Thursday, Oct. 2
Gallery Talk: Rebecca Horn: In Memoriam (1944–2024) from 12:30 to 1 p.m. at Harvard Art Museums, 32 Quincy St., near Harvard Square, Cambridge. Free. Curator Lynette Roth examines the German artist’s photos of the body and objects, on view in the galleries and at the museums’ Prescott Street entrance.
Victoria Redel reads from “I Am You” at 7 p.m. at Porter Square Books, 1815 Massachusetts Ave., Porter Square, Cambridge. $28 with book, RSVP required. In this love story, the author reimagines the life of Dutch Golden Age painter Maria van Oosterwijck in the form of Maria, who has a love affair with Gerta, pretending to be a man, so she can work for Maria’s genteel family. Author Claire Messud joins.
Leanna Renee Hieber reads from “America’s Most Gothic” at 7 p.m. at All She Wrote Books, 75 Washington St., East Somerville. $32 with book. In this nonfiction book, Hieber explores the true stories behind the gothic tropes – foggy nights enveloping dark mansions, rooms you are forbidden to enter – of movies and novels, such as teenage Mercy Brown, infamous from of Rhode Island’s vampire hysteria of the 1890s, and Marguerite de la Roque, a French noblewoman condemned for “sexual crimes” to Canada’s long-lost Isle of Demons. All She Wrote Books owner Christina Ciampa joins.
Walter Mosley reads from “Gray Dawn: An Easy Rawlins Mystery” at 7 p.m. at Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Ave., Harvard Square, Cambridge. Free. In this 17th installment in The Easy Rawlins mystery series, Lutisha James has a secret that threatens the detective’s peaceful life.
ThotBot Implantation Center from 7 to 9 p.m. at Bow Market, 1 Bow Market Way, Union Square, Somerville (and continuing through Oct. 30). $26. This interactive installation, created by musician-filmmaker-multimedia artist Rebecca Kopycinski, is a dystopian story world including waiting room, intermission and intake interview, and it closes with a concert featuring live music and narrative video.
Blues Union dances from 7 to 11 p.m. at Dance Union, 16 Bow St., Union Square, Somerville. $10 to $25. A lesson in the first hour, then an hour to socialize, rest or practice with a partner before two hours of social dancing. Wear shoes that allow you to pivot; no need to bring a partner.
The Mike Stern Group at 7:30 p.m. at Regattabar, 1 Bennett St., Harvard Square, Cambridge. $35 to $48. The jazz guitarist performs his new album “Echoes And Other Songs.” Also performing: Dennis Chambers, Leni Stern, Edmond Gilmore and Bob Franceschini.
The Adventure Time Trio at 7:30 p.m. at Aeronaut Brewing, 14 Tyler St., near Union Square, Somerville. Free. Adventurous modern jazz drawing from Brooke Sofferman’s original material and some jazz standards reimagined.
Get to the Gig presents Makaya McCraven at 8 p.m. at Arts at the Armory, 191 Highland Ave., Spring Hill, Somerville. $35. The drummer and prolific jazz composer called by The New York Times “one of the best arguments for jazz’s vitality.”
Elias Cardoso album release at 8 p.m. at Club Passim, 47 Palmer St., Harvard Square, Cambridge. $23 to $25. Berklee College of Music trained, he has toured in both the United States and Europe with Old Blind Dogs, Mari Black, Dave Cory, Celtic Rhythms, the Strawberry Hill Band and his band Glenville.
InFATuation: An All Fat All Spooky Burlesque & Drag Revue Halloween Edition at 8 p.m. at Somerville Theatre’s Crystal Ballroom, 55 Davis Square. $30 to $36. A night of burlesque and drag celebrating “fat bodies” hosted by Dahlia Strack and Jane Doe.
