Best of the Week: Catherine Russell, 'The Oldest Play,' Alejandro Escovedo, Peter Wolf, TU Dance, more

There are no lines between blues, soul and jazz when Catherine Russell sings, as she evokes the era when all those genres swirled together in popular song. She's touring behind her slyly personal sixth album, "Harlem on My Mind," recalling, at times, Ethel Waters and Dinah Washington. While the daughter of Louis Armstrong's former music director started late, a decade ago at age 50, the depth of her roots are inherent in her delivery.BRITT ROBSON

7 p.m. Mon., Dakota, Mpls.; $40-$45, dakotacooks.com

"The Oldest Boy" is playwright Sarah Ruhl's spirit- and emotion-tugging drama about parental separation as two Buddhist monks come to a family's home to take a 3-year-old boy to a monastery. He's the monks' reincarnated lama, or spiritual teacher, they say. Director Sarah Rasmussen stages it with simple elegance and a perfect cast, with Christina Baldwin and Randy Reyes as the boys' parents, and Masanari Kawahara manipulating the puppet boy.

ROHAN PRESTON

Tue.-Sun., Jungle Theater, Mpls. $35-$48, jungletheater.com.

Some giants from the rootsy scene of Austin, Texas, are playing in Minneapolis on back-to-back nights. Alejandro Escovedo (pictured) is supporting his smoldering new album, "Burn Something Beautiful," produced by R.E.M./Minus 5 cohorts Peter Buck and Scott McCaughey. Alt-country pioneers Joe Ely, Butch Hancock and Jimmie Dale Gilmore don't have a new Flatlanders disc, but they have enough classic songs to keep playing through the next election.

CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER

While his mothballed group, the J. Geils Band, is on this year's ballot for the Rock Hall of Fame, dynamic, soulful frontman Peter Wolf is on tour with his Midnight Travelers, featuring guitarist Duke Levine. Wolf is showcasing his 2016 solo disc, the eclectic and rootsy "A Cure for Loneliness," which covers everything from doo-wop and a country waltz to originals that evoke Van Morrison and Bruce Springsteen to a bluegrass reading of Geils' "Love Stinks." Expect a few Geils faves from the always wired Wolf.

JON BREAM

7 p.m. Thu. Dakota, Mpls., $45-$65, dakotacooks.com

Racial politics take center stage for TU Dance's fall concert. Dance premieres by guest choreographer Francesca Harper and TU co-artistic director Uri Sands explore violence and racial injustice, while a reprise of Sands' 2005 piece, "Tearing," finds hope in the way communities unite after tragedies.

SHEILA REGAN

With the string section away for a European tour, the wind players of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra keep the home fires burning with a stimulating program that pairs Dvořák's "Serenade for Winds" with lesser known pieces by Leo Smit, Rudolf Karel and Erwin Schulhoff.

TERRY BLAIN

11 a.m. Fri. Wooddale Church, Eden Prairie; 8 p.m. Sat., St. Paul's United Church of Christ, St. Paul. (Also Nov. 25-27 at Ordway Concert Hall, St. Paul, $15-$53.) $13-$43, thespco.org

Amanda Palmer, the goth-poppy piano rocker who rose to fame with the Dresden Dolls, has been playing stripped-down shows for most of this year, including some with her long-estranged father after they made a folk record together. Now a part-time western Wisconsin resident and mother since marrying famous author Neil Gaiman, she will likely offer a mix of DD tunes, solo material and covers at this intimate show with no opening act.

CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER

In Loring Park in Minneapolis, there's an imposing statue of a violinist playing his instrument. His name is Ole Bull. And because he was Norwegian he developed strong links with Minnesota. Find out more about Bull in a recital by violinist Peter Sheppard Skærved, who explores the links between the 19th-century composer/violinist and the 1860 Hardanger fiddle owned by the Schubert Club Museum.

TERRY BLAIN

7:30 p.m. Thu.; Schubert Club Museum, Landmark Center, St. Paul; $10-$16, schubert.org

The Washington County Historic Courthouse hosts its annual Victorian Christmas event with live music and an appearance by Santa. A holiday bazaar features more than 30 Victorian costumed vendors with handcrafted goods. Guests can also take a tour of the 1900s county jail. Friday night features a gala fundraiser to support the upkeep of the oldest standing courthouse in Minnesota.

MELISSA WALKER