Cleveland live Music Calendar

Celebrate the holiday season with the Cleveland Orchestra and Chorus as the groups perform music for the Christmas Season. There will be sing-a-longs, guest choruses and a surprise visit from a festive fellow dressed in red velvet. Performances take place at 7:30 tonight and tomorrow night at Severance Hall. Concerts repeat again at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m.on Saturday and Sunday. Tickets start at $45. (Niesel)

Thu., Dec. 15

FLAVOR celebrates the local culinary scene by bringing together leading Cleveland restaurants. Select beer, wine and cocktails add to the VIP-style soiree that is FLAVOR. Food and drink lovers can sample food from some of the most highly regarded restaurants and bars in Cleveland. Back by popular demand, the “Culinary Showdown” returns to FLAVOR this year. Top chefs from Cleveland will create a unique, mouth-watering dish. Each chef will have 30 minutes to stir up a winning quick-fire dish to impress our judges. The winning chef wins bragging rights for years to come. Pre-sale tickets cost $40, $50 at the door. The event takes place from 7 to 11 tonight at Lago Custom Events at Aloft Hotel, Flats East Bank. sceneflavor.com.

Jimmy Kuehnle’s inflatable sculptures have been dazzling spectators throughout the US and around the world for years. Kuehnle, who teaches as an Assistant Professor in the Foundation department at the Cleveland Institute of Art, has made his presence known locally with his recent installations at MOCA Cleveland and the Akron Art Museum. He is a current recipient of the Creative Workforce Fellowship through Cuyahoga Arts and Culture. At 6:30 tonight, Kuehnle will discuss his work with inflatables in Northeast Ohio and abroad during a gallery talk at the Akron Art Museum. Kuehnle’s current installation, Wiggle, Giggle, Jiggle, remains on view through Feb. 19, 2017 in Akron. Created with coated polyester and coated nylon fabric, the site-specific installation fills the museum’s Mary S. and David C. Corbin Foundation Gallery and extends into the Beatrice Knapp McDowell Grand Lobby, inviting visitor engagement. The lecture is free. (Usmani)

Knight of Cups, director Terrence Malick's latest feature, stars Christian Bale as a Hollywood screenwriter experiencing a crisis. New Yorker critic Richard Brody called the film "one of the great recent bursts of cinematic artistry." It screens tonight at 8:50 and tomorrow night at 7:15 at the Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque. Tickets are $10, $7 for members and students. (Niesel)

In 1988, Rocky LaPorte quit his day job as a truck driver to become a professional comedian. Turned out to be a good move. LaPorte hasn’t forgotten his roots and in his stand-up routines, he makes simple observations about the oddities of life. In one performance, the comedian talked about putting your parents down as an emergency contact. “What are my parents going to do?” he joked. “‘Mrs. LaPorte your son has been in a horrific car accident.’ ‘Well give him some ice cream; he likes ice cream.’” It’s that sort of simple observation that makes LaPorte’s material stand out from the pack of other truck drivers turned comics. He performs tonight at 8 at Hilarities, where he has shows scheduled through Sunday. Tickets start at $23. (William Hoffman)

While not as well known as his superstar brother, comedian Chris Rock, Tony Rock has plenty going for him. In one funny routine, he talks about the "whitest thing he ever saw." He recounts witnessing a citizen's arrest at an airport when a guy leaped into "full white guy mode" after he saw someone take an elevator "without authorization." A great storyteller, Rock performs tonight at 7:30 at the Improv, where he has shows scheduled through Sunday. Tickets start at $17. (Niesel)