Lift Every Voice: Bipoc Short Play Festival at 8 p.m. at the Multicultural Arts Center, 41 Second St., East Cambridge (and continuing Oct. 3). $30. This inaugural festival honors what would have been the 100th birthday of Malcolm X. Featured playwrights include Bella Takata, Chinyere Obasi, Rosanna Yamagiwa Alfaro, Mary E. McCullough and Hortense Gerardo.
Friday, Oct. 3
Oktoberfest at Broadway at 4 p.m. at Lamplighter Brewing, 284 Broadway, The Port, Cambridge (continues Saturday). $10 and 21-plus. Craft beers, stein-holding competitions, music, giant pretzels, bratwurst and other German-inspired dishes and free beers throughout the day for those wearing the finest lederhosen and dirndls.
Christine J. Cross reads from “Inherited Inequality: Why Opportunity Gaps Persist between Black and White Youth Raised in Two-Parent Families” at 7 p.m. at Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Ave., Harvard Square, Cambridge. Free. The Harvard sociology professor’s debut book answers the 1965 report on “The Negro Family,” in which author Daniel Patrick Moynihan concluded that single-parent households disadvantaged children. Cross refutes that argument and discusses how a two-parent household is not the solution to racial issues children face. Boston University’s Anthony Abraham Jack joins.
“Reflections and Influences” piano recital at 7 p.m. at Somerville Music Spaces, 1060 Broadway No. C101B, Somerville. Free. Jeong Yun Yang and Minyoung Rho perform classical work on piano such as Rachmaninoff’s Sonata, as well as pieces by Amy Beach, Mel Bonis and Clifton Callender.
“Humanity at the Dawn of AI” dance at 7:30 p.m. at the Museum of Science, 1 Science Park, Boston, on the Cambridge border. $10. A Syren Modern Dance performance asks “What if we not only allowed AI in the room, but invited it to the table?”
The Mike Stern Group (continued) at 7:30 p.m. at Regattabar, 1 Bennett St., Harvard Square, Cambridge. $35 to $48.
Bobcat Goldthwait at 7:30 p.m. at The Comedy Studio, 5 John F. Kennedy St., Harvard Square, Cambridge (and repeating Saturday). $35. The comedian has been around, from starring as Zed in the “Police Academy” franchise and opening for the band Nirvana to directing his own dark films and working as a panelist for NPR game show “Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!” Eugene Mirman guests.
Lift Every Voice: Bipoc Short Play Festival (continued) at 8 p.m. at Multicultural Arts Center, 41 Second St., East Cambridge. $30.
A Ruehr Retrospective concert from 8 to 9:30 p.m. at Killian Hall in the Hayden Library Building at 160 Memorial Drive at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge. Free, but register. Composer-in-residence with Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra Elena Ruehr performs four pieces, including the world premiere of “Troubled Times” on piano.
“Renaissance 001” rave from 8 to 11:30 p.m. at Arts at the Armory, 191 Highland Ave., Spring Hill, Somerville. $26. This “Way Underground” series of sound and light promotes emerging artists Sleepy Opiate, Velvette Blue, k0d4m4, Reverie and RJ.
“Greed” film showing at 8:30 p.m. at the Harvard Film Archive at The Carpenter Center, 24 Quincy St., Harvard Square, Cambridge. $15. Erich von Stroheim’s 1924 black-and-white silent film about class struggle– shockingly straightforward at the time and unusually filmed wholly on location – was nine hours long. This version is still groundbreaking at two and a half hours, with live musical accompaniment by Robert Humphreville.
Jam session with saxophonist Andy Voelker from 10 p.m. to midnight at The Mad Monkfish, 524 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square, Cambridge. Free. The improviser and composer brings along members from a rotating rhythm section of local greats.
Bastian Void: “Polyshades” record release from 10:30 to 11:59 p.m. at Lilypad, 1353 Cambridge St., Inman Square, Cambridge. $10. The electronic band performs music from the new album with opening sets from John Thayer and Ben Seretan, on tour from New York.
Mikayla Shirley jazz from midnight to 1 a.m. at The Mad Monkfish, 524 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square, Cambridge. Free to enter. Late-night entertainment from a Berklee College of Music student.
