Weekend Picks: Grand Performances, Tony Bennett, and more

Arts events this weekend include crooner Tony Bennett in Costa Mesa and Tony winner Billy Porter in Northridge. BodyTraffic comes to the Wallis in Beverly Hills, Angel City Chorale performs with a South African youth choir, Long Beach Symphony concludes its season and “Native Son” wraps up in Glendale. Last but not least, Grand Performances gets down and gets funky for its season opener.

Grand Performances salutes Sly Stone

Stand ... stand ... stand! Or sit, if your prefer. The outdoor summer concert series Grand Performances launches a new season with “Higher! The Psychedelic Soul & Genius of Sly and the Family Stone,” a multimedia-enhanced salute to the influential funk and R&B pioneers behind such hits as “Dance to the Music” and “Everyday People.” California Plaza, 350 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. 8 p.m. Friday. Free. www.grandperformances.org

Tony Bennett at Segerstrom

The last of a dying breed, legendary crooner Tony Bennett holds court in Costa Mesa, where the 19-time Grammy winner will wrap his velvety pipes around jazz standards and favorites from the great American songbook. Segerstrom Hall, Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 600 Town Center Drive. 7:30 p.m. Friday. $79 and up. www.scfta.org

BodyTraffic at the Wallis

L.A. dance company BodyTraffic kicks up its heals for a 10th anniversary celebration that includes the world premiere of Matthew Neenan’s “A Million Voices,” plus works by Sidra Bell, Stijn Celis, Ohad Naharin and Richard Siegal. Bram Goldsmith Theater, Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills. 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday. $45-$125. www.thewallis.org

Long Beach Symphony wraps season

Long Beach Symphony and pianist Fei-Fei take a crack at Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 as part of the orchestra’s all-Russian season finale. The program also includes Tchaikovsky’s Second Symphony. Terrace Theater, Long Beach Convention Center, 300 E. Ocean Blvd. 8 p.m. Saturday. $26 and up; students, $10. www.longbeachsymphony.org

Billy Porter at the Soraya

Tony winner Billy Porter (“Kinky Boots”) will put his spin on classic show tunes by a Broadway legend when he brings his recent album “The Soul of Richard Rodgers” to the concert stage. Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts, Cal State Northridge, 18111 Nordhoff St. 8 p.m. Saturday. $38 and up. www.thesoraya.org

Angel City Chorale performs

It’s a small world after all: “One World, Many Voices II” finds L.A.-based Angel City Chorale joining forces with South Africa’s Amy Foundation youth choir for a celebration of diverse cultures. Immanuel Presbyterian Church, 3300 Wilshire Blvd., L.A. 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. $27-$75. www.angelcitychorale.org

‘Native Son’ ending soon at Antaeus

It’s your last weekend to catch “Native Son,” Nambi E. Kelley’s stage adaptation of the classic Richard Wright novel about an impoverished African American youth in 1930s Chicago who turns to a life of crime. An L.A. Times Critics’ Choice. Antaeus Theatre Company, Kiki & David Gindler Performing Arts Center, 110 E. Broadway, Glendale. 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday. $30, $34. www.antaeus.org