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Mon 19
New York Gypsy Festival Drom; various times; $25
Tradition and whimsy joyously collide during this celebratory series, which showcases performances by musical nomads around the globe. Strap on your dancing shoes and enjoy mellifluous artists such as Turkish clarinet master Hüsnü Şenlendirici, the electric Hungarian folk fiddlers of Söndörgő and a wild night of live music and belly dancing with the Brooklyn Oryantal Parti.
Computer Juice Pete’s Candy Store; 8:30pm; free
Electronic music producers and vocalists gather to show off new songs, get tipsy and make professional connections at this forward-thinking open mic night.
An Evening of Humorous Readings HiFi; 8pm; free
Satirists, comedians and writers try out their sharpest literary humor at this showcase for fans of Shouts and Murmurs, The Onion and more. Hosts Luke Burns and James Folta (both published in the New Yorker) select a rotating list of quick-witted comics for this monthly show.
Adele Madison Square Garden; 8pm; $40–$150
Adele is a one-word answer to people who think they just don't make them like Dusty Springfield anymore. But the preternaturally self-possessed young English singer-songwriter is not just some retro knock-off: She's a genuinely soulful vocalist whose lyrics reflect a rare emotional maturity, as you can hear on her chart-busting second album, 21.
Tue 20
LezzerTag Bowlmor Chelsea Piers; 8pm; $12–$20
If you're tired of standing around a bar, take your game to the next level with this monthly Girl Social event, which welcomes women to bowl, play pool and face off in lazer tag at the Bowlmor Chelsea Piers. Better bring it: you never know how cute your next opponent may be.
MoshFit Otto’s Shrunken Head; 6:30pm; $10 suggested donation
We're not unaccustomed to sweating in bars, but it's usually because the DJ just played our jam and we fell face-first into a twerk hole. Work out your whole body at this bi-monthly class that goes down in the back room of a tiki bar, features all your fave punk tunes and is followed by—what else?—a happy hour.
TinyRhino: Loves the 80s Littlefield; 8pm; $10
Six playwrights write short pieces in tribute to Cats, Gremlins, Duran Duran and other iconic cultural relics of the ’80s, and you have to drink every time they hit upon a pre-assigned narrative cue. Buckle up.
Golden Lady Burlesque Sid Gold’s Request Room; 8pm; $5–$20
Host Essence Revealed kicks off a season of strip-teasing with a boozy night of dancing and singing by the piano.
Road to the White House Peoples Improv Theater; 8pm; $5
Master impersonator David Carl and "Elaine Stritch: Still Here" star Jay Malsky face off in surreal mock debates scheduled before the real TV showdowns happen. This absurdist parody of the current political proceedings may help ease your anxiety responses to topics like private email servers and immigration.
St. Lucia Terminal 5; 7pm; $27.50
Jean-Philip Grobler—originally from Johannesburg, not St. Lucia, thanks very much—recently released his second thumping, euphoric album of synth-driven electropop, Matter, and while the new tunes are certainly retro they're also refreshingly unkitschy.
Taylor Mac: A 24-Decade History of Popular Music St. Ann’s Warehouse; 7:30pm; $56, all shows $500
A Fabergé radical—beautiful, ridiculous and full of hidden tricks—the sublimely freakish Taylor Mac pilots audiences through fantastical journeys, guided only by the compass of his magnetic individuality. In the culmination of a project that has been in the works for five years, the performer surveys the past 250 years of American music, first in eight three-hour installments and then, on October 8, as a 24-hour marathon.
Melissa Errico: Funny! I’m a Woman with Children Feinstein’s/54 Below; 7:30pm; $35-$80 plus $25 minimum
Errico is a smart-edged leading lady whose silvery voice has brightened such shows asMy Fair Lady, Amour and the Off Broadway revival of Passion. She will star in Finian's Rainbow at the Irish Rep this fall; meanwhile her newest set, accompanied by Tedd Firth, explores motherhood and marriage through songs by Sondheim, Herman, Weill, Legrand and more.
Wed 21
Photoville Brooklyn Bridge Plaza; various times; free
Kings County exhibition producer United Photo Industries takes over a new location this year—Brooklyn Bridge Plaza—to create a pop-up village honoring the art of picture taking. Dozens of shipping containers, which double as venues for curated gallery installations, will contain works such as "Flint is a Place," "On the Street with Bill Cunningham," and "Political Theatre." And get excited, because the Smorgasburg Beer Garden is returning this year; you'll find more than 100 vendors selling all sorts of food and drinks. Outdoor exhibitions include "Brazil's Battle Against Zika," "#OrlandoStrong," and "Where Will We Go: The Human Consequences of Rising Sea Levels."
Arrested Development Videology Bar & Cinema; 9pm; free
Think you can spot Gene Parmesan in disguise or catch Franklin Delano Bluth on Gob’s arm? Watch episodes of the beloved comedy and compete for a free beer at this fan gathering in the Videology screening room. Just make sure you don’t get so wasted you confuse your Lucilles.
Humans Against Music Karaoke Freddy’s Bar; 9pm; free
With no teleprompter to nervously fix your eyes on, you'll have to really bring it at this monthly low-tech karaoke showdown. Freddy's has over 1,000 tracks to choose from, and plenty of paper printouts of the lyrics for you to cling to. Particularly special performers win three pounds of Krakus Canned Ham and a brief feeling of euphoria.
Ancient Yoga and Early Ascetics Thematic Tour The Rubin Musuem of Art; 7pm; Free with museum admission
Explore Himalayan art to discover the roots of yoga in this guided tour of the Rubin Museum.
Thu 22
Room 4 Peoples Improv Theater; 8pm; $10
In this new play by NYC comedy-writing duo Marina and Nicco, four black actors find they're stuck in a time loop, auditioning for the part of "Drug Dealer #2" over and over. Humor and social commentary? Yes, please.
Ginger Minj Laure Beechman Theatre at the West Bank Café; 7pm; $22, plus $20 minimum
The bawdy and delicious RuPaul's Drag Race runner-up (and returning all-star) celebrates the release of her debut CD with a night of musical comedy and song.
Explosions in the Sky Terminal 5; 7pm; $35
Perhaps the most joyously hopeful of the post-rock instrumentalists, Explosions in the Sky write silvery guitar symphonies that steadily tiptoe through a series of elaborate crescendos and end in a shivering climax. The Wilderness, EITS’s first album since 2011, features nine tracks that morph from jittery love sonnets to furious dirges and back. The band has well-chosen openers: Julianna Barwick on Sept 22, a Brooklynite singer and composer who uses effects pedals to loop her voice, piano and other sounds into dense, shimmering clouds of audible color; idiosyncratic Canadian singer-songwriter Dan Bejar (Sept 23), a collaborator with The New Pornographers who makes cryptic soft-rock-inspired murmurings as Destroyer.
Ava Luna The Archway Under the Manhattan Bridge; 6pm; free
If you like your indie soul arty, hectic and ultrapolished, try Ava Luna, which matches prismatic harmonies with big earthy beats. Here, the group performs under the Manhattan Bridge for Live at The Archway, a Thursday outdoor concert series featuring beer, bites and wine from the Lighthouse concession stand.