What to see, do, read and hear in Toronto this May

A Latin pop star’s record-smashing tour

Shakira is back in a big way. The “Hips Don’t Lie” singer is touring in support of her Grammy-winning 2024 album Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran (“women no longer cry”), but her real goal seems to be breaking records. The Colombian pop star has now performed more shows in Latin America than any other female artist, selling 950,000 tickets in less than two hours. After delaying the tour’s North American leg to secure larger venues capable of meeting the surging demand, she finally brings the party to Toronto this month. Scotiabank Arena, May 26

An intimate show about pain and recovery

At age nine, Angola ­Murdoch found out she had scoliosis. Despite her condition, she pursued a career as a circus acrobat and eventually underwent surgery to insert two 10-inch metal rods on either side of her spine, along with hooks and screws to hold her vertebrae in place. In her solo show, Twist of Fate, Murdoch dances through her illness and recovery with props including a hanging metal frame that represents the brace in her back. An X-ray of Murdoch’s spine is projected onto her back while composer Matthew Reid performs an original score. Twist of Fate debuted in 2023 and returns to Toronto this month. Harbourfront Centre Theatre, May 9 to 11

An exhibition of lush and dreamy landscapes

Spring has sprung, but before scenes of lush greenery arrive in earnest, they’ll decorate the walls of the Power Plant. Artist Emmanuel ­Osahor, an assistant professor of studio art at U of T, has exhibited across Canada, but To Dream of Other Places is his first solo show in his hometown. His large-scale paintings of real and imagined foliage cover entire walls, immersing viewers in wistful, Edenic settings. Power Plant, until September 14

A fearsome and fearful new record

Bartees Strange seems to have a soft spot for our city. On the musician’s 2022 album, Farm to Table, he sings, “You looked so nice in a cherry scarf / We should go to Toronto more often.” Blending indie rock, alternative and hip hop, Strange has opened for the National, Japanese Breakfast, Phoebe Bridgers and Metric. The title of his most recent album, Horror, is inspired by the scary stories his parents told to teach him life lessons as a child in Oklahoma; the fear he felt as a Black queer youth in the rural South; and his own desire to grow fearsome. Strange concludes the album’s North American tour here in Toronto. The Axis Club, May 23

A sculptural take on a household item

Long before it housed the Museum of Contemporary Art, 158 Sterling Road was an aluminum foil factory that remained active until 2006. MOCA resident artist Sondra Perry drew on that history to create a series of sculptures made entirely out of the crinkly stuff. Known for her performance and video art, Perry has spent her career exploring the thin line between the familiar and the foreign. A 2023 video work, Phantom. ­Menace, uses AI to comment on memory and dreams. In this exhibition, Perry takes an ordinary kitchen staple and layers it until it becomes something entirely unfamiliar. MOCA, until August 3

An acclaimed folk star’s expanding sound

It may be an awkward time for Americana in Canada, but two-time Grammy-winner Rhiannon Giddens is one of the best in the genre (plus, while she was born in North Carolina, she lives in Ireland now). Giddens is known as a master banjoist and vocalist, and she won a Pulitzer Prize for Omar, the 2023 opera she co-wrote with composer Michael Abels. Her latest album, You’re the One, is her first to consist entirely of original songs. Koerner Hall, May 15 and 16

A breakout indie rocker’s two-night romp

MJ Lenderman is one of indie rock’s fastest-rising stars. Formerly a member of the alt-rock outfit Wednesday, the artist and his country-edged stoner rock took off in 2022 with his third solo album, Boat Songs. Last year, he released the hit duet “Right Back to It” with Waxahatchee, completed multiple tours with Wednesday, performed on Colbert and came out with a fourth solo album, Manning Fireworks, before touring across the US and Europe. Now, after breaking up with Wednesday—and the band’s lead singer—he’s officially going solo and getting back on the road. He swings through town for two nights. Danforth Music Hall, May 8 and 9

An illustrious ballet dancer’s fond farewell

After 27 years with the National Ballet of Canada, Guillaume Côté is making his last dance one to remember. An accomplished choreographer and composer, Côté will perform a new work he created for the occasion, Grand Mirage, a one-man pas de deux between himself and his shadow. As they circle each other, the anti-Côté gradually consumes the real one until only a figment remains, a fitting metaphor for his departure. Also on the docket: a re-staging of Côté’s 2012 Boléro, the ballet by French composer Maurice Ravel. Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, May 30 to June 5