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Top 5 The summer still sizzles with music and the arts, from blues to drama to rock and roll.
T. J. Miller
ESTEVAN ORIOL
“Years of Glass” exhibit Simone Brown
T.J. Miller
WHERE: Palm Beach Improv, 550 S. Rosemary Ave., West Palm Beach WHEN: Aug. 12-13 COST: $30 CONTACT: 561/833-1812, palmbeachimprov.com With his beard and leonine locks, T.J. Miller looks like he could have walked off a hippie commune in 1968, and can step straight out of central casting to play any number of countercultural freethinkers, slackers and ne’er-do-wells. He also has been gifted with a distinctive voice, which works as well in stoner comedy as it does in animated cinema: His vocal cords have helped the “How to Train Your Dragon” series and “The Emoji Movie,” and the rest of him has appeared on films from “Ready Player One” to “Deadpool” to “Get Him to the Greek;” he also spent three memorable years on HBO’s “Silicon Valley.” But as he says, standup remains his first love, and probably his most essential skill. Like the late, great Norm Macdonald, he can establish an absurd premise and riff on it for 15 minutes, layering and spiking the material with inspired extensions and diversions. He also shares Macdonald’s capacity for pregnant beats, allowing silence to work its own magic—and providing audiences the time to glom onto his wavelength.
“Years of Glass: The Norton Collection 1982-2022”
WHERE: Norton Museum of Art, 1450 S. Dixie Highway, West Palm Beach WHEN: Now-Sept. 4 COST: $15-$18 museum admission CONTACT: 561/832-5196, norton.org Last year, the United Nations declared that 2022 would be the International Year of Glass, in celebration of “the essential role glass has in society.” Indeed, if anything can keep our nations united, it’s that we all appreciate being able to see the world through spectacles, protect our windows from inclement weather and enjoy our wine in proper goblets. Glass has also had a fundamental role in art making dating back to Tutankhamen’s tomb in Egypt. For decades, it’s been a key material in contemporary art, and it’s this genre that takes center stage in “Years of Glass.” Organized by the Norton Museum, the exhibition showcases four decades of work from the museum’s collection, from large-scale sculptures to functional objects, modernist cubes and even a starry-eyed view of the cosmos. Exploring how glass art fits into the broader spectrum of contemporary art, the exhibit includes work by Dale Chihuly, Olafur Eliasson, Beth Lipman and many more.
What: Simone Browne
WHERE: Arts Garage, 94 N.E. Second Ave., Delray Beach WHEN: June 16, 7 p.m. COST: Free CONTACT: 561/450-6357, artsgarage.org For the last five years of his life, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was lucky to carve out even a scintilla of privacy. In efforts to discredit King, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover tapped his phones, bugged his hotel rooms and placed informants among his closest confidants. For an author like Simone Browne, King fits into a continuum of the clandestine persecution of Black individuals, from the branding and policing of slaves to post-9/11 airport security practices and beyond. Browne, an associate professor in the Department of African and African Diaspora Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, is arguably the nation’s foremost expert on the surveillance of Black individuals. In fact, in 2015, she wrote the book on it, the award-winning Dark Matters: On the Surveillance of Blackness. In this appearance, the last of Arts Garage’s “Authors Speak” series in conjunction with the Spady Museum and the Delray Beach CRA, Browne will discuss her revelations and ongoing surveillance research.
Juuri, from “Beyond the Wall”
June/July/August 2022
WHERE: Morikami Museum, 4000 Morikami Park Road, Delray Beach WHEN: Now-Sept. 25 COST: $9-$15 venue admission CONTACT: 561/495-0233, morikami.org In this dynamic survey of the work of five young American artists of Asian descent, the “Wall” harbors multiple meanings. The exhibition seeks to tear down symbolic walls separating the native-born from their immigrant neighbors, but walls are also the literal medium the artists share in common: They are mural artists, creating eyepopping masterpieces, often on public surfaces. Hailing from Orlando and Jacksonville to Oklahoma City and Denver, participants include Boy Kong, whose folk art-inspired pastels and neons reimagine plant, animal and human life; Casey Kawaguchi, who honors his Japanese heritage with displays of warriors and geisha in a sophisticated, graphic-novel style; Elena Øhlander, whose stylized representations of herself and others explore issues of identity and social justice; Hiromi Mizugai Moneyhun, an artist acclaimed for her surreal hyper-intricate works of cut paper; and Juuri, whose paintings of models and kabuki actors leap off their concrete canvases with a flamboyant élan.
