Friday, Jan. 26

Queer Soup-er Bowl from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at CultureHouse, 64 Union Square, Somerville. Free, but RSVP. Bring a favorite soup or soup accompaniment and enjoy the company of other queer and trans folks while also enjoying a warm potluck meal. Information is here.

Nightingale Vocal Ensemble – Photoplay from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at The Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle St., Harvard Square, Cambridge. $20 to $30. Nine virtuoso singers who collaborated on the 2023 album “Composition Sped Up” will improvise soundtracks to short films, ranging from early silents to absurd comedy and contemporary works. Information is here.

Cuban Dance with Boston Rueda from 6 to 8 p.m. at The Foundry, 101 Rogers St., East Cambridge (and continuing every Friday). $15. No partner or experience necessary to learn this group dance to Cuban and other salsa music involving the changing of partners. Information is here.

“Reclaiming Freedom,” a discussion of Boston Review’s Fall 2023 issue at 7 p.m. at Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Ave., Harvard Square, Cambridge. Free. Aziz Rana of Boston College Law School discusses the appropriation of the language of freedom by the political right. Brandon M. Terry of Harvard joins a conversation co-sponsored by the Boston Review. Information is here.

Shit-Faced Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew” from 7 to 8 p.m. at The Rockwell, 255 Elm St., Davis Square, Somerville (and continuing tomorrow and next weekend). $30 and 21-plus. A one-hour version of the bard’s witty and bawdy play that includes one actor randomly selected who drinks before and during the performance, leaving the remaining sober cast to incorporate, rectify, justify and generally improvise around the drunkenness. Information is here.

Musical Comedy Night Improv Jam from 7 to 9:30 p.m. at the café at Arts at the Armory, 191 Highland Ave., Somerville. Free, but donations are welcomed. A fully improvised musical by Uncomposed, the solo-improv talents of Party of One and the mini-musical mashup Mamma Misérables followed by an all-access improv jam open to anyone. Information is here.

Emo Night Tour at 7:30 p.m. at Somerville Theatre’s Crystal Ballroom, 55 Davis Square. $18 to $25. The popular throwback party returns for those wanting to relive all the sadness. Information is here.

“Machine Learning” at 8 p.m. at Central Square Theater, 450 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square, Cambridge (through Feb. 25). $24 to $78. Starting today is a play by Francisco Mendoza about an AI nursing application that increases its learning as the health of the man it cares for deteriorates. The application’s creator must confront his responsibility; he’s also the man’s son. Produced in partnership with Teatro Chelsea. Information is here.

“Ballads, Fancies and Courtly Airs”: Songs and instrumentals from 17th century England from 8 to 9 p.m. at Lindsay Chapel, First Church in Cambridge, 11 Garden St. (entrance on Mason Street), Harvard Square. $25 to $30, cash or check only. Mezzo-soprano Carrie Cheron joins the El Dorado Ensemble on viols, lutes, bandora and cittern playing music by Weelkes, Simpson, Lawes, Lupo, Robinson and others. Information is here.

R!SK, a sober open stage for all things drag from 8 to 10:30 p.m. at The Foundry, 101 Rogers St., East Cambridge. $5 to $15 and 18-plus. Hosted by Killah Croc and Kulfi Jaan with special guest Heather Rose and 20 performers of all styles (some under 21 and some making their drag debut). Note: masks are required (and available), and it’s customary to bring cash to tip performers. Organized by Aster R*sk. Information is here.

Improv Boston: The Finale from 9 to 10:30 p.m. at The Rockwell, 255 Elm St., Davis Square, Somerville. $25 and 21-plus. The 40-year-old Cambridge comedy theater bids farewell with a final show full of laughs and gratitude. We wrote about the closing here. Information is here.

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Saturday, Jan. 27

Winter seed exploration from 1 to 2:30 p.m. at The Growing Center, 22 Vinal Ave., near Union Square, Somerville. Free. Learn about seed saving and planting methods, especially related to native perennials. Tour the winter garden and bring a mug to enjoy herbal tea blends. Information is here.

