Vermont arts events, September: Ludacris, Audra McDonald, Ani DiFranco

Is there a busier month for arts and entertainment in Vermont than September? Outdoor shows are still a thing. Indoor activities − fueled in large part by the return of college students in and around Burlington − are booming once again. This year, September is a rare month with five Fridays and Saturdays, which ramps up the fun factor that much more.

The Green Mountains are alive with the sound of music, theater and visual arts. (Well, visual art doesn’t make much sound, but you get the idea.) Time’s a-wastin’ – the days are getting shorter and summer is just about over. So get out there and enjoy yourself, darn it, at some of these places that would just be really happy to see your smiling face.

5:45 p.m. Friday, Sept. 1, the vaunted Vermont troupe Bread and Puppet Theater begins its tour of the Northeast with a show presented in conjunction with the Town Hall Theater, Middlebury College Snow Bowl, Hancock. $22. www.townhalltheater.org

7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 1, Shelburne-based Fiddlehead Brewing presents its annual Fall Fest, held as part of the Pro World Championships of Disc Golf, featuring music from The Dead Tongues and Soulshine Revival, followed at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 2 with performances by the University of Vermont-born band Rubblebucket and Vermont’s own Al’s Pals, Smugglers’ Notch Resort, Jeffersonville. $29-$79

7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 1, rapper/actor Ludacris takes the grandstand stage, Champlain Valley Fair, Essex Junction. $39-$185. www.champlainvalleyfair.org

7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 1-Saturday, Sept. 2, 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 3, after that persistent COVID pest scuttled three August performances of its production of Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing,” the Foul Contending Rebels Theatre Collective will present rescheduled shows, Off Center for the Dramatic Arts, Burlington. $10-$40 for Friday-Saturday, free for Sunday. www.foulcontendingrebels.org

7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 1, the Dorset Theatre Festival begins the end of its 46th season with the Larissa FastHorse satire “The Thanksgiving Play,” which runs through Sept. 10, Dorset Playhouse. $51. www.dorsettheatrefestival.org

8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 1, the six-member California band Wreckless Strangers (notice the intentional misspelling there) pays a visit to Zenbarn, Waterbury Center. $10 in advance, $13 day of show. www.zenbarnvt.com

10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 2-Sunday, Sept. 3, the Mad River Valley Craft Fair takes place with more than 80 artists from Vermont and New England displaying their work, and with music from acts including Green Mountain Swing (Saturday morning), Some Hollow Duo (Saturday afternoon), Madigan Linnane (Sunday morning) and Medicine Tribe (Sunday afternoon), Kenyon’s Field, Waitsfield. $5; free for ages 12 and under. www.madrivercraftfair.com

4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 2, the Vermont Philharmonic presents a summer pops concert featuring works by Sousa, Gershwin, Strauss and more, Shore Acres Inn and Restaurant, North Hero. $15-$40. www.vermontphilharmonic.com

6:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 2, folk-pop-Americana group The Slambovian Circus of Dreams joins opening act Tall Travis, Highland Center for the Arts, Greensboro ($25, www.highlandartsvt.org), then heads south for the Next Stage Bandwagon Summer Series, SVG Multipurpose Field, Bellows Falls. $20 in advance, $25 at the door, free for those 12 and under. www.nextstagearts.org

7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 2, New Orleans musician Anders Osborne heads to ski country for a performance with Vermont blues-rocker Sarah King, Spruce Peak Performing Arts Center, Stowe. $40-$55. www.sprucepeakarts.org

7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 2, a new music series, Burnham Presents, begins with the traditional Quebecois group Bon DeBarras, Burnham Hall, Lincoln. $15-$25. www.burnhampresents.org

8:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 2, veteran Vermont musician Peg Tassey and her new band The Loud Flowers are joined by Tom Banjo & Ethan Azarian and Aneken River, Radio Bean, Burlington. $10. www.radiobean.com

8:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 2, rapper Soulja Boy headlines the Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington. $40-$75. www.highergroundmusic.com

