COMEDY
Incredibly Funny
Sarah Vowell might not be able to make herself invisible like Violet Parr (below), the character she played in the animated film The Incredibles, but she can make
you fall out of your seat laughing. A regular on public radio’s This American Life, Vowell is also an author, journalist, humorist, and keen “social observer.” Truly incredible. Feb. 21 at 8 p.m. $55. Stone Mountain Arts Center, 695 Dug Way Rd., Brownfield. 866-227-6523. www.stonemountainartscenter.com

ART
From Away
What would it be like to curate a museum art show? Students at Colby and Bowdoin are finding out with Ink Tales, an exhibition of Chinese paintings drawn from the collections of both colleges. The exhibition also shares the students’ explorations of the cultures behind the images. A professor from each college’s Asian Studies program is directing the exhibition, which will be held simultaneously on both campuses. Jan. 22 – March 8. Free. 5600 Mayflower Hill Dr., Waterville. 207-872-3228. www.colby.edu/museum. Feb. 3 – May 10. Free. 9400 College Station, Brunswick. 207-725-3275. www.bowdoin.edu/art-museum

MUSIC
A Star Soprano
Photo Credit: Decca/Andrew Eccles
“America’s Beautiful Voice” takes the stage in Portland for her Pine Tree State debut. Renée Fleming (left), the most famous soprano in the world, joins the Portland Symphony Orchestra for Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier Suite and Four Last Songs, Rodgers’ Carousel Waltz, and Kander’s A Letter from Sullivan Ballou, and more. Feb. 17 at 7:30 p.m. $70-$130. Merrill Auditorium, 20 Myrtle St., Portland. 207-842-0800. www.portlandsymphony.com

Before making plans to attend any of these events, call ahead to confirm, since dates and times may be subject to change. For even more listings or to submit an event listing to Down East, send an e-mail to editorial@downeast.com or visit www.DownEast.com

MUSIC AND DANCE

BANGOR SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
The BSO teams up with Joel Fan, the New York-based pianist noted for his work with Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Project, for a night of Beethoven and Brahms. Feb. 1. $18-$42. Maine Center for the Arts, University of Maine, Orono. 800-639-3221. www.bangorsymphony.com

BERNARD ROUMAIN
Known for blending classical music with funk, rock, and hip hop, this violinist, composer, and bandleader is joined by his string quartet, SQ Unit, for an all-original program. Feb. 6 at 8 p.m. $10-$36. Hannaford Hall, Abromson Community Education Center, USM, Portland. 207-842-0800. www.pcagreatperformances.org. See Roumain again on Feb. 8 at 3 p.m. $27. Minsky Recital Hall, University of Maine, Orono. 207-581-1755. www2.umaine.edu/mca

DAVE ROWE TRIO
Mainer David Rowe is happy when’s he playing a little bit folk, a little bit bluegrass, a little bit Celtic, and a little bit traditional. Feb. 21 at 7:30 p.m. $12-$16. The Chocolate Church Arts Center, 798 Washington St., Bath. 207-442-8455. www.chocolatechurch.com

THE DUKE ROBILLARD BAND
Duke Robillard and his band are a bona fide blues act. Feb. 7 at 8 p.m. $18-$20. One Longfellow Square, 181 State St., Portland. 207-761-1757. www.onelongfellowsquare.com

KENNY WHITE
Kenny White is a New York City folk rocker who spent some time in Beantown gigging with Livingston Taylor and Jonathan Edwards and is now hitting the big time on his own. Feb. 20 at 7:30 p.m. $19-$24. Franco-American Heritage Center, 46 Cedar St., Lewiston. 207-689-2000. www.francoamericanheritage.org

KIDS KARTOONS AND KOTZSCHMAR
Rob Richards, house organist at Disney’s historic El Capitan theatre in Hollywood, and Maine cartoonist Jeff Pert combine talents for an afternoon of pipes, the musical kind, and cartoons. Feb. 8 at 2 p.m. $12. Merrill Auditorium, 20 Myrtle St., Portland. 270-842-0800. www.foko.org

LUCY KAPLANSKY
Dubbed by the Boston Globe as the Manhattan Minstrel, Plansky sings provocative tunes about being loved and being loveless. She started out in a duo with Shawn Colvin and now can be heard on CDs by the likes of Bryan Ferry, Nanci Griffith, and John Gorka. Feb. 6 at 8 p.m. $20-$23. One Longfellow Square, 181 State St., Portland. 207-761-1757. www.onelongfellowsquare.com

RADIO DAYS
Minnesota’s Five By Design and award-winning conductor Charles Latshaw pay tribute to the big bands of the 1940s. Feb. 21 at 7:30 p.m. & Feb. 22 at 2:30 p.m. $70-$130. Merrill Auditorium, 20 Myrtle St., Portland. 207-842-0800. www.portlandsymphony.com

THE SOLDIER’S TALE
The Curtis Institute of Music, a conservatory in Philadelphia that educates and trains exceptionally gifted young musicians, performs Stravinsky’s folk tale about a soldier who trades his fiddle to the devil only to soon regret it. Feb. 21 at 7 p.m. $8-$40. Rockport Opera House, 6 Central St. 207-236-2823. www.baychamberconcerts.org. Catch the concert again on Feb. 22 at 3 p.m. $30. Minsky Recital Hall, University of Maine, Orono. 207-581-1755. www2.umaine.edu/mca