Game day from 1 to 4 p.m. at The Dojo at Somernova, 15 Properzi Way, in Ward Two, Somerville, between Porter and Union squares (and the last Saturday of every month). Free. A community day with food and beverages, a doughnut-eating contest, raffle and gift-card giveaway for games from bingo and trivia to video games. Information is here.

“Machine Learning” (continued) at 3 and 8 p.m. at Central Square Theater, 450 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square, Cambridge. $24 to $78. Information is here.

Biodanza: Rhythm and Flow movement session from 3 to 5 p.m. at Friends Meeting House, 5 Longfellow Park, near Harvard Square, Cambridge. $25 to $40 and 18-plus. Simple exercises with music from around the world. No experience necessary; bare feet or indoor shoes only. Information is here.

La Juerga Flamenco community dance from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at The Foundry, 101 Rogers St., East Cambridge. $15 (age 8 and under free). Flamenco and Spanish dance and music organized by Yu-Ling Hu. Information is here.

’90s board game and karaoke fundraiser for Bigger Bodies Boston from 6 to 10 p.m. at Cambridge Community Center, 5 Callender St., Riverside. $100. Boston rapper Brandie Blaze performs at this retro party with food, beverages and silent auction so the New England-based fat liberation activist group can raise funds to make their events financially accessible. Information is here.

“Dancing with the Stars”–style fundraiser for the Cambridge Program at 7 p.m. at the Dante Club, 5 Dante Terrace off Craigie Street, in the Spring Hill neighborhood near Porter Square in Somerville. $20. Dance routines with partners including “some of Cambridge’s favorite residents” to help pay for activities and programming for individuals with special needs. Information is here.

Shit-Faced Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew” (continued) from 7 to 8 p.m. at The Rockwell, 255 Elm St., Davis Square, Somerville. $30 and 21-plus. Information is here.

VoiceLab A Cappella from 7 to 9 p.m. at Arts at the Armory, 191 Highland Ave., Somerville. $15. Grad students and young professionals perform a variety of music with voice and vocal percussion. Information is here.

“Doctor Who” meetup and social from 7 p.m. to midnight at the New England Science Fiction Association from noon to midnight at the group’s clubhouse at 504 Medford St., Magoun Square, Somerville. Free, but RSVP. View classic and new “Who” and socialize with fellow fans. Information is here.

Andrew James Safioleas performs original music from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Somerville Music Spaces, 1060 Broadway, Suite C101B, Somerville. $10. Enjoy a sampling of the program the pianist will perform at Carnegie Hall in March, plus vocal works from soprano Yan Lian and tenor Robert Bartolome. Information is here.

EK Duo perform “Zodiac Dust” and other music at 8 p.m. at the Longy School of Music, 27 Garden St., Harvard Square, Cambridge. Free to $20. Information is here. Bassoonist Rachael Elliott (faculty) and percussionist Thomas Kozumplik (Loop 243), founding members of the seminal indie-art group Clogs, invite Longy alums pianist Jonathan Reddix and cellist Tyler James to perform music from the Clogs catalog as well as pieces from post-minimalist contemporaries. Information is here.

Anne Howarth of Juventas New Music Ensemble 8 p.m. at the Multicultural Arts Center, 41 Second St., East Cambridge. $25 to $35. This unique solo program, with contemporary music inspired by water, celebrates the hornist’s five years with the ensemble. Information is here.

Radical Love: A Collective Movement dance performance from 8 to 9:15 p.m. at The Dance Complex, 536 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square, Cambridge (and repeating Sunday). $20. The Chicago-based contemporary Indian group Natya presents pieces addressing how we face grief and isolation to affirm joy and resilience. Information is here. 

Cuban Saturday Night Happy New Year from 8:30 to 11 p.m. at Rumba and Timbal Studio, 7 Temple St., Central Square, Cambridge. $15 to $20. A night of Cuban music and dance (casino, rumba, reparto, conga, son, rueda and more). Information is here.

Third Annual Salsa and Bachata Winter Ball Gala at 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. at the Dante Alighieri Society Center, 41 Hampshire St., Kendall Square, Cambridge. $20 and 21-plus. An elegant night of music, dance performances and nonstop dancing to salsa, bachata, merengue and Latin tunes. Four well-dressed attendees will be crowned gala royalty. Music by DJ Ninrod. The evening starts with a beginner-friendly lesson, no partner necessary. Information is here.