Noon Sunday, Sept. 3, the New World Festival enters its 31st year of presenting Celtic and French-Canadian music and dance with performances by Le Vent du Nord, Genticorum, Grosse Isle, Zigue, Va-et-Vient, Young Tradition Vermont and more, Chandler Center for the Arts and other locations, Randolph. $30-$65, free for ages 12 and under. www.chandler-arts.org/newworld

7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 3, country musician Riley Green follows John Morgan on the grandstand stage to close out this year’s Champlain Valley Fair, Champlain Valley Exposition, Essex Junction. $39-$185. www.champlainvalleyfair.org

6:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 4, a Labor Day concert and storytelling session features Broadway performers and was created by Colchester native Merritt David Janes, currently appearing in New York in “Back to the Future: The Musical,” Shore Acres Inn and Restaurant, North Hero. $15-$40. www.shoreacres.com

7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 5, blues-inspired rocker George Thorogood, with his band the Destroyers, celebrates 50 years of making music with a concert that includes an opening set by Hamish Anderson, Paramount Theatre, Rutland. $79-$99. www.paramountvt.org

7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 6, singer-songwriter Brett Dennen comes back to Vermont to play the Old Stage Summer Series, Essex Experience. $30. www.essexexperience.com

8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 6, comedian/actor David Cross, following opening act Sean Patton, brings his “Worst Daddy in the World” tour to the Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington. $42.50 in advance, $45 day of show. www.highergroundmusic.com

7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 7, guitarist and Vermont native Scott Tournet, a founding member of Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, returns to his home state for a headlining show in the Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington. $18 in advance, $23 day of show. www.highergroundmusic.com

7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 7, a Hug Your Farmer benefit for Vermont farmers affected by flooding, titled “Hard Rain” and highlighting the music of Bob Dylan, features a band including Bob Wagner, Ray Paczkowski and Peter Day and guest appearances by Mike Gordon, Kat Wright, Seth Yacovone, Josh Panda, Dwight & Nicole, The Sweet Remains and more, the Flynn, Burlington. $35-$55. www.flynnvt.org

9 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 7, for the second night in a row, a comedian – this time it’s Ben Bailey of “Cash Cab” renown, with opener Stephen Donovan – performs at the Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington. $35 in advance, $40 day of show. www.highergroundmusic.com

5-10 p.m. Friday, Sept. 8, 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 10, the 31st South End Art Hop gives attendees the chance to pop into artists’ studios for a gander at their work, with other highlights including a block party at Riven Studio behind Speeder & Earl’s coffee that will include music Friday from Mal Maiz and Soul Porpoise and Saturday from Andriana & the Bananas and Soulstice, on and around Pine Street. Free. www.seaba.com/arthop

5-9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 8, the opening exhibit for a solo exhibit featuring work by artist Trystan Bates, titled “The Starling Symphony” (which runs through Nov. 17), includes music in the alley from Mal Maiz, The Phoenix, Waterbury. Free. www.thephoenixvt.com

7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 8, Emmy Award-winning actor and Norwich resident Gordon Clapp (“NYPD Blue”) performs as one of Vermont’s best-known figures when he presents the Middlebury Acting Company's production of “Robert Frost: This Verse Business,” which also runs at 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9-Sunday, Sept. 10, Town Hall Theater, Middlebury. $75 for opening-night tickets and reception, $17-$37 for Saturday-Sunday matinees (Saturday performance followed by discussion on Frost by Clapp, local Frost biographer Jay Parini and the play’s author, A.M. Dolan). www.middleburyactors.org

7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 8, Capital City Concerts begins its season with a performance by pianist Jeffrey Chappell, Barre Opera House. $15-$30, with 100% of ticket proceeds to go to Montpelier Alive and Capstone Community Action to help those affected by the Vermont floods. www.capitalcityconcerts.org

7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 8, Broadway star Audra McDonald gets the 2023-24 season going at the Flynn, Burlington. $49-$99. www.flynnvt.org

