Music lovers take your pick from legendary rockers to R&B Grammy winners this week in CT arts

History and tradition make room for the present and the future this week in the Connecticut arts scene.

There are a couple of bands playing Connecticut this week who’ve been around for 50 years or more, Spyro Gyra and Styx. There’s also a 118-year-old play that’s been rethought for a contemporary college theater production.

Chazz Palminteri is returning to the original version of his “A Bronx Tale” and new wave of American heavy metal pioneers Avenged Sevenfold are touring with some especially creative metalheads of a later wave.

Here are some of the top things to do and see.

TobyMac XL Center, 1 Civic Center Blvd., Hartford

The Christian rapper/rocker TobyMac has had nine solo albums since leaving the band DC Talk nearly a quarter century ago. His Hits Deep Tour 2024 is at the XL Center and features a host of other Christian music acts including Cory Asbury, Mac Powell, Tasha Layton, Jon Reddick and Terrian. March 20 at 7 p.m. $25. xlcenter.com.

‘The Vagina Monologues’ Ridgefield Playhouse, 80 East Ridge, Ridgefield

A performance of Eve Ensler’s three-woman show about women’s issues “The Vagina Monologues” is part of “An Evening of Funny, Honey & Hope” at the Ridgefield Playhouse on March 21 at 7 p.m. Hanna Dickinson, Barbara Miller and Laurie Newkirk will perform Ensler’s play, along with other entertainment, as a benefit for The Center for Empowerment and Education. $35. Livestream is available for $10. ridgefieldplayhouse.org.

Avenged Sevenfold Mohegan Sun Arena, 1 Mohegan Sun Blvd., Uncasville

Avenged Sevenfold, a key proponent of the old new wave of American heavy metal genre, merges fantasy and horror images with some strident hard rock sounds. The band members certainly live up to their names: M. Shadows, Zacky Vengeance, Synyster Gates, Johnny Christ and Brooks Wackerman. The show on March 21 at 6:30 p.m. also features the eclectic/rock/pop/metalcore performance artist Poppy and electronic dance music-inflected metal guitarist Sullivan King. $60-$194.70. mohegansun.com.

Tinsley Ellis Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center, 300 Main St., Old Saybrook

Tinsley Ellis has been known for decades as a supreme electric blues guitarist, but now he’s shifted to solo acoustic for his latest album and tour. The title of the stripped-down album is “The Naked Truth.” One of the finest listening rooms in the state for such a concert, The Kate in Old Saybrook, welcomes Ellis for an intimate evening of folk blues on March 21 at 7:30 p.m. $37. thekate.org.

‘A Doctor’s Dilemma’ Connecticut Repertory Theatre, 802 Bolton Road, Storrs

George Bernard Shaw’s 1906 play “The Doctor’s Dilemma,” about medical ethics and other social and capitalist concerns, has been adapted by Tlaloc Riv, renamed “A Doctor’s Dilemma” and is being performed by UConn student actors March 21-31 at Connecticut Repertory Theatre’s Nafe Katt Theatre space. Performances are Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m. and Saturdays at 2 p.m., with an added Sat. evening show on March 23. crt.uconn.edu.

UConn A Cappella Buckingham Congregational Church, 16 Cricket Lane, Glastonbury

On March 22 at 7 p.m., five University of Connecticut-based a cappella groups — Rolling Tones, Extreme Measures, Notes Over Storrs, Rubyfruit and Conn-Men — are joining together for a concert at Buckingham Congregation Church in Glastonbury. $15, $12 in advance. Ticket sales benefit the UConn A Cappella Association and the MACC food pantry. buckinghamchurch.org.

Styx Oakdale Theatre, 95 South Turnpike Road, Wallingford

The “Lady” and “Mr. Roboto” prog-rockers Styx formed over 50 years ago and had their first big breakup 40 years ago, regrouping or reuniting multiple times. The lineup for the last five years has been Tommy Shaw, Todd Sucherman, Lawrence Gowan, Ricky Phillips, Will Evankovich and two founding members, “J.Y” (James Young) and Chuck Panozzo. March 22 at 8 p.m. at the Oakdale. $47.50-$294.40. concerts.livenation.com.

Gaelic Storm and The High Kings Foxwoods Resort Casino, 350 Trolley Line Blvd., Mashantucket

St. Patrick’s Day may be on Sunday, but Irish excitement ends the week as well with a double bill of high-energy traditional Irish folk bands who actually hail from Ireland. March 22 at 8 p.m. Foxwoods’ Premier Theater. $50.35-$79.10. foxwoods.com.

Spyro Gyra Infinity Hall, 32 Front St., Hartford

This is iconic American jazz fusion group Spyro Gyra’s 50th anniversary tour. The band formed in Buffalo, New York in 1974, though it took three years for a debut album to appear. Saxophonist Jay Beckenstein is the sole founding member, but bassist Scott Ambush and guitarist Julio Fernández have been with Spyro Gyra for decades. March 22 at 8 p.m. at Infinity Hall Hartford. $49. infinityhall.com.

‘A Bronx Tale’ Garde Arts Center, 325 State St., New London

Chazz Palminteri brings the original one-man version of his semiautobiographical show about New York gang life in New York City in the ‘60s (a story that he has adapted into a movie and a Broadway musical) back to the stage. On March 23 at 8 p.m., Palminteri will perform it at the Garde in New London. In May, he’ll do it at the Ridgefield Playhouse. $31-$75. gardearts.org.

Ashanti Oakdale Theatre, 95 South Turnpike Road, Wallingford

Ashanti has been an R&B/soul/hip-hop diva for over 20 years. She’s also done a lot of TV and movie acting and appeared on a slew of reality shows and game shows. Her hits include “Foolish,” “Unfoolish,” “Gotta Move On” and “Just Stand Up.” March 23 at 8 p.m. The concert also features Southern R&B singer Lloyd and the girl group 702. $62-$137.50. concerts.livenation.com.

Monster Jam XL Center, 1 Civic Center Plaza, Hartford

The XL Center will be turned into a pile of dirt, ravaged by the Grave Digger and other humungous cars and trucks. Drivers include Monster Jam tramp Tyler Menninga. Three wild shows: March 23 at 1 and 7 p.m. and March 24 at 1 p.m. $41.50-$63.90. xlcenter.com.