Zouk Room from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. at the Dante Alighieri Society Center, 41 Hampshire St., Kendall Square, Cambridge. $20 and 21-plus. Simultaneous with the gala (above) you can take the stairs from the lobby and go to the right for one-hour of warm-up Brazilian zouk dancing followed by three hours of social dancing. Information is here.

Union Comedy presents “The Kerfuffle” at 9:30 p.m. at The Rockwell, 255 Elm St., Davis Square, Somerville. $20 and 21-plus. Jackie Arko and Tess Varney host this blind-booked vaudeville variety show featuring a mix of sketch, interactive and completely undefinable comedy. Information is here.

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Sunday, Jan. 28

“Glee” + “Pitch Perfect” drag brunch from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Summer Shack, 149 Alewife Brook Parkway, Alewife, Cambridge. $20. Enjoy a meal during this tribute to the songs and characters from the iconic show and movies. Hosted by Neon Calypso. Information is here.

School of Rock Watertown students perform from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Arts at the Armory, 191 Highland Ave., Somerville. Free. Students perform contemporary genres and themes (Joan Jett vs. Pat Benatar takes the stage at 1:15 p.m.). Information is here.

“Machine Learning” (continued) at 2 p.m. at Central Square Theater, 450 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square, Cambridge. $24 to $93. Information is here.

LGBTQ Improv Comedy from 2 to 4 p.m. at CultureHouse, 64 Union Square, Somerville. Free, but register. Hang out, talk and do some improv. Information is here.

Cheap Art Salon puppetry workshop from 2 to 5 p.m. at Cambridge Community Center, 5 Callender St., Riverside. Free. A brief history of puppetry, fabrication workshop and more. Materials provided to make your own. Information is here.

Somerville Lunar New Year Fest 2024 from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. at East Somerville Community School, 50 Cross St., Somerville. Free. Arts and crafts, traditional Chinese shadow play, some Lunar New Year–themed snacks and Vincent Yee, author of the “Clara Wu” book series. Sponsored by SomerViva and the Somerville Asian Family Network. Information is here.

Songwriter Lindsay Foote at 3 p.m. at Aeronaut Brewing, 14 Tyler St., near Union Square, Somerville. Free. Some of the confessional indie-folk songs by the Winchester-born songwriter and producer have featured on CBS’ “The Young and the Restless.” Information is here.

“Ballads, Fancies and Courtly Airs”: songs and instrumentals from 17th century England from 3 to 4 p.m. at the Somerville Museum, 1 Westwood Road, in the Spring Hill neighborhood. $20 to $25. Mezzo-soprano Carrie Cheron joins the El Dorado Ensemble on violas, lutes, bandora and cittern playing music by Weelkes, Simpson, Lawes, Tomkins, Robinson and others. Information is here. 

Growing Center annual meeting from 3 to 4:30 p.m. upstairs at Bow Market, 1 Bow Market Way, Union Square, Somerville. Free. All are invited to hear about 2023’s accomplishments, current financials, this year’s budget and changes in store for 2024, plus how to get involved in the upcoming 30th anniversary celebrations. Information is here.

Be The Change book discussion at 3 to 5 p.m. at Porter Square Books, 25 White St., Porter Square, Cambridge. Free. Listen to a discussion of the books “The Spirit Level: Why Greater Equality Makes Societies Stronger,” “Doughnut Economics: 7 Ways to Think Like a 21st Century Economist” and “Capital & Ideology” by a retiree group including educator Claryce Evans, economist and professor John Gruenstein, education writer Alain Jehlen and global warming activist and computer programmer Robert Wald. Twenty percent of bookstore sales during the event will go to Mutual Aid Medford and Somerville. Information is here.

Movie Night: “Frozen” from 4 to 6 p.m. at the MIT Welcome Center, 292 Main St., Kendall Square, Cambridge. Free. This family-friendly matinee offers popcorn and welcomes you to sing along. Information is here.