8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 8, singer-songwriter Justin Levinson celebrates his new album, “Collamer Circle,” in a performance with fellow Vermont musician Ben Patton, Venetian Soda Lounge, Burlington. Free. www.venetiansodalounge.com

8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 8, the annual Pride Ball includes appearances by Thorgy Thor (“RuPaul’s Drag Race”) and Kaos plus performances by regional and Vermont drag entertainers, Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington. $20 in advance, $25 day of show. www.highergroundmusic.com

3-5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9, the once-a-year exhibition “Traces – Vermont Artists Explore the Elemental” (which runs through Oct. 8) is featured at an opening celebration with music, food and drink, Kents’ Corner State Historic Site, Calais. Free. www.kentscorner.org

3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9, a flood-relief benefit concert for central Vermont takes place with music from the Dave Keller Band, Dwight & Nicole, the Ray Vega Quintet and Guagua, State House lawn, Montpelier. $35, with proceeds to benefit the Montpelier Strong Recovery Fund and the Barre Community Relief Fund; free for children 6 and under. www.montpelierstrong.org or www.barrecommunityrelief.org

5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9, Vermont Americana musicians Colin McCaffrey and Patti Casey team up for the latest show in the summer music series at the Meeting House on the Green, East Fairfield. $10; free for children under 12. www.meetinghouseonthegreen.org

7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9, the world-music-inspired group Billy Wylder, featuring University of Vermont alum Avi Salloway, celebrates its new record, “Trying to Get Free,” with a concert at Zenbarn, Waterbury Center. $12 in advance, $15 day of show. www.zenbarnvt.com

7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9, the Boston indie-rock band Pile, which played this year’s Waking Windows festival in Winooski, returns to Vermont for a show with Life in a Vacuum and Phantom Suns, Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington. $16 in advance, $18 day of show. www.highergroundmusic.com

8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9, singer-songwriter Damien Jurado brings his enigmatic songs, plus opener Lilly Miller, to the Stone Church, Brattleboro. $26. www.stonechurchvt.com

8:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9, another Waking Windows alum, the fun-loving group Low Cut Connie, follows Fantastic Cat in the Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington. $25 in advance, $29 day of show. www.highergroundmusic.com

4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 10, the concert series P.M. Sundays gets underway with the Scottish acoustic group Cantrip, Richmond Congregational Church. $25 in advance, $27.50 day of show. www.valleystage.net

8 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 10, Kenyan singer-songwriter Ondara, joined by Katacombs, plays the Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington. $25 in advance, $30 day of show. www.highergroundmusic.com

8 p.m. Monday, Sept. 11, another of the alumni of Winooski’s Waking Windows festival, indie-rockers Speedy Ortiz, returns to town with Washer and Rebecca Ryskalczyk, The Monkey House, Winooski. $19.40. www.monkeyhousevt.com

7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 12, veteran North Carolina rock band Southern Culture on the Skids, plus The Get Down, play the Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington. $20 in advance, $25 day of show. www.highergroundmusic.com

8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 12, another long-standing North Carolina band, indie-rockers Superchunk, headlines a show with Cable Ties, Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington. $25 in advance, $29 day of show. www.highergroundmusic.com

5-7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 13, an opening reception celebrates the fall 2023 exhibitions and installations including “PRAXIS: Recent Work by Studio Art Faculty at UVM” and “Art and the Matter of Place,” Fleming Museum, University of Vermont, Burlington. Free. www.uvm.edu/fleming

5 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 14, artists John Killacky and Sean Clute present films and discuss the history of the Fluxus art movement in “Fluxus: Art Performs Life,” The Current, Stowe. $10 suggested donation. Free. www.thecurrentnow.org

6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 14, trombone player Natalie Cressman, known for her work with the Trey Anastasio Band, and Brazilian guitarist Ian Faquini play as a duo, The Brass Lantern Inn, Stowe. $35-$45. www.eventbrite.com/e/natalie-cressman-ian-faquini-at-jazz-at-the-lantern-tickets-699193034187

