Solo pianists in Northampton

Pioneer Valley Jazz Shares and the Northampton Center for the Arts will present “A World of Piano,” an event series featuring one of three solo pianists per night, at 33 Hawley in Northampton from Thursday, Feb. 27, through Saturday, March 1, from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.

Thursday’s performer, Matthew Shipp, has been making music since the 1980s. A press release describes his style as “music in which free jazz and modern classical intertwined.” A member of the David S. Ware Quarter in the 90s, Shipp has performed on the labels FMP, No More, Eremite, Thirsty Ear, and Silkheart.

Friday’s performer, Greg Burk, started playing at the age of 16. A graduate of the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the son of a conductor, Burk has toured widely around the world and founded his own record label, Tonos Records, in 2019.

Saturday’s performer, Sylvie Courvoisier, was born in Switzerland and now lives in New York City. According to a press release, Courvoisier “crosses borders with a creative spirit and a free mind; her music-making is as playful as it is intense, as steeped in tradition as it is questing and intrepid.” A New York Times review called her a pianist “of equal parts audacity and poise.”

Tickets are $15 to $35, sliding scale, via nohoarts.org/calendar. Members of Pioneer Valley Jazz Shares can also use their shares for these events.

‘Sunday in the Park with George’ auditions

K and E Theater Group is holding auditions for its fall production, “Sunday in the Park with George,” by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine, on Monday, March 10, from 6 to 9 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Southampton.

“Sunday in the Park with George” is a Pulitzer Prize-winning musical about the pointillist artist Georges Seurat, who, as he works more and more diligently on his most famous work, “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte,” strains his relationship with his lover, Dot.

To sign up for an audition slot or see a full breakdown of characters, visit KETG.org/auditions. Be prepared to sing a song in the style of the show, and bring additional sheet music in case you’re asked to sing more. If possible, bring a headshot and resume, too.

All actors will receive a small stipend at the end of the run.

Rehearsals will start in July and the show will run in October at 33 Hawley in Northampton.

Red Hot Chilli Pipers

The Red Hot Chilli Pipers – yes, “Pipers,” not “Peppers” – will bring their unique style of bagpipe-centric rock to the Academy of Music on Tuesday, March 4, at 8 p.m.

The group, who bills their music as “bagpipes with attitude” and “drums with a Scottish accent,” covers modern popular songs like “We Will Rock You” by Queen, “Chasing Cars” by Snow Patrol, “Clocks” by Coldplay, and more, plus more traditional songs like “Flower of Scotland” and “Amazing Grace.” They won the British TV talent show “When Will I Be Famous?” in 2007.

Tickets are $29.50 to $49.50, not including fees, at aomtheatre.com.

Comedy about food banks

Comedian Kristina Wong wants to make food banks fun. Wong will bring her show, “#FoodBankInfluencer,” to Bowker Auditorium at UMass Amherst on Friday, Feb. 28, at 8 p.m.

Her show aims to bring attention to food insecurity in a lighthearted way, for the most part — when she performed her show at Arizona State University in 2023, the show included hunger-themed versions of famous songs, including “... Baby One More Time” and “Welcome to the Jungle.” (“Welcome to the food bank / We got groceries! / If you got no money, honey / We take EBT!”)

At the same time, a press release asks, “If food banks were originally a stopgap for a temporary crisis and now have become a permanent part of American survival, does this mean we are in a perpetual state of crisis?” Tickets are $15 for youth 17 and under and Five College students, or $30 otherwise, not including fees.

‘Magical Music in March’

The Bombyx Brass Collective will present a concert of exciting and often magic-themed music at Bombyx on Sunday, March 2, at 2 p.m.

The concert will include John Williams’ “Quidditch” from the movie “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” an arrangement of the “Game of Thrones” theme by Ramin Djawadi, “Year of the Dragon” by Phillip Sparke, Jacques Offenbach’s “Can-Can,” and more.

The event is free but has a suggested donation of $15 in advance via bombyx.ludus.com or at the door.

Wedding giveaway for one LGBTQIA+ couple

Valley View Farm, a wedding venue, working farm, and craft cidery in Haydenville, is running a giveaway for one LGBTQIA+ couple to have a free wedding at the venue on Saturday, May 17.

To enter the giveaway, follow @valleyviewfarmwedding on Instagram, then like, share, and comment on the giveaway post. Next, fill out the Google Form linked in their Instagram bio, which asks about how you and your partner met, how many guests you estimate you’ll have for the wedding, and why you want to have a wedding soon.

Note that the giveaway covers Valley View’s venue rental and planning costs (which range from $11,000 to $20,000 otherwise) and the catering fixed fee (valued at $5,000), but catering and bar costs still apply. The giveaway also does not include vendors like florists, makeup artists, photographers, etc.

Enter soon – the deadline is Sunday, March 2. The winner will be announced on Saturday, March 8.