Music and math

"Emotions and Math" is the debut album by buzzing New York singer-songwriter Margaret Glaspy, who comes across as sort of a cerebral Courtney Barnett. Glaspy will be one of the new faces at the third annual Festival Palomino. Of course, the roots-music event, with 17 bands on three stages, features fest founders Trampled by Turtles, one of Minnesota's most exciting live acts, plus the Arcs (with Dan Auerbach), Andrew Bird, Jake Bugg, Elephant Revival, Frightened Rabbit, the Cactus Blossoms, Frankie Lee, Aubrie Sellers and others. JON BREAM

1 p.m. Sat. Hall's Island, Mpls. $48-$147, festivalpalomino.com

Some artists are fighting back against anti-Muslim rhetoric. Katha Dance Theatre's "Sufiana: The Sufi Ecstasy" celebrates the music, movement and culture of Sufism, the mystical sect of Islam. Featuring live music composed by 2016 McKnight Fellow Pooja Goswami and choreography by KDT founder/artistic director Rita Mustaphi, the show aims to create a transcendent experience as it evokes Sufi ideas about devotion to the divine and absolute love for humankind.

SHEILA REGAN

8 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. Cowles Center, Mpls. $21-$26, thecowlescenter.org.

Blake Shelton sure lit up Gwen Stefani's stage at Xcel Energy Center when he sang their duet, "Go Ahead and Break My Heart," with her last month. The star of NBC's "The Voice" and tabloids at a checkout counter near you, Shelton will return to St. Paul for two nights. He'll bring the humor and the hits, including "Honey Bee," "Gonna" and "Straight Out of Cold Beer." Opening is ­RaeLynn, a Team Blake alum from "The Voice" known for the hit "God Made Girls."

JON BREAM

7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul. $39.75-$89.75, ticketmaster.com

They often sing with their family group, the Steeles, but sisters Jearlyn and Jevetta rarely perform together — except on "A Prairie Home Companion." For years, they've been go-to singers for Garrison Keillor because they are quick studies and versatile singers with beaming personalities. Last weekend at his State Fair show, Jearlyn and Jevetta did "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," "Nothing Compares 2 U" and "Joyful Joyful" from "Sister Act 2." They'll do a retrospective of their "Prairie Home" repertoire.

JON BREAM

7 p.m. Mon. Dakota, Mpls. $35, dakotacooks.com

Crazy politics inspires smart art. Three new shows at Soo Visual Arts Center dive deep into the wacky world of contemporary politics and come up with sharp satire and often ironic insights. In "Herd Mentality," printmaker Ruthann Godollei juxtaposes real-world problems with the bombast she found at the Circus World Museum in Baraboo, Wis. Californian Curt LeMieux doodled on and over "Presidential Portraits" in a 1961 high school encyclopedia.

MARY ABBE

Ends Oct. 22. Soo Visual Arts Center, Mpls. Free, soovac.org

"Think of a man whose health can never be restored, and whose brightest hopes have come to nothing." Schubert was 27 when he wrote these words, suffering symptoms of the mysterious illness that killed him. Mortality pervades "Death and the Maiden," which he wrote during this period. And it forms the centerpiece of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra's concert with iconoclastic violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja.

TERRY BLAIN

11 a.m. & 8 p.m. Fri., 8 p.m. Sat. Ordway, St. Paul; 2 p.m. Sun., Ted Mann Concert Hall, Mpls. $13-$53, thespco.org

According to reports out of New York, playwright Kate Hamill pumped up the volume in her adaptation of Jane Austen's "Sense and Sensibility." Sarah Rasmussen, the newish artistic director at the Jungle, comes over to the Guthrie to stage the play, which she did previously in Dallas. This romantic comedy centers on sisters Elinor and Marianne Dashwood. Broadway actor Jolly Abraham and Alejandra Escalante play the lead roles.

GRAYDON ROYCE

Previews Sun., Tue.-Thu. Opens 7:30 p.m. Fri. Ends Oct. 29. Guthrie Theater, Mpls. $15-$77, guthrietheater.org

Théodore Akimenko is remembered, if at all, as Stravinsky's first composition teacher, but his music has recently been resurrected by his fellow Ukrainian, a violinist named Tatiana Chulochnikova. She plays selections from her new Akimenko CD featuring works by Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff and, yes, Akimenko in a recital with pianist Anastasia Dedik.

TERRY BLAIN

5 p.m. Sat. Museum of Russian Art, Mpls. $25-$30, tmora.org

Grab family and friends to frolic in the crisp autumn air in a variety of health activities at Fit 4 Fun Family Fitness. Participate in a run and walk, bike ride, line dancing or kids run. Take advantage of health screenings including blood pressure and diabetes risk assessments. Information will be available on wellness, healthy eating and fitness.

MELISSA WALKER

8:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Sat. NorthPoint Health and Wellness Center, Mpls., free, northpointhealth.org.