Saturday, Oct. 4
Student spotlight tour from 11 to 11:50 a.m. at the Harvard Art Museums, 32 Quincy St., near Harvard Square, Cambridge. Free. A tour led by Harvard students explores three or four works through a theme of each guide’s choosing. In this excursion, Ricardo Fernandes Garcia explores how representations of innocence have enabled artists to address conflict and war. The stops on the tour are Winslow Homer’s “The Brush Harrow” (1865); George Grosz’s “Nutcracker” (1931); and Joseph Cornell’s “Midnight Carrousel” (1954).
Party for disability Pride from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Joan Lorentz Park at 441 Broadway, Mid-Cambridge (in front of the Cambridge Main Library). Free. A celebration with silent disco, arts and crafts, free food, giveaways, a sensory-friendly area with tactile activities, informational tabling on resources and more.
Discover Mount Auburn introductory walk from 1 to 2:30 p.m. at Mount Auburn Cemetery, 580 Mount Auburn St., West Cambridge. Free, but registration required. This 1.5-mile tour focuses on stories of history, monuments and the lives of those buried at this National Historic Landmark.
Oktoberfest at Broadway (continued) at 2 p.m. at Lamplighter Brewing, 284 Broadway, The Port, Cambridge. $10 and 21-plus.
Fall party from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Kendall/MIT Open Space at 292 Main St., Kendall Square, Cambridge (rain date is Oct. 5). Free, but register. Music from Fly By Brass Band; free popcorn and cotton candy and food trucks with meals and treats for purchase; plus lawn games, face painting and kids’ activities.
Time Out for Public Art tour: East Cambridge at 3 p.m. at Centanni Park, Third and Otis streets, East Cambridge. Free, but RSVP required. A guided 60-minute walk features public art in the neighborhood and discussion of how Cambridge Arts commissions and maintains it for public enjoyment.
Colonial Revival cemetery symbolism walk from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at Mount Auburn Cemetery, 580 Mount Auburn St., West Cambridge. $12. A look at Mount Auburn’s Colonial Revival gravestone monuments with an expert, education manager Corinne Elicona.
Comedian Dustin Nickerson at 6 p.m. at Arts at the Armory, 191 Highland Ave., Spring Hill, Somerville. $46. The comic’s debut special “Overwhelmed” from 2020 is one of the highest rated on Amazon Prime Video.
Stand Up Comedy Live! with Atsuko Okatsuka at 7 p.m. at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Kresge Auditorium, 48 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge. There’s a waitlist for free seats. The comedian’s second stand-up special, “Father,” recently premiered on Hulu and internationally on Disney+.
Classical Indian dance at 7 p.m. at The Dance Complex, 536 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square, Cambridge. $50. Neena Prasad performs mohiniyattam, an Indian classical dance from the southern Indian state of Kerala, to music from an ensemble. The dance is recognized for its embodiment of feminine grace, curvilinear movements and poetic expression, and Prasad is regarded as one of the leading figures. We wrote about it here.
Rebecca Minor reads from “Raising Trans Kids: What to Expect When You Weren’t Expecting This!” at 7:30 p.m. at Connexion, 149 Broadway, East Somerville. $5, or $20 with the book. This book, which helps navigate cultural pressures, launches with a reading, moderated discussion with a panel of parents of trans youth, audience Q&A and signing by the author.
Bobcat Goldthwait (continued) at 7:30 p.m. at The Comedy Studio, 5 John F. Kennedy St., Harvard Square, Cambridge. $35.
Revolutionary Snake Ensemble album release at 7:30 p.m. at Regattabar, 1 Bennett St., Harvard Square, Cambridge. $24 to $36. A funk brass band, led by saxophonist/composer Ken Field, celebrates the release of its fifth album, “Serpentine” – recorded live at Regattabar.