STEVE RILEY AND THE MAMOU PLAYBOYS
Très bien! This is the Grammy-nominated band that Cajuns go looking for when they need to recharge their pride and identity. Feb. 20 at 8 p.m. $30. Stone Mountain Arts Center, 695 Dug Way Rd., Brownfield. 866-227-6523. www.stonemountainartscenter.com

SWEENEY TODD
Who’d have thought asking the barber for a close shave would have been this scary? Stephen Sondheim, that’s who. Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. $45. Hutchins Concert Hall, University of Maine, Orono. 207-581-1755. www2.umaine.edu/mca. Make an appointment with the barber again on Feb. 27 & 28 at 8 p.m. $45-$60. Merrill Auditorium, 20 Myrtle St., Portland. 207-842-0800. www.pcagreatperformances.org

YO-YO MA
The man can play a mean cello! Ma performs selections from Bach’s Six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello. Feb. 26 at 7:30 p.m. $30-$75. Merrill Auditorium, 20 Myrtle St., Portland. 207-842-0800. www.pcagreatperformances.org

ART MUSEUMS

BATES MUSEUM OF ART
Stories of the Somali Diaspora. Somali-born photographer Abdi Roble has been documenting the diaspora of the Somali population for five years. This exhibition presents fifty-five black and white images that document the transition of Somali communities from Africa to the United States. Through May 29. Free. 75 Russell St., Lewiston. 207-786-6158. www.bates.edu/museum.xml

BOWDOIN MUSEUM OF ART
The Image Wrought: Historical Photographic Approaches in the Digital Age. This exhibition examines how contemporary photographers are revisiting nineteenth-century photographic techniques in the age of digital innovations. Through April 5. u Highlights of the American Collection. Bowdoin’s collection of American art ranges from portraits of military and political leaders of the Colonial and Federal periods to gritty twentieth-century urban scenes and everything in between. Through May 3. u James Bowdoin III: Pursuing Style in the Age of Independence. This exhibition re-imagines the interior of Bowdoin III’s study and includes objects as diverse as an eighteenth-century air pump, a suit worn by Bowdoin, an impressive selection of books from his noted library, and a number of paintings. Through June 7. Free. 9400 College Station, Brunswick. 207-725-3275. www.bowdoin.edu/art-museum

COLBY COLLEGE MUSEUM OF ART
Bevin Engman: New Work. Paintings, collages, and photographs drawn from Colby’s associate professor of art’s recent explorations of the land, sea, and sky. Through March 8. u Whistler & the Figure: Prints from the Lunder Collection. This selection, from the more than two hundred Whistler etchings and lithographs in the Lunder collection, focuses on the artist’s preoccupation with portraying the human figure. Through May 31. Free. 5600 Mayflower Hill Dr., Waterville. 207-872-3228. www.colby.edu/museum

FARNSWORTH ART MUSEUM & WYETH CENTER
From Impressionism to Modernism — American Paintings from the Farnsworth Art Museum, 1885-1935. The stunning scenery and distinctive light of Maine’s coast has had its impact on many American impressionists. On display are works from John Henry Twachtman, Childe Hassam, Willard Leroy Metcalf, Frank Benson, George Bellows, Rockwell Kent, Andrew Winter, Marguerite Zorach, and more. Through Feb. 1. u Visions of America: Nineteenth-Century Painting from the Farnsworth. This exhibition of approximately fifty paintings features works by some of the nineteenth century’s foremost American landscape painters. Through March 29. u Confronting Abstraction: Painting in Maine, 1945-1955. Twenty paintings reveal how artists working in Maine responded to the abstract expressionist movement that emerged after World War II in New York. Through May 17. $10-$12, and free for Rockland residents. 16 Museum St., Rockland. 207-596-6457. www.farnsworthmuseum.org

MAINE COLLEGE OF ART
Twilight. Eerie landscapes, images of death, and curious terrors are all common motifs in the Gothic-Romantic tradition. The artists in this show take on Romanticism from a twenty-first century vantage point using the diverse media of painting, photography, installation, and video to express issues of humanity, identity, and spirituality. Through March 8. Free. 97 Spring St., Portland. 207-775-3052. www.meca.edu

PORTLAND MUSEUM OF ART
Art of the Cranberry Islands. For generations, Maine’s Cranberry Islands have served as inspiration for artists, among them Marvin Bileck, George Bunker, Walker Evans, William Kienbusch, Emily Nelligan, and Carl Nelson. Feb. 21 – June 28. u New Acquisitions 2008. More than twenty-five paintings, drawings, photographs, and prints recently acquired by the museum. Artists include photographers Jack Montgomery, Claire Seidl, Charles Litchfield, Clarence White, and Ralph Steiner; works on paper by Asa Chaffetz, Henry Kallem, Tim Lawson, and Samuel Peter Rolt Triscott; a sculpture by Gretchen Lucchesi; pen and ink sketches and a related monoprint by Susan Amons; prints by Rockwell Kent; a recent lithograph by Will Barnet; and a group of works purchased in memory of printmaker Dorothy Hay Jensen. Through Feb. 8. u Backstage Pass: Rock & Roll Photography. Go backstage with 230 photographs of the Beatles, rock legends like Elvis Presley and Jimi Hendrix, divas Madonna and Courtney Love, and others. Jan. 22 – March 22. $4-$10, and free Fridays from 5 to 9 p.m. 7 Congress Square, Portland. 207-775-6148. www.portlandmuseum.org