Photo by Kyndell Harkness With more than 200 artists, 120 projects and 10 food trucks spread throughout five zones in one city, this year's Northern Spark is nothing if not ambitious. Modeled after Paris' Nuit Blanche and St. Petersburg's White Nights, the dusk-till-dawn event encourages citizens to roam various art installations in Minneapolis throughout the night. This year, the festival has eliminated St. Paul from the equation, but otherwise it promises to be bigger and better, adding two new locations (the Weisman Art Museum and the Midtown Greenway), a mobile app for increased interactivity, and larger-scale projects. -JAHNA PELOQUIN

The Guthrie has a hit-or-miss record when it comes to musicals: For every masterful production like "Burial at Thebes," there's an awkward dud like "H.M.S. Pinafore." That said, it's hard not to get excited about "Roman Holiday," a new musical incorporating the songs of American legend Cole Porter into the plot of the classic 1953 rom-com starring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck. Stars Stephanie Rothenberg and Edward Watts are both fresh off high-profile New York City gigs, so this is about as close as we'll get to Broadway on the Mississippi. -JAY GABLER

Formerly the Greenway Challenge, the Greenway Glow is an illuminated nighttime bike ride on the Midtown Greenway that takes creatively lit bicyclists on a tour of the city. Coinciding with the Northern Spark Festival, the Glow will feature stops at Northern Spark venues as well as a creative-bike-lights contest, free food from Bryant-Lake Bowl, complimentary New Belgium beer, prizes and a post-ride party at Intermedia Arts. Registration is $30 and riders must raise at least $75 in pledges to participate, with proceeds going to the Midtown Greenway Coalition. -JAHNA PELOQUIN

Photo by Renee Jones Schneider Following the death of co-founder Ira Heilicher last year, the Stone Arch Festival of the Arts ended its 17-year run. But, like a phoenix rising from the free Father's Day weekend riverside festival ashes, it's reborn this year as the Stone Arch Bridge Festival. Among the music highlights: Fire in the Northern Firs and Martin Devaney on Saturday; Dream Crusher and Joey Ryan & the Inks on Sunday. In all, there'll be 250 artists, 40-plus bands over three stages and more than 30 food vendors. -JAY BOLLER

If you seek a balanced, nuanced look at a person's life, you should probably know better than to look to a Broadway musical that takes as its title that person's first name with an exclamation point. The 2008 musical "Fela!" was criticized for its simplistic portrayal of Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti (1938-1997), but lauded for its irrepressible energy and its choreography by Bill T. Jones. The Broadway show closed last year, but a touring adaptation brings its undeniable joys to the Ordway. -JAY GABLER

Photo by Leslie Plesser Tickets sold out in about an hour, proving yet again that there's nothing 89.3 the Current loyalists relish more than a thoroughly rocked garden. The 2012 lineup is heavy on locals, including buzzy surf-punks Howler, beloved hip-hop collective Doomtree and Duluth bluegrass/folk mainstays Trampled by Turtles. Brooklyn-via-Minneapolis rock 'n' roll favorites the Hold Steady and Oakland, Calif.-based experimental pop powerhouse Tune-Yards also perform. Didn't buy tickets the millisecond they went on sale? The secondary market or Current giveaways are your best options. -JAY BOLLER

For a fourth year, thousands of craft-beer lovers will descend upon the fairgrounds armed only with tasting glasses and an insatiable thirst for suds. Last year's fest attracted more than 80 breweries and featured live music and a silent auction. New for 2012 is a beanbag toss tournament -- because really, what beer-swilling afternoon would be complete without playing a little bags? MICHAEL RIETMULDER