7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 14, the long-standing Los Angeles group Los Lobos plays the Barre Opera House. $47-$62. www.barreoperahouse.org

7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 14, the Brandon-based opera company Barn Opera unveils its new partnership, Opera Vermont, which will bring performances to other parts of the state, with a concert of opera and musical theater, Highland Center for the Arts, Greensboro. $40. The company will do the same at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 15, Southern Vermont Arts Center, Manchester. $45. www.operavermont.com

8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 14, the Texas rock band Blue October visits the Flynn, Burlington. $35-$75. www.flynnvt.org

8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 14, pop musician Gus Dapperton and opening act Chrissy hit the Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington. $25 in advance, $30 day of show. www.highergroundmusic.com

8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 14, reggae legend Bob Marley’s band, The Original Wailers, headline a show with Cas Haley, Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington. $35 in advance, $39 day of show. www.highergroundmusic.com

7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 15, the folk duo Four Shillings Short performs at The Old Meeting House, East Montpelier. $15-$25 suggested donation. www.oldmeetinghouse.org

7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 15, the two-night Higher Calling camping-and-music festival, presented by the Cannabis Retailers Association of Vermont, begins with music from Lespecial and The Motet and continues at noon Saturday, Sept. 16, with Shred Is Dead, Supaman, Gangstagrass, Gentleman Brawlers and La Lovo, Pransky Farm, Cabot. $125-$200, with proceeds to go to CRAV’s new fund to support cannabis businesses impacted by the recent Vermont floods who are ineligible for financial aid. http://crvt.org/higher-calling-fest

7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 15, Celtic musicians John Doyle and Mick McAuley perform as a duo, Elley-Long Music Center, Colchester. $25 suggested donation.

7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 15-Saturday, Sept. 16, Vermont rocker Grace Potter, whose latest album, “Mother Road,” came out Aug. 18, follows Devon Gilfillian at two shows presented by Higher Ground outside the Shelburne Museum. Sold out. www.highergroundmusic.com

7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 15, Burlington singer-songwriter Marcie Hernandez performs as part of the Twilight Series presented by Burlington City Arts, City Hall Park, Burlington. Free. www.burlingtoncityarts.org

8:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 15, veteran New England rockers Dinosaur Jr. come back to the Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington. Sold out. www.highergroundmusic.com

7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 15, the Town Hall Theater in Middlebury co-presents “Comedy in Color,” featuring performances by comedians of color including Max Higgins of Burlington, outdoor amphitheater, Clemmons Family Farm, Charlotte. Free; registration recommended. www.townhalltheater.org

8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 15, standup comedian Demetri Martin headlines the Flynn, Burlington. $29-$159. www.flynnvt.org

7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16, singer Shannon Curtis and her husband, Jamie Hill (who said in an email that their show has been described as “one part Pet Shop Boys concert, one part TED talk, and one part visual art installation”), perform at FlynnSpace, Burlington. $30.50. www.flynnvt.org

7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16, comedy veteran Paula Poundstone plays the Paramount Theatre, Rutland. $35-$45. www.paramountvt.org

7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16, Vermont singer-composer Moira Smiley introduces a new album, “The Rhizome Project,” in a concert with the Rhizome Quartet – John Dunlop, cello; Brooke Quiggins Saulnier and Laura Markowitz, violins; and Stefanie Taylor, viola – at the Town Hall Theater, Middlebury. $27 in advance, $32 at the door. www.townhalltheater.org

8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16, Los Angeles-based musician Jesse Jo Stark blends country and punk into a sound that’ll be on display following Rachel Bobbitt and Andriana and the Bananas, Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington. $17 in advance, $20 day of show. www.highergroundmusic.com

8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16, what’s billed as the final electric tour for Americana-blues-rockers Hot Tuna, in a show presented by Higher Ground, visits the Flynn, Burlington. $49.50-$70.50. www.flynnvt.org