Radical Love: A Collective Movement dance performance (continued) from 7 to 8:15 p.m. at The Dance Complex, 536 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square, Cambridge. $20. Information is here. 

Conference of Non-Musicians from 7 to 10 p.m. at Lilypad, 1353 Cambridge St., Inman Square, Cambridge. $10. Self-identified non-musicians and creatives (and non-creatives!) are welcomed to the stage by host G. Gordon Gritty to make music, or at least sound. Information is here.

Night Song: Canticum Vespertinum Sings the Office of Compline from 7:30 to 8:15 p.m. at First Church in Cambridge, 11 Garden St., Harvard Square. Free, but donations are welcomed. A 45-minute candlelit service to help you recharge. Information is here.

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Monday, Jan. 29

Bring Your Own Lunch social from noon to 1 p.m. at the Cambridge Public Library Valente Branch, 826 Cambridge St., Wellington-Harrington, Cambridge. Free, but register. Take a break to meet neighbors and network. Dessert provided! Information is here.

Menachem Fisch and Debra Band read from “Qohelet: Searching for a Life Worth Living” from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in the conference room of the Center for the Study of World Religions, 42 Francis Ave., in the Baldwin neighborhood near the Somerville border, Cambridge. Free, but register. The Tel Aviv University philosophy professor and the artist of Hebrew illuminated manuscripts, who have published numerous acclaimed works separately, discuss their collaboration reinterpreting Ecclesiastes through commentary and paintings. Information is here.

Creativity Collective: A Meetup for Art and Craft Makers from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the auditorium at Somerville Public Library, 79 Highland Ave., Central Hill (and the last Monday of every month). Free, but register. Those who draw, paint, sculpt, knit, crochet, sew, make paper crafts or fabric art are welcome to bring projects and work. No official teachers, just social learning or quiet work time as preferred; light refreshments served. Information is here.

Jenny L. Howe reads from “On the Plus Side” at 7 p.m. at Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Ave., Harvard Square, Cambridge. Free. The author of “The Make-Up Test” talks about her new romantic comedy featuring a quiet, plus-size heroine who lands on a makeover-themed TV show. Alechia Dow, author of “The Sound of Stars” and “A Song of Salvation,” joins the conversation. Information is here.

Sub Rosa Songwriting Retreat performance at 7 p.m. at Club Passim, 47 Palmer St., Harvard Square, Cambridge (also tomorrow). $25. A group of 15 who spent a retreat together last June creating songs reunite to perform them with a 10-piece symphony of singers, acoustic guitars, mandolins, pump organ, bass, Wurlitzer and “fuzzy” drums. Information is here.

“House of Flame and Shadow” midnight release party at 10:30 p.m. at Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Ave., Harvard Square, Cambridge. $40, with book. Be the first to grab the latest installment in Sarah J. Maas’ bestselling Crescent City series, plus trivia, costume contests and more. Information is here. 

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Tuesday, Jan. 30

“Gen Silent” film screening at 10 a.m. at the Citywide Senior Center, 806 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square, Cambridge. Free and ages 60-plus only. View and discuss this 2010 documentary directed by Stu Maddux following six LGBT seniors in the Boston area who must choose if they will hide their sexuality to survive in the long-term health care system. Information is here.

Sit ’n’ Knit from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. at the Cambridge Main Library, 449 Broadway, Mid-Cambridge (and continuing every Tuesday). Free. Bring a project and enjoy the company of other crafters. Refreshments provided. Information is here.

“Examining the Effects of Culturally Relevant Education” lecture from 4:30 to 5:45 p.m. at Larsen Hall, 14 Appian Way, Room 106, Harvard Graduate School of Education, Harvard Square. Free. University of Pennsylvania professor Sade Bonilla reports that offering a Grade 9 ethnic studies course in the San Francisco Unified School District increased probability of high school graduation among the students who took it who had been near the 2.0 grade point in eighth grade and increased engagement throughout high school as well as probability of postsecondary matriculation. Information is here.

Knitting Group from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Cambridge Public Library’s Boudreau Branch, 245 Concord Ave. Observatory Hill in Neighborhood 9. Free. Bring yarn and needles and find out what fellow knitters are up to. Information is here.