The Black Keys
WHERE: iTHINK Amphitheater, 601-7 Sansburys Way, West Palm Beach WHEN: Aug. 24, 7 p.m. COST: $55 and up CONTACT: 561/795-8883, westpalmbeachamphitheatre.com Blues-rock duo the Black Keys disappointed legions of fans in 2015 when they announced a hiatus, but these reunited childhood friends have now made up for lost time. Beginning with the straightforward Let’s Rock in 2019, guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney have released three albums in four years, including Delta Kream, a blistering tribute to the hardscrabble hill-country blues artists that inspired them; and Dropout Boogie, released this past March. If the Black Keys’ sound has changed since their 2002 debut The Big Come Up, it’s been an incremental evolution. Mostly, they subscribe to the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” school of music making: They still redefine vintage blues for the youth of America—still produce anthemic, singalong roof-raisers with zero need for the hipster synthesizers and breathy vocals dominating alternative radio. It doesn’t hurt that they have a sense of humor.
The Black Keys
June/July/August 2022
SHAKESPEARE, BALLET AND A ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH ARE ALL ON TAP THIS SEASON
NOW-JUNE 5: “THE BELLE OF AMHERST” at Palm Beach Dramaworks, 201 Clematis St., West Palm Beach; various show times; $79; 561/514-4042, palmbeachdramaworks.org. A passion project for both playwright William Luce and actor Margery Lowe, this one-woman play explores the life and work of poet Emily Dickinson, incorporating her work, diaries and letters into a balanced portrait of the light and dark forces in her life.
NOW-AUG. 21: “THE ART OF THE HOLLYWOOD BACKDROP” at Boca Raton Museum of Art, 501 Plaza Real, Boca Raton; $12 adults, $10 seniors; 561/392-2500, bocamuseum.org. This exhibition spotlights the largely unknown artists behind the painted backdrops of movies such as “North By Northwest” and “The Wizard of Oz,” while immersing viewers in their large-scale masterworks.
NOW-SEPT. 11: “A REMARKABLE GATHERING: THE FISHER LANDAU FAMILY COLLECTION” at Norton Museum of Art, 1450 S. Dixie Highway, West Palm Beach; $15-$18; 561/832-5196, norton.org. Excerpts from this breathtaking collection of late 20th century art showcases a who’s-who of important modern artists from Europe and the Americas, from Pablo Picasso and Georgia O’Keeffe to Andy Warhol and Robert Indiana to Willem de Kooning and Cy Twombly.
JUNE 3-5: “A ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH EXPERIENCE” at Delray Beach Playhouse, 950 N.W. Ninth St., Delray Beach; various show times; $55; 561/272-1281, delraybeachplayhouse. com. Cited for his resemblance to John Denver dating back to age 13, Rick Schuler—who had never heard of Denver at the time—learned his rich catalog, and has emerged as one of the late singersongwriter’s premier tribute artists. Expect “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” “You Fill Up My Senses” and all the other hits.
JUNE 6-8: “SWINGING ON A STAR: THE SONGS OF JIMMY VAN HEUSEN” at Delray Beach Playhouse, 950 N.W. Ninth St., Delray Beach; various show times; $55; 561/272-1281, delraybeachplayhouse.com. Working with talented lyricists like Johnny Burke and Sammy Cahn, composer Van Heusen penned some of the most iconic melodies of the 20th century American songbook. This celebration of his legacy features performances of “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head?,” “High Hopes,” “Come Fly With Me” and more.
JUNE 9: TEARS FOR FEARS WITH GARBAGE at iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre, 601-7 Sansburys Way, West Palm Beach; 7:30 p.m.; $53 and up; 561/795-8883, westpalmbeachamphitheatre.com. Once a titanic band in England, Tears for Fears’ hits— “Shout,” “Head Over Heels,” “Sowing the Seeds of Love,” “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”—are tailor-made for amphitheaters: As enormous as caverns, and just as easy to get lost inside. The duo is supporting The Tipping Point, its first release in 17 years. Garbage, the alternative rock stalwarts fronted by the inimitable Shirley Manson, open the show. JUNE 10-11: ANN HAMPTON CALLAWAY at Arts Garage, 94 N.E. Second Ave., Delray Beach; 8 p.m.; $60-$65; 561/450-6357, artsgarage.org. Callaway, a warm, engaging and award-winning interpreter of the Great American Songbook, devotes her Arts Garage appearances to the six-decade career of sultry songstress Peggy Lee, in honor of the late jazz vocalist’s 100th birthday.
