Regional event highlights include Craig Ferguson, The Dead Zone, and Greg Hawkes with Eddie Japan Performing the Music of The Cars [Events Roundup]

• Craig Ferguson, a comedian who knows how to make anyone laugh, is set to perform tonight at 7:30 at the Santander Performing Arts Center in Reading. Ferguson is a Grammy-nominated and Peabody and Emmy Award-winning actor, writer, producer, director and comedian with a diverse career that encompasses film, television and the stage. He is a New York Times bestselling author and has recorded stand-up specials for Netflix, Epix, Comedy Central and Amazon. The wildly popular “Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” ran on CBS for 10 years and remains a cult favorite on YouTube, racking up millions of views every year on fan-posted bootleg clips. After several low-paying acting gigs, Ferguson discovered he had a knack for comedy and was soon the star of his own BBC television show, “The Ferguson Theory.” After several stints on the UK comedy circuit, Ferguson brought his act to America in 1995 to star with Betty White and Marie Osmond in the short-lived ABC comedy, “Maybe This Time.” After the show ended, ABC decided to add the talented Scotsman to “The Drew Carey Show” as Drew Carey’s boss, Nigel Wick, from 1996-2003. Ferguson has achieved notable success on the North American comedy circuit and has performed to sold-out theaters all across the country, including Carnegie Hall and Radio City Music Hall. He has five widely acclaimed stand-up comedy specials: “A Wee Bit O’ Revolution,” which premiered in 2009 on Comedy Central; “Does This Need to Be Said” in 2011 on EPIX and Comedy Central; “I’m Here to Help” in 2013 on Netflix, which earned him a Grammy nomination for Best Comedy Album; “Just Being Honest” in 2015 on EPIX, which earned him a second Grammy nomination for Best Comedy Album; and “Tickle Fight” in 2017 on Netflix and the six-part stand-up/docu-series “Hobo Fabulous” on Amazon in 2020. Tickets start at $29. For more information, go to santander-arena.com/events.

• Exhumed Films presents “The Dead Zone,” a horror film that will keep you on high alert, on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Colonial Theatre in Phoenixville. Exhumed Films officially kicks off a series of 16 mm film presentations in the Colonial‘s luxurious Berry Theatre with David Cronenberg’s 1983 adaptation of Stephen King’s “The Dead Zone.” Throughout November and December, Exhumed Films will be bringing in 16 mm projectors, features, cartoons, shorts, TV spots and related ephemera for a program showcasing films in the smaller format that do not ordinarily have the opportunity to be presented at the Colonial Theatre. The show will be preceded by an appropriately themed cartoon short and a selection of 1980s horror TV spots, and the feature will be followed by a special screening for King fans of the rarely shown 1983 “Disciples of the Crow,” a short film adaption of “Children of the Corn” made before the feature film. Seating is limited. Tickets start at $18. For more information, go to thecolonialtheatre.com/films.

• Greg Hawkes with Eddie Japan Performing the Music of The Cars, a show that never ceases to amaze, is set for Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center in West Chester. Pioneering and pushing the limits of technology and sequencing in the late ’70s and through the ’80s, Hawkes cemented the synthesizer’s place in rock and pop music, and his contribution has influenced countless artists. Along with achieving Rock and Roll Hall of Fame status and massive commercial success with the Cars, Hawkes has been a sought-after session and touring musician and has worked with the likes of Paul McCartney, Todd Rundgren and the Turtles. In 2016, he collaborated with the acclaimed Boston band Eddie Japan to produce their 2017 album “Golden Age.” This eventually led to Hawkes and the band joining forces to create a night of music by the Cars featuring a set list curated by Hawkes. Since 2019, Greg Hawkes with Eddie Japan Performing the Music of The Cars has been thrilling audiences across the Northeast with an energetic show that includes hits and deeper cuts from the Cars songbook, along with special selections relating to Hawkes musical career. Tickets start at $40. For more information, see uptownwestchester.org.

• The Hooters are set to perform Friday at 8 p.m. at the Keswick Theatre in Glenside. In 1980, the Hooters burst onto the Philadelphia music scene as a new and different kind of rock band, formed by co-leaders and songwriters Rob Hyman and Eric Bazilian. The other members include original drummer David Uosikkinen, John Lilley, Fran Smith Jr. and Tommy Williams. Hyman and Bazilian have contributed their musical and songwriting assistance to other artists, including Cyndi Lauper, Joan Osborne, the Band, Carole King, Mick Jagger, Willie Nelson, the Chieftains, Jon Bon Jovi, Robbie Williams, the Scorpions, Dar Williams and Taj Mahal. In 2009, the Hooters released “Both Sides Live,” a double-album set featuring all the band’s greatest hits in both full-tilt electric and unique acoustic versions. And in 2010, their EP “5×5” was released, featuring the uplifting single “Silver Lining” as well as versions of the hits “Time After Time” and “One Of Us.” Those two songs earned Hyman and Bazilian Grammy nominations for Song Of The Year when they were hits written and recorded with Lauper and Osborne, respectively. In 2017, the band released “Give The Music Back,” a double-live album recorded at the Keswick. This compilation CD and subsequent international tours continue to reflect their strong collaborations in the studio, their passionate energy onstage and their longtime friendship on the road and off. And in October 2019, the group was inducted into Philly’s Walk Of Fame with their own sidewalk plaque on the Avenue of the Arts. Ticket prices start at $98. For more information, go to keswicktheatre.com/events.