Thursday: Mdou Moctar at the 9:30 Club

The Nigerien guitarist has come a long way from his first U.S. tour in 2017, when his whirlwind immersion in Washington culture included a gig at the Library of Congress and a three-day residency at Episcopal High School before culminating in a headlining performance at the Black Cat. In May, Moctar released Funeral for Justice, his second album on Matador Records, graduating from small stages and, at times, restrained folkish rock to a huge, positively head-banging rock sound. And to think he learned how to play on a homemade instrument. Moctar is modest about his distinct musical voice, explaining, “I don’t know what rock is exactly … I only know how to play in my style.” With his latest album, Moctar lends his love for ZZ Top to a crucial message. In “Funeral for Justice,” he pleads (in translation), “African leaders, hear my burning question, Why does your ear only heed France and America?” Mdou Moctar plays at 7:30 p.m. on June 27 at the 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW. 930.com. $28. —Pat Padua

Friday: Pride Poem-a-Day Reading at Little District Books

Get ready to work those philosophical cogs like Aristotle on a sunny day in ancient Greece, because summer is the perfect time to grab one of those poetry collections gathering dust on your bookshelf for an afternoon visit to your favorite park bench. But D.C. doesn’t have the dry, mild Mediterranean climate the philosopher king enjoyed. You might find yourself desperately scanning for meaning in prose, searching for when line-breaking hyphens are stylistic or functional, wracking the last cells in your brain to grasp Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself” as the heat numbs all sensibilities. Yeah, hot reader summer is not going so well. Don’t lose faith, weary reader! There’s a better way to immerse yourself in literature: Hear it from the poets themselves—in an air-conditioned room! The annual DC Pride Poems project is holding its Poem-a-Day Reading on June 28, with four of D.C.’s accomplished LGBTQIA poets. For the uninitiated, DC Pride Poems releases a video of a poem reading every day for the 30 days of June in honor of Pride Month; some of those featured poets will be reading at the event. Listen to the free-form of Richard Hamilton, author of Rest Us and Discordant, and Kim Roberts, author of six poetry books and guidebook A Literary Guide to Washington, D.C.: Walking in the Footsteps of American Writers from Francis Scott Key to Zora Neale Hurston. Or indulge in the critical lens of Natasha Sajé, author of five poetry books including The Future Will Call You Something Else, and Dan Vera, author of two poetry collections and co-editor of Imaniman: Poets Writing in the Anzaldúan Borderlands. The diversity and richness of D.C.’s queer poets will be celebrated this Friday. The four poets perform at 7 p.m. on June 28 at Little District Books, 737 8th St. SE. littledistrictbooks.com. Free. —Lizzy Rager

Saturday: FIGHTMASTER at the Atlantis

E.R. Fightmaster is most recognizable for their star turn in Grey’s Anatomy, a two-season stint on Hulu’s Shrill, and their cameo in Lucy Dacus’ “Night Shift” music video. An accomplished and history-making actor, they’re now embracing being a multihyphenate artist, creating music under their surname FIGHTMASTER. Their debut EP, Violence, came out last year and their sophomore project, Bloodshed Baby, was released earlier this month. Both EP names misleadingly evoke an aggressive intensity that their music doesn’t possess. FIGHTMASTER’s music is tender, twangy, and, above all, explicitly queer. Dancing on the tiled floor of the Atlantis as FIGHTMASTER croons onstage sounds like the perfect closing to Pride … or the perfect precursor to Orville Peck at the Anthem the following night (see next City Light). FIGHTMASTER plays at 8 p.m. on June 29 at the Atlantis, 2047 9th St. NW. theatlantis.com. $18. —Serena Zets 

Sunday: Orville Peck at the Anthem 

Orville Peck, the masked country singer-songwriter, continues to raise his profile. He’s featured on the new Willie Nelson album and Nelson is featured on his new record for two different versions of “Cowboys Are Secretly Quite Fond of Each Other.” Special guests like Diplo and Kylie Minogue are featured on Peck’s newest single, “Midnight Ride.” Elton John and Midland are some of the guests on his May EP of duets. But bigger doesn’t entirely mean better. Other than “Miénteme” with Bu Cuaron, Stampede: Vol 1. is a skippable entry into his otherwise stellar catalog. The genre hopping may be an important exercise for the 36-year-old musician, but he tends to be at his best when focused. Fingers crossed the LP version of Stampede, due to be released August 2, will be on par with the sonically ambitious Bronco from 2022 and his utterly fantastic 2019 debut record, Pony. On just two full-lengths, the South African musician who first made waves as a drummer in a Canadian indie rock band before pivoting to a new sound and persona, has proven to be one of the best modern frontpersons. Though his trajectory sounds like a Mad Libs-inspired parlor trick, there’s nothing gimmicky about his music. The sound is steeped in what initially made country music fantastic and his vocal delivery is superior to some of his 1990s country icons turned 2020s collaborators. Orville Peck may be a stage name from a seasoned performer, but his material is both powerful and easy to relate to. Based on the first few weeks of the Stampede tour, expect a healthy amount of the first two records. This is a performer playing larger and larger rooms with each tour cycle (he was at the 9:30 Club for two nights in 2022 and Union Stage in 2019), and if his star continues to rise, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him in an amphitheater or arena the next time he’s in the DMV. Orville Peck plays at 7 p.m. on June 30 at the Anthem, 901 Wharf St. SW. theanthemdc.com. $60–$85. —Brandon Wetherbee

Ongoing: Neuroland by Michal Gavish at the American Association for the Advancement of Science

The scientifically inclined art of Michal Gavish, a D.C.-based multimedia artist, is informed by her previous career as a research chemist. In her exhibit Neuroland, Gavish seeks to answer, “How do you picture a brain”—not the wrinkly pink organ per se, but rather the “network of neurons that extend through the body and make up a person’s thoughts and personality—the chemical and electrical webs that make us all both similar and unique?” Gavish’s works include myriad portrayals of dendritic shapes, some in stand-alone paintings on canvas or paper, and some blowing gently on veils of shiny, diaphanous fabric. Indeed, the more layers of translucent, satiny fabric she uses—up to four ply in some works—the more convincing the illusion of motion within the neural system. For a layperson, it’s hard to know how true-to-life Gavish’s biological portrayals are; dopamine is rendered in violet, adrenaline in green, and serotonin in magenta. One of her more intricate paintings, of melatonin, calls to mind a twin-peaked blue mountain with white waterfalls flowing into a blue green pool. Whether or not this depiction is literal, it certainly seems like a reasonable metaphor for the hormone that plays a role in sleep. Michal Gavish’s Neuroland runs through Sept. 30 at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1200 New York Ave. NW. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. aaas.org. Free. —Louis Jacobson