JUNE 11: SCREENING OF “ONGAKU: OUR SOUND” at Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens, 4000 Morikami Park Road, Delray Beach; 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.; $5 with paid museum admission; 561/4950233, morikami.org. In this acclaimed animated film from 2019, three penniless teenage delinquents form a garage rock band as a hobby, only to find transformative information in the communal power of music.
JUNE 11: PARIS BALLET at Kravis Center, 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach; 1:30 and 7:30 p.m.; $35; 561/832-7469, kravis.org. Paris Ballet’s end-of-season showcase includes a wide spectrum of dance forms—ballet, modern, contemporary, neoclassical, jazz and tap—with a special guest performance from members of Ohio’s Le Jeune Dance.
JUNE 11: MICHAEL WINSLOW at Boca Black Box, 8221 Glades Road, Suite 10, Boca Raton; 8 p.m.; $26.50-$36.50; 561/483-9036, bocablackbox.com. Known as the “Man of 10,000 Voices,” comedian Winslow took his peerless ability to imitate natural and man-made sounds to seven “Police Academy” comedies, cementing his celebrity status. He’s recently enjoyed a late-career revival, reaching the semifinals of last season on “America’s Got Talent.”
JUNE 17: KLEZMER COMPANY ORCHESTRA at Arts Garage, 94 N.E. Second Ave., Delray Beach; 8 p.m.; $40$45; 561/450-6357, artsgarage.org. Conceived in South Florida by conductor Aaron Kula, the nine-member Klezmer Company Orchestra celebrates its 25th anniversary of melding vintage Jewish and Yiddish melodies with Latin jazz and swing rhythms, reinterpreting world music and breaking down boundaries.
JUNE 18: KEITH URBAN at iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre, 601-7 Sansburys Way, West Palm Beach; 7 p.m.; $70 and up; 561/795-8883, westpalmbeachamphitheatre.com. This country music powerhouse—and talented spouse of Nicole Kidman—has cultivated a polished American country sound that belies his Australian origins. He’ll bring many of his 37 charted country singles to the “Speed of Now” tour, his first in four years.
JUNE 22: BACKSTREET BOYS at iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre, 6017 Sansburys Way, West Palm Beach; 7:30 p.m.; $44 and up; 561/7958883, westpalmbeachamphitheatre. com. The Boys are now decidedly men—Kevin Richardson has, in fact, crested 50—but Orlando’s chief exports of shiny, immaculately produced earworms remain tops in their field at what they do. Now nine albums into their career, they continue to defy boyband stereotypes, plying their trade as a legit vocal harmony group.
JUNE 24: TRAIN: AM GOLD TOUR at iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre, 601-7 Sansburys Way, West Palm Beach; 6:30 p.m.; $50 and up; 561/795-8883, westpalmbeachamphitheatre.com. Train, the sunshine-y San Francisco hit-makers behind “Drops of Jupiter” and “Hey, Soul Sister,” are supporting AM Gold, the group’s first new album in five years. Arrive early for an unusually stellar undercard: Golden-voiced soprano and “Masked Singer” winner Jewel and harmonica-driven rockers Blues Traveler.
JUNE 24-25: YYNOT at Funky Biscuit, 303 S.E. Mizner Blvd., Boca Raton; 9 p.m.; $25-$35; 561/395-2929, funkybiscuit. com. Formed in 2015 by Billy Alexander, a guitarist, songwriter and producer for Tom Petty and John Waite; and Tim Starace, a bass virtuoso from Florida; YYNOT performs note-for-note Rush covers and original compositions steeped in the grandeur of 1980s progressive rock.
JULY 1: SELWYN BIRCHWOOD at Arts Garage, 94 N.E. Second Ave., Delray Beach; 8 p.m.; $25-$30; 561/450-6357, artsgarage.org. Boasting gravelly vocals, a trademark Afro and a barefoot exuberance, blues-rock singer-songwriter Birchwood is one of the genre’s brightest new lights, continuing to build his funky, rootsy sound since winning the International Blues Challenge in 2013.
