Seven Must-See Arts + Entertainment Events Happening in November
Photography by Getty Images
POPULAR MUSIC
1. Rock Landslide
Raise your lighters! With some 50 years’ worth of guitar heroes in town, this month may be the best time for music obsessives to see their favorite artists in person. Kicking things off on November 1 are rockers such as the Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde (at the Orpheum) and Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson (at the Lynn Auditorium). In the ’70s rock ’n’ soul category, Todd Rundgren sees the light at Salisbury’s Blue Ocean Music Hall on November 6, while Stevie Wonder reaches higher ground at the TD Garden on the 11th. Then there are the biggest singer-songwriters of all time: Bob Dylan brings his Never Ending Tour to the Orpheum on November 14, and on the 19th, the Wilbur hosts Oscar winner Randy Newman. Meanwhile, iconic Gen X guitarist Johnny Marr heads to the Paradise on November 16 as a solo artist, after stints in bands like The The, Modest Mouse, and, uh, the Smiths. November finishes up loud with ’80s metal bands—the unholy thrash trinity of Slayer, Exodus, and Suicidal Tendencies—at Worcester’s Palladium on November 28. And on the last day of the month, Living Colour will blow the doors off the Paradise, proving that musical cults of personality can live on in perpetuity.
November 1 through 30, Various Locations.
FILM
2. Boston International Kids Film Festival
After a successful premiere last year, this film festival returns to the Somerville Theatre
with a slate of nearly 50 films by or about children from the U.S. and all corners of the globe. Featuring shorts, documentaries, and animated flicks, the event offers everything from fantasy and comedy to dramas about bullying and even film noir.
November 7 through 9, bikff.org.
COMEDY
3. Comics Come Home
The long-running benefit for the Cam Neely Foundation for Cancer Care celebrates its 20th
anniversary with another stellar lineup of local legends—Denis Leary (pictured), Lenny Clarke—as well as megawatt funnymen such as Jimmy Fallon, Marc Maron, Jim Gaffigan, and Craig Ferguson.
November 8, TD Garden, 800-745-3000, tdgarden.com.
BRAZILIAN MUSIC
4. Milton Nascimento
Milton Nascimento’s majestic albums have long filtered jazz, funk rock, and soaring melodies through the driving rhythms of his Brazilian homeland. Recently, the 72-year-old’s career has been hampered by complications from diabetes, and he’s not often on our shores, so catch his sterling live show while you still can.
November 16, Berklee Performance Center, 617-876-4275, worldmusic.org.
CLASSICAL MUSIC
5. Boston Symphony Orchestra
New maestro Andris Nelsons leads his charges through an unusual repertoire this weekend, including a world-premiere work for chorus and orchestra by fellow Latvian Ēriks Ešenvalds and a choral scherzo by MIT professor John Harbison. Rounding out the night is cellist Yo-Yo Ma (pictured) playing Prokofiev, and Rachmaninoff’s take on Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “The Bells,” which the orchestra hasn’t performed since 1979.
November 20 through 22, Symphony Hall, 888-266-1200, bso.org.
MUSICAL THEATER
6. Ghost Brothers of Darkland County
After a father’s sons threaten to start a fraternal family war, he decides to tell them the haunting story of how, long ago, his own brothers died because of a love triangle. Written by Stephen King and featuring music by John Mellencamp, the show offers plenty of Southern Gothic spookiness at the Colonial for one night only.
November 21, Colonial Theatre, 800-982-2787, citicenter.org.
GOSPEL MUSIC
7. Whittier Street Health Center Benefit Concert
Once again, the Whittier Street Health Center holds its benefit gospel concert, which raises funds for the Roxbury clinic that serves a diverse population of 25,000 Bostonians each year. Hosted by gospel TV icon Dr. Bobby Jones, this year’s event honors outgoing Governor Deval Patrick and features local talent like the Oladipo Sisters, Urbanity Dance, and choirs from BC, Suffolk University, and Pleasant Hill Baptist Church.
November 22, Berklee Performance Center, 617-989-3071, wshc.org.