Swing City Boston swing lesson and dancing from 8 p.m. to midnight at the West Cambridge Youth Center, 680 Huron Ave. $20. A one-hour lesson on East Coast/six-step followed by social dancing to music from Sinti Rhythm.
Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra at 8 p.m. at Sanders Theatre, 45 Quincy St., near Harvard Square, Cambridge. $25 to $50. This is Season 218, Concert 1, with Gustav Mahler’s “Rückert-Lieder” and “Symphony No. 4” with mezzo-soprano Maire Therese Carmack. Federico Cortese conducts.
Ronin music ensemble performs from 8 to 10 p.m. at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Thomas Tull Concert Hall, 201 Amherst St., Cambridge. Free to $15. Swiss pianist-composer Nik Bärtsch creates “zen-funk” that fuses electronica and minimalism with soul, jazz, funk and new classical music with his Ronin ensemble since 2001. Kaspar Rast plays drums, Jeremias Keller on bass and Sha on bass clarinet. Guest Sumie Kaneko is on koto and shamisen.
Sunday, Oct. 5
Visit our great oaks from 1 to 2:30 p.m. at Mount Auburn Cemetery, 580 Mount Auburn St., West Cambridge. $5 to $12. See some oak trees believed to be as old as Mount Auburn – which recently celebrated its 194th birthday.
Catherine Bowness and Alex Rubin perform from 1 to 3 p.m. at An Sibin, 1193 Cambridge St., Cambridge. Free. Bowness and Rubin host a “bluegrass brunch” featuring local musicians.
Student spotlight tour from 2 to 2:50 p.m. at the Harvard Art Museums, 32 Quincy St., near Harvard Square, Cambridge. Free. A tour led by Harvard students explores three or four works through a theme of each guide’s choosing. In this excursion, Jade Xiao explores how art “makes its own realities.” The works on the tour are French artist Nicolas Régnier’s “Self-Portrait with an Easel” (circa 1620-1625), “Composite Portrait of a Man” (Roman Egypt, early second century C.E.) and the painting “Proun 12E” (1923) by El Lissitzky.
“Mangrove” screening at 3 p.m. at the Harvard Film Archive at The Carpenter Center, 24 Quincy St., Harvard Square, Cambridge. Free. Directed by Steve McQueen, this 2020 black-and-white and color film is set at a Caribbean restaurant in West London’s neighborhood of Notting Hill. It’s part of McQueen’s “Small Axe” series of short works encapsulating the lives of West Indian immigrants in London during the 1960s and 1970s.
Gotta Bal! balboa dance event from 6 to 10 p.m. at Arts at the Armory, 191 Highland Ave., Somerville. Free. This monthly DJ’d event celebrates a dance that originated in Southern California in the 1930s and is danced to faster tempos than Lindy Hop. Soft, flexible, thin-leather or suede soles only.
Auston Habershaw reads from “Faceless Galaxy” at 6:30 p.m. at Pandemonium Books & Games, 4 Pleasant St., Central Square, Cambridge. $5, but RSVP. Cyberpunk stories about an intergalactic assassin against an empire, written with darkly humor and thrills.
Melissa Kassel and Tom Zicarelli Group from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Lilypad, 1353 Cambridge St., Inman Square, Cambridge. $15. The singer and pianist perform original and jazz standards with Bill Jones on sax, Bruce Gertz on bass and Gary Fieldman on drums.
Consuelo Candelaria Trio performs from 7 to 8:15 and 8:45 to 10 p.m. at The Mad Monkfish, 524 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square, Cambridge. Free, but $25 food-and-drink minimum. The jazz pianist performs with Ron Mahdi (acoustic bass) and Mark Walker (drums).
The Boston Festival of New Jewish Music opening night from 7 to 9:30 p.m. at the Multicultural Arts Center, 41 Second St., East Cambridge. $10 to $36. An evening of klezmer music featuring three ensembles: Veretski Pass, Adrianne Greenbaum’s “Fleymusik” and Jake Shulman-Ment & Abigale Reisman’s “Two Strings.”