Sub Rosa Songwriting Retreat performance (continued) at 7 p.m. at Club Passim, 47 Palmer St., Harvard Square, Cambridge. $25. Information is here.

Jill McCorkle reads from “Old Crimes” at 7 p.m. at Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Ave., Harvard Square, Cambridge. Free. The author of “Hieroglyphics” talks about her new short story collection that features characters who hold their secrets and misdeeds close, even as the past continues to reverberate. “Night Watch” author Jayne Anne Phillips joins the conversation. Information is here.

Annie and The Fur Trappers performs with The Velvet Dirtmunchers at 7 p.m. at The Rockwell, 255 Elm St., Davis Square, Somerville. $15 to $18 and all ages. The band originally from St. Louis, Missouri, that performs music from the 1920s and 1930s (with instruments ranging from trombone and banjo to washboard) teams up with a genre-bending sextet from Boston featuring sultry vocals, squeezebox and “impudent” horns. Information is here.

Ilyon Woo reads from “Master Slave Husband Wife” at 7 p.m. at Porter Square Books, 25 White St., Porter Square, Cambridge. Free, but register. The author discusses her bestseller, now in paperback, about the remarkable true story of Ellen and William Craft, who escaped slavery through daring, determination and disguise, with Ellen passing as a wealthy, disabled White man and William posing as “his” slave. The Boston Globe’s Anna Kuchment joins the conversation. Information is here.

Bluesy Tuesy Social Dance from 7:30 to 10 p.m. at The Democracy Center, 45 Mount Auburn St., Harvard Square (and every Tuesday). $5 to $20. This weekly partner blues dance event includes a lesson for beginners in the first hour. No partner required. Information is here.

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Wednesday, Jan. 31

Fiber crafts drop-in from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Cambridge Library’s O’Connell Branch, 48 Sixth St., East Cambridge. Free. Bring a project and knit, embroider, crochet, spin, mend, cross stitch and more with other crafters. Information is here.

“Psychedelics, Sacred and Subversive” reading and learning group from noon to 2 p.m. in the conference room of the Center for the Study of World Religions, 42 Francis Ave., in the Baldwin neighborhood near the Somerville border, Cambridge (and every other Tuesday). Free, but register. The yearlong reading group launching today explores psychedelic spirituality and addresses questions increasingly urgent for religious scholars, practitioners and policymakers. Information is here.

Midday Music and Soup with The Fresh Pond Five from 12:15 to 1 p.m. at the MIT Welcome Center, 292 Main St., Kendall Square, Cambridge. Free, but register. The wind quintet of musicians from the Cambridge Symphony Orchestra play while you sip a free hot cup of soup from Souper Roll Up Café. Bring a mug and get a special sweet treat. Information is here.

Gallery Talk: Conserving the Portraits of Native American Leaders by Henry Inman from 12:30 to 1 p.m. at the Harvard Art Museums, 32 Quincy St., near Harvard Square, Cambridge. Free, but register. Conservator Cristina Morilla discusses her treatment of Inman’s captivating portraits of an Asakiwaki/Sauk warrior and a Chippewa chief on view for the first time. Information is here.

Askwith Education Forum: “A Healthy Childhood in a Changing Climate” from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Longfellow Hall, 13 Appian Way, near Harvard Square. Free, but register. Clinton Foundation vice chair Chelsea Clinton moderates a panel on how the environment affects early childhood development. Information is here.

CelebriTea Book Club from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in the community room of the Somerville Public Library West Branch, 40 College Ave., near Davis Square. Free. Bring a favorite mug or teacup and discuss a tell-all celebrity memoir while drinking tea (provided). This month: “Love, Pamela” by Pamela Anderson. Information is here.

 

Nicholson reads from “The Garretts of Columbia: A Black South Carolina Family from Slavery to the Dawn of Integration” at 7 p.m. at Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Ave., Harvard Square, Cambridge. Free. The author of the fiction collection “Flying Home: Seven Stories of the Secret City” chronicles his newspaper editor great-grandfather and rural schools supervisor great-grandmother and their children, who ultimately joined the Great Migration, in his new nonfiction book rich with details culled from thousands of letters. Harvard’s Michael R. Klein joins the conversation. Information is here.