3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 17, a concert titled “A Joyful Noise” features musicians from the worlds of jazz and classical − including Zoe Keating, Counterpoint, the Champlain Trio, Matt LaRocca and Tom Toner, Matthew Evan Taylor, Birdcode and Ray Vega – in concert to benefit the Vermont Arts Council’s flood-relief grants to help artists restore and rebuild their homes and studios, University of Vermont Recital Hall, Burlington. $10-$35. www.eventbrite.com/e/a-joyful-noise-tickets-704600437877

3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 17, “Words Out Loud,” a series of Sunday-afternoon readings of work by Vermont writers, returns for its ninth year with poetry readings by Sean Prentiss and Scudder Parker, Old West Church, Calais. Free. www.kentscorner.org

4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 17, central Vermont blues/soul musician Dave Keller and his band celebrate Keller’s new album, “It’s Time to Shine,” in an album-release concert, Plainfield Opera House. $20 suggested donation. www.davekeller.com

5:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 17, the soulful Burlington group Dwight & Nicole plays on the spacious lawn at Camp Meade, Middlesex. Free. www.campmeade.today

6:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 17, “Dancing with the Burlington Stars” presents local celebrities and dance professionals in a show to benefit the Vermont Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired, the Flynn, Burlington. $30.50. www.flynnvt.org

7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 17, following a year of online shows and two years at a venue in Lincoln, the Ripton Community Coffee House, returns to its traditional home for a concert by singer-songwriter Cliff Eberhardt with Louise Mosrie Coombe, Ripton Community House. $15-$25. www.rcch.org

8 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 17, long-running hardcore-punk band Agnostic Front follows Murphy’s Law and Grade 2, Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington. $25 in advance, $28 day of show. www.highergroundmusic.com

7:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 18, singer-songwriters Lauren Calve and Joey Frendo share a bill, Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington. $12 in advance, $15 day of show. www.highergroundmusic.com

8 p.m. Monday, Sept. 18-Tuesday, Sept. 19, the eclectic ensemble Sammy Rae & the Friends plays a pair of shows with Britton & the Sting, Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington. $35 in advance, $39 day of show for Monday’s concert (Tuesday’s is sold out). www.highergroundmusic.com

6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 19, Grateful Dead guitarist Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros., featuring a string-and-brass quintet known as The Wolfpack, close out the Concerts on the Green series presented by Higher Ground, Shelburne Museum. Sold out. www.highergroundmusic.com

7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 20-Thursday, Sept. 21, comedian Aparna Nancherla has a new book of personal essays, “Unreliable Narrator,” and she’s heading out on what she calls a “book tour featuring mostly standup” that will bring her for two nights to the Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington. $25 for ticket without book (tickets including books are sold out). www.vermontcomedyclub.com

8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 20, Americana trio The Devil Makes Three, plus opening act The Ditrani Brothers, headlines the Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington. $30 in advance, $35 day of show. www.highergroundmusic.com

8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 20, Higher Ground presents singer-songwriter Ani DiFranco with Kristen Ford at the Flynn, Burlington. Sold out. www.flynnvt.org

8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 20, singer-songwriter James McMurtry brings his Texas-sized storytelling skills, plus fellow Texan opening act BettySoo, to the Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington. Sold out. www.highergroundmusic.com

8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 21, comedian and healthcare advocate Blake Lynch, better known as Nurse Blake, takes the stage at the Flynn, Burlington. $48-$203.50. www.flynnvt.org

8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 21, long-standing rockers The Brian Jonestown Massacre play the Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington. $25 in advance, $30 day of show. www.highergroundmusic.com

6:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 22, the Vermont chamber-music organization Scrag Mountain Music offers “Healing Together: A Lullaby Project Celebration Concert,” Capital City Grange, Berlin. Free; reservations encouraged. www.scragmountainmusic.org

7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 22, the University of Vermont Lane Series begins its 2023-24 season with jazz vocalist Kavita Shah performing traditional Cape Verdean music with collaborators Bau on guitar and Miroca Paris on percussion, UVM Recital Hall, Burlington. $6.50-$34. www.uvm.edu/laneseries.