Christian McBride & Brad Mehldau perform at 7:30 p.m. at Sanders Theatre, 45 Quincy St., near Harvard Square, Cambridge. $46 to $77. Grammy-winning jazz musicians.
Zach Sorkin/Lois Majors Quintet featuring Camila Quintero at 9 p.m. at Lilypad, 1353 Cambridge St., Inman Square, Cambridge. $10 to $15. The jazz band plays music from Sean Mason’s “The Southern Suite” with an opening set from Camila Quintero and her quintet.
Monday, Oct. 6
Philip Taubman and William Taubman read from “McNamara at War” at 6 p.m. at the Cambridge Main Library, 449 Broadway, Mid-Cambridge. Free. Former Washington bureau chief of The New York Times (Philip) and Pulitzer-winning author (William) deliver a portrait of Robert S. McNamara, U.S. secretary of defense from 1961 to 1968; interviews with those closest to him and newly discovered diaries and letters show a man emotionally tortured by the Vietnam War.
Water treatment plant tour from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Water Department facility at 250 Fresh Pond Parkway, in West Cambridge at Fresh Pond, Cambridge. Free. Get to know where your water comes from, chat with water treatment staff and see the equipment in action, including the water-quality lab.
YA book club at 7 p.m. at Porter Square Books, 1815 Massachusetts Ave., Porter Square, Cambridge. Free, but RSVP and 13-plus. This time, discuss “Everything She Does Is Magic” by Morrissey.
E.Y. Zhao reads from the novel “Underspin” at 7 p.m. at Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Ave., Harvard Square, Cambridge. Free. Playing table tennis since the age of 8, Ryan Lo was nurtured to become a champion. By the time he was 21, he had reached the heights of international table tennis that few can imagine but by 25, he was dead. Why had this happened to someone with such promise? (The sport is in a spotlight. “Marty Supreme,” starring Timothée Chalamet as another pingpong prodigy, arrives in theaters Dec. 25.) Author Neel Mukherjee joins.
Jill Lepore reads from “We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution” at 7 p.m. at the First Parish Cambridge Unitarian Universalist, 3 Church St./1446 Massachusetts Ave., Harvard Square, Cambridge. $17, or $52 with book. The Harvard law professor relies on a custom database to grapple with the flawed theory of “originalism” that prevents the law from evolving, examines the history of the Constitution and the difficulties of amending it – with nearly 12,000 amendments introduced in Congress since 1789 and thousands more proposed outside its doors, only 27 have ever been ratified, and none since 1971.
Elan Mehler Trio from 7 to 8 p.m. at Lilypad, 1353 Cambridge St., Inman Square, Cambridge (and every Monday). $15. The jazz pianist and composer who’s released 11 albums performs with Max Ridley and Dor Herskovits.
Martha Wells reads from “Queen Demon” at 7:30 p.m. at Arts at the Armory, 191 Highland Ave., Spring Hill, Somerville. $48 with book. The second book in the “Rising World” series by the author of the “Murderbot” series (now a series on Apple TV+). Holly Black joins.
Hanneke Cassel Trio at 8 p.m. at Club Passim, 47 Palmer St., Harvard Square, Cambridge. $33 to $35. A band fuses influences from the Isle of Skye and Cape Breton with Americana grooves. Keith Murphy is on guitar and vocals with fiddler and vocalist Jenna Moynihan and cellist Tristan Clarridge.
Karaoke Noir from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. at ManRay, 40 Prospect St., Central Square, Cambridge. Free to enter and 19-plus. More than 5,000 songs from new wave, goth, punk, metal and postpunk genres.
Jerry Bergonzi Quartet from 8:30 to 10 p.m. at Lilypad, 1353 Cambridge St., Inman Square, Cambridge (and continuing most Mondays). $10 to $15. Bergonzi brings his tenor sax mastery to this seated show with bandmates Phil Grenadier on trumpet, John Sullivan on bass and Luther Gray on drums.