Poets Martha Collins and Nguyen Ba Chung present the work of Tuệ Sỹ from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Grolier Poetry Book Shop on 6 Plympton St., Harvard Square, Cambridge. $10, but register. The co-translators of “Dreaming the Mountain” read and discuss poems by author Tuệ Sỹ, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk. With an introduction by Fred Marchant. Information is here.

“Machine Learning” (continued) at 7:30 p.m. at Central Square Theater, 450 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square, Cambridge. $24 to $78. Information is here.

Drag Night at Aeronaut from 8 to 10 p.m. at Aeronaut Brewing, 14 Tyler St., near Union Square, Somerville. $15. This month’s lineup of locals Kings and Queens includes Dykelangelo, Coleslaw, Severity Stone, Neon Calypso and Mx. Minge. Information is here.

Imagining “Machine Learning”: A Conversation with Francisco Mendoza and Gabriel Vega Weissman from 9 to 9:30 p.m. at Central Square Theater, 450 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square, Cambridge. Free. The playwright and director talk about the process of bringing “Machine Learning” to the stage. Information is here.

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Thursday, Feb. 1

Thursday Morning Talks: Dr. Anne Hansen from 10:15 a.m. to noon at Holy Trinity Armenian Church, 145 Brattle St., West Cambridge. $20 or $125 (suggested donations for individual talk or series subscription), and registration is required. The Boston physician and researcher speaks on “Improving Outcomes for the World’s Poorest Newborns.” The January and February lecture series is a fundraiser for Mount Auburn Hospital in its 87th year. Information is here.

Brandon Terry on “The Rhetoric of Black Populism: From Malcolm X to the ‘Manosphere’” from 4:30 to 6 p.m. in the Belfer Building, 79 John F. Kennedy St., Harvard Square, Cambridge. Free, but register. A lecture by Brandon Terry, Harvard professor of social sciences and co-director of the Institute on Policing, Incarceration and Public Safety at the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research. Information is here.

Antonia Hylton reads from “Madness: Race and Insanity in a Jim Crow Asylum” at 6 p.m. in the lecture hall at the Cambridge Main Library, 449 Broadway, Mid-Cambridge. Free, or $31.88 with book. During this event co-sponsored with Harvard Book Store, the award-winning NBC News journalist tells the 93-year-old history of Maryland’s Crownsville Hospital, one of the last segregated asylums. Author Jesse McCarthy of Harvard joins the conversation. Information is here.

“Poems of Electronic Air” artist talk by Jacqueline Kiyomi Gork and opening reception from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts, 24 Quincy St., Harvard Square, Cambridge. Free. Launching Friday (and continuing through Apr. 7), the exhibition involves a series of larger-than-life “sound blanket” sculptures of wool and silicone; a sound and sculptural installation of wool and fiberglass columns, black river stones and contact microphones for amplified playback; and an outdoor commission on the center plaza of soft architecture that inflates and deflates alongside a musical composition. Kiyomi Gork talks from 6 to 7 p.m., followed by a reception. Information is here.

Hisham Matar reads from “My Friends” at 7 p.m. at Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Ave., Harvard Square, Cambridge. Free. The Pulitzer Prize–winning memoirist and Booker Prize–shortlisted novelist discusses his new novel about a friendship between a young man from Benghazi living in London and an enigmatic author of short stories, plus the agonizing tensions between revolution and safety, family and exile. Information is here.

Shit-Faced Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew” (continued) from 7 to 8 p.m. at The Rockwell, 255 Elm St., Davis Square, Somerville. $30 and 21-plus. Information is here. 

“Machine Learning” (continued) at 7:30 p.m. at Central Square Theater, 450 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square, Cambridge. $24 to $78. Information is here.

Brazilian bass virtuoso Michael Pipoquinha and Friends perform from 7:30 to 9 p.m. at Regattabar, 1 Bennett St., Harvard Square, Cambridge. $20 to $30. In this rare appearance, Pipoquinha will be accompanied by Ebinho Cardoso (piccolo bass), Ian Coury (mandolin), Rafael Barata (drums) and Maxim Lubarsky (piano). Information is here.

