orpheum Theatre); Ringo Starr and His All Star Band (10/23/2015. Citi Performing Arts Center); The Who (10/29/2015, TD Garden); My Morning Jacket (11/20-21/2015, Orpheum Theatre)

— Adam Ellsworth

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Author Events

Nuala O’Connor
Miss Emily: A Novel
August 4 at 7 p.m.
Harvard Book Store, Cambridge MA
Free

O’Connor’s novel concerns the world of the Dickinson family, respectable but eccentric, through the eyes of 18-year-old Ada Concannon, ITS newly hired Irish maid. Ada strikes up a friendship with Emily (the poet), who wears only white and refuses to leave the house and engage with the world outside, until Ada’s safety and security are put in jeopardy.

J Shoshanna Ehrlich
Regulating Desire: From the Virtuous Maiden to the Purity Princess
August 4 at 7 p.m.
Brookline Booksmith, Coolidge Corner MA
Free

Given all the right-wing consternation as well as agitation about reproductive rights, it might be a good time to hear a professor of women’s studies weigh in on how society has treated women’s sexuality, starting from the 19th century’s criminalization of seduction to abstinence-only sex eduction.

Padraig O’Malley
The Two-State Delusion: Israel and Palestine — A Tale of Two Narratives
August 5 at 7 p.m.
Brookline Booksmith, Coolidge Corner MA
Free

Padraig O’Malley is a world-renowned peacemaker who has worked in South Africa, Ireland, and Iraq. He has authored and edited numerous books about global politics and the nature of resolving conflict. His latest work deals with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, arguing that the opportunity for a two-state solution is now past.

Chitra Viraraghavan
The Americans
August 5 at 7 p.m.
Porter Square Books, Cambridge MA
Free

Chitra Viraraghavan is a professor at Tufts University who has been an editor at Oxford University Press in India and is the great granddaughter of the second President of India. Her novel tells the story of Tara, an Indian woman who travels to America to take care of her teenage niece, and whose life intersects with a number of others who are seeking their identity in what to them is a strange new world.

Matthew Battles
Palimpsest: A History of the Written Word
August 6 at 7 p.m.
Harvard Book Store, Cambridge MA
Free

Battles is the author of Library: An Unquiet History. He will be reading and discussing the history of the written word. Over the years writing has been treated as both sacred and subversive, a gift from mythic heroes or a lethal curse. And its role in society has always been changing, particularly now, giving that print is being pushed aside by the disembodied world of digitization.

Cape Cod Writers Center 2015 Conference
August 6 at 7:25 p.m. – August 9 at 7:25 p.m.
Osterville, MA
Memberships run between $25 and $125

Summer can be an excellent time to catch up on any writing projects left unattended. The Cape Cod writers center is offering a weekend focused on creative writing in all its forms, including interviews with established authors, writing seminars, group readings, and guidance on how to get your work published.

— Matt Hanson