The Fringe performs at 10 p.m. at Lilypad, 1353 Cambridge St., Inman Square, Cambridge (and every Monday) $15. Remaining members of The Fringe (formed in 1971), tenor-saxophonist George Garzone and bassist John Lockwood perform contemporary jazz.
Tuesday, Oct. 7
Sips and small bites cooking class at 6 p.m. at Bow Market, 1 Bow Market Way, Union Square, Somerville. $65. Chef Edwin Orellana shares food from El Salvador for a Nibble Kitchen series.
Outdoor yoga at 6 p.m. at the Kendall/MIT Open Space at 292 Main St., Kendall Square, Cambridge. Free, but register. For all levels and gradually increasing in intensity, moving slowly and holding poses longer. Bring a yoga mat and wear layers as needed.
Cory Doctorow reads from “Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It” at 6 p.m. Oct. 7 at The Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle St., Harvard Square, Cambridge. $10, or $35 with the book. No one paid attention to Cory Doctorow’s warnings about how the digital world is eroding human rights in the real world – until he got “a bit vulgar” about it.Randall Munroe, creator of the cartoon “xkcd,” joins.
“Essays on transgression” reading at 7 p.m. at Porter Square Books, 1815 Massachusetts Ave., Porter Square, Cambridge. Free, but RSVP required. A series called “Tell-All Boston” looks for works that “lean into the bold, intimate and complicated.” This session includes Nicole Graev Lipson, author of “Mothers and Other Fictional Characters.” Other writers are selected from an open call for submissions.
Aran Goyoaga reads from “The Art of Gluten-Free Bread” at 7 p.m. at Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Ave., Harvard Square, Cambridge. Free. In a book subtitled “Groundbreaking Recipes for Artisanal Breads and Pastries,” the recipe developer and food blogger shares her secret to the best gluten-free bread and 100 recipes for biscuits, bagels and croissants. Dan Souza of America’s Test Kitchen joins.
Candle making and intention setting from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Bow Market, 1 Bow Market Way, Union Square, Somerville. $65. All materials are included to make a 16-ounce soy candle with herbs and flowers.
Smut Slam from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the cafe at Arts at the Armory, 191 Highland Ave., Somerville (and the first Tuesday of every month). $10 suggested donation. An open mic invites participants to tell five-minute, real-life dirty stories. Kat Sistare hosts.
Bluesy Tuesy social dance from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. at the New England Science Fiction Association clubhouse at 504 Medford St., Magoun Square, Somerville (and every Tuesday). $5 to $25. DJs play at this weekly partner blues dance event that includes a lesson for beginners in the first hour.
Almost Olive and Lexi Ugelow at 8 p.m. at Club Passim, 47 Palmer St., Harvard Square, Cambridge. $23 to $25. The alternative-folk duo of fiddler and multi-instrumentalist Jacqui Armbruster and cellist Karl Henry have released its debut “almost album.” Ugelow is a Cambridge singer-songwriter who has toured with Northern Harmony, Culomba, Honey & Soul and Road Dogs.
Indie trivia at 8 p.m. at Aeronaut Brewing, 14 Tyler St., near Union Square in Ward 2, Somerville. Free. Test your knowledge every Tuesday with questions created by local players turned trivia masters. Aeronaut opens the taproom to players and hosts for this independent game of knowledge.
Wednesday, Oct. 8
Boudreau Branch Book Group at noon at the Cambridge Public library’s Boudreau Branch, 245 Concord Ave., Observatory Hill in Neighborhood 9. Free. This month, the selection is “A Thousand Times Before” by Asha Thanki.
Midday Music: MIT Ribotones from 12:15 to 1 p.m. at the Kendall/MIT Open Space at 292 Main St., Kendall Square, Cambridge. Free. Solo and small group chamber performances of classical music.
Mahjong Tile Club at 6 p.m. at Aeronaut Brewing, 14 Tyler St., near Union Square in Ward 2, Somerville. $12.50. A half-hour tutorial and then game play (with beer available to buy).