Atomic Indie Improv Night from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. in the café at Arts at the Armory, 191 Highland Ave., Somerville. Free, but register. A monthly improv show featuring new and veteran local talent. Information is here.

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Friday, Feb. 2

“Decolonizing Ukraine in Theory and Practice” conference from 9:45 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the Tsai Auditorium at the Center for Government and International Studies, South Concourse, 1730 Cambridge St., Harvard Square (and continuing tomorrow). Free, but register. This four-panel Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute conference considers policy around Ukraine and its neighbors amid a perpetual Russian threat. Keynote by Dora Chomiak, chief executive of the Ukraine humanitarian aid group Razom. Information is here.

Curator tour of “List Projects 28: Sophie Friedman-Pappas and TJ Shin” from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. at MIT List Visual Arts Center, 20 Ames St., Kendall Square, Cambridge. Free, but register. Curator Selby Nimrod leads a walkthrough of an exhibit, up through Feb. 11, in which the artists layer history with fiction and speculation and put to work odd technology such as drawing machines and camera-less photography and filmmaking. Information is here.

“Locusts of Power: Borders, Empire and Environment in the Modern Middle East” lecture from 2:30 to 4 p.m. at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Building E-51, also known as the Tang Center, 70 Memorial Drive, Cambridge. Free, but register. As part of the Seminars in Environmental Agricultural History series, Vanderbilt University’s Samuel Dolbee sheds light on borders and state formation by following locusts and their relationship to people in motion (nomads, deportees and refugees), homing in on the Jazira, the borderlands of today’s Iraq, Syria and Turkey. Information is here.

Dr. Jen Gunter reads from “Blood: The Science, Medicine and Mythology of Menstruation” at 6 p.m. The Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle St., Harvard Square, Cambridge. $10, or $35 with book. The bestselling author of “The Vagina Bible” and “The Menopause Manifesto” discusses her funny, no-nonsense guide. Bonnie Talbert of the Harvard College Women’s Center talks with Gunter in this Harvard Book Store event. Information is here.

Cuban Dance with Boston Rueda (continued) from 6 to 8 p.m. at The Foundry, 101 Rogers St., East Cambridge. $15. Information is here.

Shit-Faced Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew” (continued) from 7 to 8 p.m. at The Rockwell, 255 Elm St., Davis Square, Somerville. $30 and 21-plus. Information is here.

“Machine Learning” (continued) at 8 p.m. at Central Square Theater, 450 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square, Cambridge. $24 to $78. Information is here.

Cécile McLorin Salvant performs at 8 p.m. at Sanders Theatre, 45 Quincy St., near Harvard Square, Cambridge. $45 to $92. With a passion for storytelling and finding the connections between vaudeville, blues, theater, jazz, baroque and folkloric music, Salvant gravitates toward rarely recorded forgotten songs with strong narratives, interesting power dynamics, unexpected twists and humor. Information is here.

Cha Jung-won (known as Car, the garden) performs at 8 p.m. at Somerville Theatre’s Crystal Ballroom, 55 Davis Square. $45 to $55. The indie-rock singer-songwriter from South Korea is well-known for his inimitable vocals and for his unusual professional name, a literal translation of his birth name. Information is here.

The Swing Legacy performs for Boston Swing Central from 8 to 11:45 p.m. at Q Ballroom, 26 New St., Fresh Pond, Cambridge. $13 to $20. This social partner dance with live music includes a lesson for beginners in the first hour. No partner required; no street shoes allowed. Information is here.

The Warped Tour Band: A Tribute to Emo/Pop-Punk at 8 p.m. at The Middle East Downstairs, 480 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square, Cambridge. $20 to $25 and 18-plus. Presented by League Podcast and Rock On! Concerts. Information is here.

Comedy duo Britanik performs from 9:30 to 11 p.m. at The Rockwell, 255 Elm St., Davis Square, Somerville. $20 to $25 and 21-plus. Sketch masters Brian McElhaney and Nick Kocher have written for “Saturday Night Live” and “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” if you need convincing. Information is here.