8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 22, visiting artist/painter Sarah Walker delivers an artist talk, Red Mill Building, Vermont Studio Center, Johnson. Free. www.vermontstudiocenter.org

8:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 22, laid-back indie-pop-rocker Kurt Vile and the Violators, plus opener Joanna Sternberg, play the Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington. Sold out. www.highergroundmusic.com

2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 23, Vermont choreographer Hanna Satterlee and Christy Mitchell, executive director of the South End Arts and Business Association in Burlington, talk with Rosemary Branson Gill, senior park advisor for the Cold Hollow Sculpture Park, about leadership’s influence on arts communities as part of the “Perspectives 2023: Amazing Makers” series at Cold Hollow Sculpture Park, Enosburg Falls. Free; registration required. www.coldhollowsculpturepark.com

7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 23, the World Ballet Series presents “Cinderella,” the Flynn, Burlington. $35-$89. www.flynnvt.org

7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 23, punk hero Henry Rollins delivers a spoken-word performance on his “Good to See You” tour, Paramount Theatre, Rutland. $30-$125. www.paramountvt.org

4-10 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 24, musical acts including Toth and Kalbells (both with members of Burlington-born band Rubblebucket), as well as Hammydown, Burly Girlies, Robber Robber and Topsy, play the “Big Gay Block Party,” The Wallflower Collective, Burlington. $20. www.eventbrite.com/e/big-gay-block-party-tickets-695048718427

7:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 25, jazz-guitar legend Pat Metheny returns to the Flynn, Burlington. $35-$79. www.flynnvt.org

7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 26, the stage version of “The Price Is Right” makes its way to the Flynn, Burlington. $39-$229. www.flynnvt.org

7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 27, the Burlington professional theater company Vermont Stage starts its 2023-24 indoor season with the civil-rights-themed Tori Sampson play “Cadillac Crew,” which runs through Oct. 15, Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center, Burlington. $24-$64. www.vermontstage.org

8:30 pm. Thursday, Sept. 28, New York band The Nude Party, with Lady Apple Tree, plays the Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington. $20 in advance, $25 day of show. www.highergroundmusic.com

6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 29, preschoolers will delight at the antics of Blippi on the TV star’s “The Wonderful World” tour, the Flynn, Burlington. $29-$65. www.flynnvt.org

6:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 29, Vermont graphic novelist Alison Bechdel starts the second-annual Green Mountain Book Festival, which runs through Sunday, Oct. 1, with a conversation at Contois Auditorium, Burlington City Hall. $50. www.greenmountainbookfestival.org

7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 29, Abenaki songwriter/composer/bass player Mali Obomsawin performs at FlynnSpace, Burlington. $25. www.flynnvt.org

7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 29, the Valley Players begin a run of Tennessee Williams’ classic play “The Glass Menagerie” that runs through Oct. 15, Valley Players Theatre, Waitsfield. Ticket prices to be announced. www.valleyplayers.com

7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 29, the University of Vermont Lane Series concludes its September offerings with the Dover Quartet, UVM Recital Hall, Burlington. $6.50-$45. www.uvm.edu/laneseries

2-4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 30, the opening reception for two new exhibits – “Ashley Bryan: The Spirit of Joy” and “The Wee Worlds of Salley Mavor” – begins the run of the exhibitions through Jan. 7, Southern Vermont Arts Center, Manchester. $5-$10 admission; free for members and those 10 and under. www.svac.org

7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 30, a concert titled “A New Beginning” really is that for Andrew Crust, who will lead his first performance as the music director of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra, the Flynn, Burlington. $8.35-$59. www.vso.org

7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 30, the Middlebury Performing Arts Series begins with the Emerson String Quartet playing works by Shostakovich and Ravel, among other composers, Middlebury Chapel, Middlebury College. $5-$25. www.middlebury.edu/college/arts/performing-arts-series

Contact Brent Hallenbeck at [email protected].