Books and Brews from 6:15 to 7:30 p.m. at Aeronaut Brewing, 14 Tyler St., near Union Square in Ward 2, Somerville. Free. Hosted by the Somerville Public Library, this month’s title is “In Cold Blood” by Truman Capote.
Prince of all media Matt Farley at 6:30 p.m. at Somerville Public Library West Branch, 40 College Ave., near Davis Square. Free. The Motern Media songwriter has released more than 25,000 songs under various pseudonyms, performed on Jimmy Fallon and made cult classic films such as “Don’t Let the River Beast Get You.”
Blues and roots music at 6:30 p.m. at The Sea Hag Restaurant & Bar, 49 Mount Auburn St., Harvard Square, Cambridge. Free. The Barrett Anderson Band performs every Wednesday. Joining Anderson (vocals and guitar) are Paul Loranger (upright and electric bass) and Joey Pafumi (drums and percussion).
Tunefoolery at 7 p.m. at Arts at the Armory, 191 Highland Ave., Somerville. Free. Monthly coffeehouse with open mic for the mental health recovery community and general public.
Sean Magwire performs at 7 p.m. at Aeronaut Brewing, 14 Tyler St., near Union Square in Ward 2, Somerville. Free. Song of the Year winner for folk in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest in 2022, he released his first album, “Echoes in the Wind” in March.
John J. Lennon reads from “The Tragedy of True Crime: Four Guilty Men and the Stories That Define Us” at 7 p.m. at Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Ave., Harvard Square, Cambridge. Free. The prison journalist, who killed a man in 2001, joins via video call from Sing Sing Correctional Facility in New York to talk about this first-of-its-kind book of immersive prison journalism account of his own crime and those of three men also serving time for murder – each tale very different. Founder of Freedom Reads Reginald Dwayne Betts joins.
Boston Poetry Slam at 7:30 p.m. at Cantab Underground, 738 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square, Cambridge. Free. A weekly menu to share poetry and more – a one-act play, sixth grade diary entry, “stump speech, political diatribe, nonsense verse, New Formalism, Olde Formuleism, machine code, Morse code, ode to an audience member who got up to go to the bathroom during your stage time …”
“Two Girls One Ghost” podcast from 7:30 to 10 p.m. at Arts at the Armory, 191 Highland Ave., Spring Hill, Somerville. $45. This comedy podcast about the paranormal is hosted by Corinne Vien and Sabrina Deana-Roga and has garnered millions of downloads. The duo takes you through one of the most terrifying houses they’ve investigated: The S.K. Pierce Mansion in Gardner.
Lisa Sanders at 8 p.m. at Club Passim, 47 Palmer St., Harvard Square, Cambridge. $23 to $25. The vocalist blends jazz and folk and has worked with musical acts Bonnie Raitt, Al Green, B.B. King and Babyface.
Gill Aharon Trio performs from 8:15 to 10 p.m. at Lilypad, 1353 Cambridge St., Inman Square, Cambridge (and every Wednesday). $10. A mix of influences inspires composer and pianist Aharon, founder of the Lilypad performance and event space. The trio includes bassist Jef Charland, guitarist Andrew Stern and drummer Randy Wooten.
The Lilypad Variety Show from 10 p.m. to midnight at Lilypad, 1353 Cambridge St., Inman Square, Cambridge. $5. Enjoy new talent performing music, art, poetry, comedy and dance.
Thursday, Oct. 9
Alejandro Varela reads from “Middle Spoon” at 6 p.m. at the Cambridge Main Library, 449 Broadway, Mid-Cambridge. RSVP required. A married middle-aged gay man is living a quiet life with his wife and two children and a boyfriend he cares about. Then his boyfriend breaks up with him, and he finds it a struggle to move on. Author Ursula Villarreal-Moura joins.