JULY 4: INDEPENDENCE DAY CELEBRATION ON DELRAY BEACH; beginning at 9 a.m.; free; 561/243-7922, downtowndelraybeach.com. Start the celebration of America’s birthday with a sand sculpting contest at 9 a.m. Festivities continue throughout the day, including live entertainment, children’s activities, and food and merchandise vendors, culminating in an impressive display at 9 p.m. from Zambelli Fireworks.
JULY 9: OTIS CADILLAC AND THE EL DORADOS at Arts Garage, 180 N.E. First St.; 8 p.m.; $45-$50; 561/450-6357, artsgarage.org. Nonagenarian roots-rocker Cadillac performs classic R&B and vintage rock ‘n’ roll, emulating musical revues of the ‘50s and ‘60s with assistance from his 11-piece band, the El Dorados, and his female vocal quartet, the Sublime Seville Sisters.
JULY 7-24: “RICHARD II” at Seabreeze Amphitheater, 750 S. Florida A1A, Jupiter; show times TBA; free, with donations accepted; 561/762-8552, pbshakespeare.org. For this year’s annual free production—in honor of its 30th anniversary—the Palm Beach Shakespeare Festival will tackle one of the Bard’s rarely produced works, “Richard II,” which charts the downfall of the titular English monarch.
JULY 10: PSYCHIC MEDIUM BILL PHILIPPS at Palm Beach Improv, 550 S. Rosemary Ave., West Palm Beach; 3 p.m.; $25; 561/833-1812, palmbeachimprov. com. At this gallery reading, psychic medium Philipps, who purports to have seen dead people since age 14, will deliver messages from past loved ones. A HuffPost contributor with a national profile, Philipps’ gentle and direct communication style has won over believers and skeptics alike. JULY 17: “CHILDREN OF THE SEA” at Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens, 4000 Morikami Park Road, Delray Beach; 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.; $5 with paid museum admission; 561/495-0233, morikami.org. In this 2019 adaptation of an award-winning manga, an ostracized girl named Ruka spends her summer in the aquarium where her father works, where she discovers a pair of mysterious brothers allegedly raised by a marine mammal—and whose supernatural connection to the sea is shared by Ruka.
JULY 24: INCUBUS AND SUBLIME WITH ROME at iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre, 601-7 Sansburys Way, West Palm Beach; 7 p.m.; $42 and up; 561/795-8883, westpalmbeachamphitheatre.com. Incubus’ first tour in three years finds frontman Brandon Boyd and company bringing eight albums’ worth of material—and hits like “Drive” and “Wish You Were Here”—to South Florida, kicking off the alternative rockers’ joint headlining tour with Sublime with Rome right here in West Palm Beach.
JULY 30: START ME UP at Arts Garage, 180 N.E. First St.; 8 p.m.; $30-$35; 561/450-6357, artsgarage.org. Led by a former actor effusively embodying Mick Jagger’s iconic vocals, elaborate costumes and strutting demeanor, this seven-piece tribute band performs the Rolling Stones’ greatest hits, from their scorching rockers to their tender ballads. AUG. 13: ROCKY LAPORTE at Boca Black Box, 8221 Glades Road, Suite 10, Boca Raton; 7 and 9 p.m.; $26.50$36.50; 561/483-9036, bocablackbox. com. A natural comic who earns laughs on the strength of his thick Italian accent alone, LaPorte has refined his accessible style of blue-collar humor for more than 30 years, building his audience while opening for Tim Allen, Drew Carey, Louie Anderson and Gary Shandling.
AUG. 26: SANTANA AND EARTH, WIND & FIRE at iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre, 601-7 Sansburys Way, West Palm Beach; 7 p.m.; $72 and up; 561/795-8883, westpalmbeachamphitheatre.com. Two giants among their respective genres co-headline this ear-expanding tour. Santana, led by its namesake guitar virtuoso, has released 17 gold, platinum or multiplatinum albums while broadening Latin rock to a crossover audience. R&B icons Earth, Wind & Fire have likewise had a seismic effect on their genre, blending soul, funk, disco and jazz into a style entirely their own.