Photo by Leah Mills The past 12 months have been rife with heightened political drama surrounding proposed anti-gay marriage amendments, a widely reported gay bullying epidemic, and President Obama's "coming out" in support of gay marriage. It should come as no surprise, then, that this year's 40th annual Pride festivities are bigger and bolder than ever. The annual Pride in Concert show, usually the arena of '80s novelty acts, has a bona fide, modern-day hitmaker -- Kelly Rowland -- slated to headline on Saturday. Another relatively big name, Mya, will play the Saloon's Pride Block Party on Sunday along with '90s R&B singer Crystal Waters. Other noteworthy events include the Pride Festival in Loring Park (Sat.-Sun.), the Grown and Sexy Pride dance party at First Avenue (Fri.), a speaking engagement by sex-advice columnist Dan Savage at Pantages Theatre (Fri.), and, of course, the Ashley Rukes GLBT Pride Parade on Hennepin Avenue on Sunday. -JAHNA PELOQUIN

Organizers Live Nation didn't heed a potential SEO dilemma in naming River's Edge (own it, Keanu!), but the inaugural event itself seems pretty promising. Bro-rock deities Dave Matthews Band and alt-metal kingpins Tool headline a bill that includes the Flaming Lips, Diplo, Coheed and Cambria, Brand New and others. Locals Poliça, Motion City Soundtrack, Quietdrive and the Rope will also be on hand (adding "'Minnesota Nice' to the international lineup," according to the PR machine at Live Nation). The world's largest promoter is spending $2 million to ensure the premiere run of the four-stage fest goes off without a hitch. -JAY BOLLER

MIA's next exhibition promises to be the "largest ever" gathering of the master's portraits on loan from American museums and private collections. It will feature 24 paintings by the 17th-century Dutch master plus more than 20 other pictures by his contemporaries that were once thought to be by Rembrandt. That show was initiated by the North Carolina Museum of Art, which added the institute as a partner after director Kaywin Feldman called and offered to lend the MIA's "Lucretia," one of Rembrandt's most famous and tender paintings. Minneapolis curator Tom Rassieur also put together a second exhibit of Rembrandt drawings and etchings to flesh out the artist's career. -MARY ABBE

Add a little culture to your summer concert calendar and check out the Twin Cities' largest jazz event as it takes over Mears Park and surrounding venues in downtown St. Paul. Now in its 14th year, the free event gives curious jazz dilettantes and aficionados the chance to celebrate a true American art form with top-notch talent. Headliners include New Orleans' skittering trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis, local unconventionalists the Bad Plus and sax-master Joshua Redman, as well as eclectic drummer Francisco Mela and his Cuban Safari. -MICHAEL RIETMULDER

"Seashells & Eggshells" by Jimmy De Sana The '80s! A totally radical time of Valley Girl-speak, skateboarding and Atari. But the era of excess is more timely than you might think; cultural scholars have recently been drawing parallels between the decade and many of our present-day conflicts. The Walker's new exhibit "This Will Have Been" capitalizes on this, showcasing '80s-era art by 80 artists exploring race, sexuality and feminism, the AIDS crisis and Reaganomics. Curator Helen Molesworth will give an opening-day talk with artists Lorraine O'Grady and Donald Moffett at 2 p.m. June 30. -JAHNA PELOQUIN

Thankfully giving Matisyahu the year off, Music in the Zoo curators are providing indie-rock fans with a few reasons to head to Apple Valley this summer. In addition to Feist (June 2), the zoo crew tabbed the accordion-squeezing, sousaphone-tootin', gypsy-punkish outfit Devotchka for this year's concert lineup. Last August, the Denver quartet delivered one of the more memorable sets at the SoundTown festival, showcasing their deftly variegated instrumentation as the sun set behind them. Caroline and the Goodnight Sleeps open. -MICHAEL RIETMULDER

So is the basilica ever gonna get, ya know, fully renovated? Now in its 17th year, the archdiocese's annual drunken collection plate charges on with bleh-rock favorites Train (Fri.) and Americana rockers the Avett Brothers (Sat.) leading the crusade. The Head and the Heart, Cake and Mat Kearney perform Friday; Fitz and the Tantrums, O.A.R. and the Lumineers play Saturday. Prissy Clerks, A. Wolf & Her Claws and Lucy Michelle & the Velvet Lapelles are among the locals rocking the Vita.mn stage. And because it's church, there's always a raffle (top prize: $2,500). -JAY BOLLER