After Dark Series: Rhythm from 6 to 9 p.m. at The MIT Museum, 314 Main St., Kendall Square, Cambridge. $10 to $20 and 21-plus. Listen to today’s blues rhythms with Carly Harvey and the energy of MIT Rambax, a Senegalese drum ensemble. Then experiment with musician and composer Jessica Shand. Local brews from Lamplighter and appetizers from Tandor and Curry are available for purchase.
ArtsThursdays: “Arts Criticism: Why It (Still) Matters” conversation from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at The Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts, Room: Theater, 24 Quincy St., Harvard Square, Cambridge. Free. Why arts criticism and writing matter more than ever and where some of the most courageous voices are emerging today from a panel: Pulitzer-winning dance critic Sarah L. Kaufman, formerly of The Washington Post; arts journalist Siddhartha Mitter, who writes for The New York Times and other outlets; Jeneé Osterheldt, a culture columnist and deputy managing editor at The Boston Globe; and Rashid Shabazz, a critic and executive director of Critical Minded, an initiative focused on raising the visibility of critics of color.
Mark Kurlansky reads from “The Boston Way: Radicals Against Slavery and the Civil War” at 7 p.m. at Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Ave., Harvard Square, Cambridge. Free. The story of abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison and a group of pacifists in Boston who led the fight to end slavery without violence and war. The Boston Clique, as they were called, persuaded their fellow Bostonians to end Jim Crow laws on Massachusetts’ railroads. Harvard’s Jonathan Hansen joins.
Poet Vidyan Ravinthiran from 7 to 8 p.m. at Grolier Poetry Book Shop on 6 Plympton St., Harvard Square, Cambridge. $5 to $10, but register. With an introduction by Martha Selby.
Chris Rivelli Trio performs at 7:30 p.m. at Aeronaut Brewing, 14 Tyler St., near Union Square in Ward 2, Somerville. Free. Classic, swinging jazz featuring Gregory Groover Jr. on tenor saxophone.
Fin Leary reads from “These Bodies Ain’t Broken” at 7:30 p.m. at All She Wrote Books, 75 Washington St., East Somerville. $20 with book. Leary discusses his short story, which appears in this young adult horror anthology featuring disabled teens winning against monsters, curses and evil. Author Sara Farizan joins.
Actor and comedian Adam Ferrara at 8 p.m. at The Comedy Studio, 5 John F. Kennedy St., Harvard Square, Cambridge. $20. Some of his acting credits include Chief Needles Nelson on the FX drama “Rescue Me,” co-starring with Edie Falco on Showtime’s “Nurse Jackie” and starring alongside Kevin James in the movie “Paul Blart: Mall Cop.”
Joe K. Walsh: “Trust and Love” album release at 8 p.m. at Club Passim, 47 Palmer St., Harvard Square, Cambridge. $33 to $35. This record features instrumental voices from the bluegrass and folk music world: Rich Hinman (on pedal steel, lap steel and guitar), Zack Hickman (bass), John Mailander (fiddle), Bobby Britt (fiddle), Dave Brophy (drums and percussion) and Walsh on mandolin family instruments.
Team Dresch performs at 8 p.m. at Somerville Theatre’s Crystal Ballroom, 55 Davis Square. $35. The 30th anniversary tour of this punk band formed in the 1990s. Vitapup joins.
Jon Mueller + Tom Lecky, All Colors Present and Tomonari Nishikawa short films at 8 p.m. at The Foundry, 101 Rogers St., East Cambridge. $12 to $18. A double bill with a live performance by percussionist Jon Mueller of his collaborative work with visual artist Tom Lecky, “All Colors Present.” Also, a special screening of short films by the late filmmaker Tomonari Nishikawa, honoring Nishikawa’s unique artistic vision and enduring impact. A Non-Event and Revolutions per Minute festival presentation.
A stronger
Please consider making a financial contribution to maintain, expand and improve Cambridge Day.
We are now a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and all donations are tax deductible.
Please consider a recurring contribution.