9 things to do this week: Record Store Day, Southside Johnny, Ragamala Dance, more

Record stores' big day out

Music nerds' favorite national holiday, Record Store Day, returns with a mad-dash-worthy array of shopping and entertainment, led by the perhaps final Hymie's block party with free performances by Mina Moore, Southside Aces, Toki Wright & Big Cats, Little Fevers and more. The Electric Fetus will host in-store gigs by David Huckfelt and 26 Bats and DJ sets from Jake Rudh and Lori Barbero, who is also spinning at Barely Brothers in St. Paul before sets by Eleganza, the Black Widows and Kiss the Tiger. There's lots more at our other great indie shops. -Chris Riemenschneider

9 a.m.-about 6 p.m. Sat. Participating Twin Cities record stores. Free, recordstoreday.com.

Greetings from Asbury Park

Southside Johnny is to Bruce Springsteen what Morris Day was to Prince. The irrepressible Johnny Lyon is two parts Jersey shore soul man, one part shtick comic, one part classic card, one part music scholar. He delivers gritty, horn-fueled boardwalk rock 'n' soul with working man's panache, sweaty energy and rimshot humor. The chatty barroom star returns with songs by ­ Spring­steen, Steven Van Zandt and his own Asbury Jukes plus some blues and rock classics. -Jon Bream

7 p.m. Mon.-Tue. The Dakota, Mpls. $45-$65, dakotacooks.com.

Indian dance and classical music, reimagined

Ragamala Dance Company and chamber ensemble Brooklyn Rider take old forms and spin them in new and magnificent ways. Now the two groups share an evening. Brooklyn Rider offers its fresh take on Beethoven's Opus 132 along with five new commissions by female composers. Ragamala breathes new life into the South Indian dance form Bharatanatyam; with "Nocturne," Ashwini Ramaswamy threads the personal and the divine with her choreography of a post-twilight journey. -Sheila Regan

7:30 p.m. Fri. The O'Shaughnessy, St. Paul. $34, 651-690-6700.

The incredible Ukrainian egg

These aren't your ordinary eggs, but works of art. Colorful and carefully designed Ukrainian decorated eggs, or "pysanky," are the star of the show during the Ukrainian Easter Egg Festival. St. Michael's and St. George's Ukrainian Orthodox Church puts the prized decorations on display along with traditional Easter breads and baked goods. Purchase handcrafted Ukrainian objects or a dinner of cabbage rolls and sausage. -Melissa Walker

11 a.m.-2 p.m. next Sun. Free. St. Michael's and St. George's Ukrainian Orthodox Church, 505 NE. 4th St., Mpls. stmstguoc.thishouse.us.

Internal dance

As part of a two-week engagement for choreographer Meg Stuart and her company Damaged Goods, the Walker presents the new commission "Celestial Sorrow," a collaboration with Indonesian visual artist Jompet Kuswidananto. Stuart's return marks a rare U.S. appearance. With three performers and two musicians, Stuart and Kuswidananto use sound, movement and light to create a piece that involves ghosts, memory and fictionalized trauma. -S.R.

8 p.m. Thu.-Sat. Walker Art Center, Mpls. $30; 612-375-7600, walkerart.org.

Fitz of psychedelia

A booking that clearly signals First Avenue's takeover of the Fitzgerald Theater, cult hero Jason Pierce (ex-Spacemen 3) and his psychedelic folk-rock troupe Spiritualized move over into the historic theater for their first local show in seven years to spotlight "And Nothing Hurts," a "Sgt. Pepper's"-flavored record that's ornate and velvety like the venue. They've been enlisting small string sections and choirs on tour to add to the ambitious heft. -C.R.

8 p.m. Mon. Fitzgerald Theater, St. Paul. $26-$95, first-avenue.com.

Playing the 'White Card'

We've had artists as truth-tellers and statesmen, but few are as incisive and clear as poet and Yale Prof. Claudia Rankine, who won the MacArthur "genius" fellowship in the wake of her collection "Citizen." A poet of the subconscious, Rankine comes to the Twin Cities for a talk about the ways in which race defines, and deforms, Americans. Her talk is pegged to her first published play, "The White Card," released by Graywolf Press, her longtime home. -Rohan Preston

7 p.m. Wed. Walker Cinema, Mpls. $25; 612-375-7600, walkerart.org.

Oratorio Society's "Victoria: A Life in Music"

"Victoria: A Life in Music" surveys the British monarch's long reign through the prism of its most popular music. That includes Handel, Mendelssohn, Wagner, Gounod, Stanford, Sullivan and Elgar, plus traditional Irish and Scottish songs. Linking the narrative is Suzanne Koepplinger in the role of Queen Victoria. Bradley Greenwald voices Prince Albert, a prime minister and three of Victoria's private secretaries. -Terry Blain

7:30 p.m. Sat. St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral, Mpls.; 2 p.m. next Sun. Hamline United Methodist Church, St. Paul. $20-$40, oratorio.org.

Hot roddin'

Cars will be buffed and shined like new money for the Gopher State Timing Association's Rod & Custom Spectacular. Vintage model cars will compete in several categories as auto aficionados look on. The roster will include hot rods, tricked-out custom cars and dragsters. This year, Minnesota's oldest motorized event highlights young car builders, and kids have the opportunity to sit in a real race car. Vendors will display and sell automotive products and services. -M.W.

9 a.m.-8 p.m. Sat; 9 a.m.-6 p.m. next Sun. State Fairgrounds. $5-$15, gstarod-custom.com.