Photo by Mark J. Terrill Despite a downpour, TCF Bank Stadium passed muster as a concert venue last year, thanks to U2's epic efforts. How will our other new stadium fare when country superstars Chesney and McGraw stage the ballpark's first show? Chesney is the reigning king of U.S. stadium concerts, and his tour partner also knows his way around baseball diamonds. With the stage in deep center field, these two powerhouses will try to hit it out of the park. -JON BREAM

Press Here Publicity This U.K. band stands alone atop the electronic-minded indie heap (and in recent years, that's one helluva big heap). Expect a sweaty dance party of epic proportions, coming a month after the release of "In Our Heads," the quintet's hotly anticipated fifth LP. Possible spoiler alert: The apropos setting of First Ave lends itself to Prince's "Nothing Compares 2 U," one of Hot Chip's favorite covers. Opener Chromatics -- an '80s-looting band from Portland, Ore. -- scored coveted "Best New Music" status from Pitchfork this year for their album "Kill for Love." -JAY BOLLER

This show falls just five days after the release of "Swing Lo Magellan," the first Dirty Projectors full-length since their 2009 landmark "Bitte Orca." There's always been an air of pretention to the experimental Brooklynites, but "Orca" was a "going pop" benchmark; songs such as "Stillness Is the Move" could be mistaken for straight-up R&B pop. The year 2009 was a landmark year for pop oddballs, with Grizzly Bear and Animal Collective also releasing big-time discs. The D.P.s' latest will be the first follow-up from that hipster Cerberus. Electro duo Purity Ring opens. -JAY BOLLER

Photo by Tony Nelson Way back in 1996, the hit song "Criminal" saw Fiona Apple's mainstream viability peak at age 19. No matter, though, as the baroque pianist is more at home as indie royalty. (And if this year's South by Southwest comeback reception was any indication, that's a distinction she's currently owning.) Her fourth album, "The Idler Wheel ... ," is her first in seven years, slotted for a June 19 release. The single "Every Single Night" has blogs in a tizzy, a symptom of what a periodically reawakened Apple does to her devoted fan base. -JAY BOLLER

Warner Bros. No sequel in memory has been as hotly anticipated as the finale to Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy. The first episodes gave Bruce Wayne a near-Wagnerian stature. Will this be his tragic end? Nolan's films are never mere spectacle; his outstanding cast includes Batman newcomers Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard and Anne Hathaway. On the other hand, Hardy plays Bane, a villain whose voice-distorting mask garbles his speech to near-incoherence. "Bawwrn drrwnnn, Bathhmmnn!" -COLIN COVERT

Though somewhat dubiously named for a touring festival that barely breaks out of the Midwest, this three-night party is set to bring some international talent to the Brick, including U.K. trance titans Above & Beyond and Aussie electro house duo Knife Party. All around, the lineup's a little wubby, but various subgenres from dubstep (12th Planet and Dillon Francis) to glitch-hop (Paper Diamond) are represented. Thursday's bill looks the strongest, with A&B, gleaming electro-house star Wolfgang Gartner and Estonian electro producer Mord Fustang. Start readying your excuses for missing work. -MICHAEL RIETMULDER

For folks who presumably spend a lot of time drinking, the Beer Dabbler brass is pretty organized. The fourth annual beer-tasting bash at St. Paul's Highland Fest is slated to feature more than 50 breweries, a homebrew contest; live music from the Japhies, Apollo Cobra and Little Man, and a fleet of food trucks. They even got Indiana's Big Woods Brewing to brew a beer exclusively for the event. Plus, proving just how serious beer geeks get about their craft, the Science Museum of Minnesota is presenting beer education classes. -MICHAEL RIETMULDER

Photo by Jeff Christensen Now in its sophomore year, SoundTown is maturing into a true regional draw. Heavyweights such as Jane's Addiction, Weezer and Florence + the Machine headline the camping/music fete, one that has nearly doubled its number of acts from a year ago. Dance-sampler Girl Talk, rapper Common and neo-soul man Mayer Hawthorne, alongside indie-rock favorites Best Coast, Andrew Bird, Gomez, Dr. Dog and many others also perform. Among the local favorites making the hourlong trek along Hwy. 36: the 4onthefloor, Doomtree and MaLLy. JAY BOLLER

Photo by Tony Nelson The stylistic parts summing Alabama Shakes' whole are as old as Southern dirt, but that hasn't stopped the young band's meteoric indie rise (playing alongside Fiona Apple and Jack White is a fine way to kick off a career). Memphis soul/Southern rock traditionalists at their core, the Athens, Ga.-based group injects enough excitement to escape any revisionist trappings. Really, though, fiery and soulful frontwoman Brittany Howard would sound stupendous singing over anything. It appears Twin Cities fans don't need any convincing, as this First Ave gig, in support of their debut LP, "Boys & Girls," has been sold out for weeks. English folk-rockers Dry the River open. -JAY BOLLER

Photo by Mary Cybulski The latest chapter in the Bourne espionage series has a new operative played by Jeremy Renner. Ace screenwriter Tony Gilroy ("Michael Collins," the earlier Bourne films) replaces Paul Greengrass as director. With his outstanding work in "The Hurt Locker," "Mission: Impossible 4" and "The Avengers," Renner is the hot new action star with real acting chops. But with Matt Damon's Jason Bourne nowhere to be seen, the franchise gets a heart transplant. It might not take. -COLIN COVERT

Photo by McKenna Ewen Three neighborhood art fairs with distinctly different flavors collide in Minneapolis on the first weekend of August. The oldest and more urban of the three, the Uptown Art Fair attracts more established, national artists, and boasts the largest number of vendors -- about 350. (Aug. 3-5, Lake St. & Hennepin Av. S., www.uptownartfair.com). The Powderhorn Art Fair features 180 national and local exhibitors and the most scenic of the fair settings. (Aug. 4-5, Powderhorn Park, www.powerhornartfair.com). The smallest of the fairs, with about 140 regional exhibitors, the Loring Park Art Festival offers equal doses of urban and natural charm. (Aug. 4-5, Loring Park, Mpls., www.loringparkartfestival.com.) -JAHNA PELOQUIN

No other fashion event in town can boast of showcasing the latest collections from major designers like Jean Paul Gaultier, Marc Jacobs and Sonia Rykiel, then top it off with live performances by major recording artists and an after-party of Dionysian proportions. While this year's show will pay homage to the style and music of 1960s British bands, the musical headliners are dreamy soul man Robin Thicke and girl/boy Boston pop duo Karmin. -JAHNA PELOQUIN

The Canadian Press When you're one of the biggest bands on the planet, you start world tours in May and end them in November. Grammy-winning, Rihanna-collaborating alt-rock behemoth Coldplay is such a band, playing back-to-back Xcel dates in support of its latest platinum album, "Mylo Xyloto." It's easy to weave the "Look how far they've come!" narrative with Coldplay (and sure, the band did play First Avenue at one point). Then again, its 2000 debut "Parachutes" won a Grammy, so it's not like this Biggest Band in the World thing has been a seismic shift. Marina and the Diamonds, the Welch answer to Lady Gaga (but, like, sooo indie!), opens. -JAY BOLLER

Photo by Kyndell Harkness Where else but the Renaissance Festival can you get drunk on mead, eat a turkey leg as big as your biceps and ride a camel? Though some of the comedy acts are hammy, it's hard to argue with the badassery of live armored jousters, knife throwers and fire-juggling tightrope walkers. Take in one of the fest's food-and-drink themed weekends -- "Wine, Chocolate and Romance," "Oktoberfest," "Royal Ale Fest" and the always-popular "Italian Carnival" -- though there's so much to eat that you may want to make repeat visits. Whether you're the type to geek out and don full medieval garb or simply want to enjoy the spectacle (and ample people-watching), RenFest is a treat for the ironic and earnest alike. -JAHNA PELOQUIN

Photo by Margaret Andrews You've heard of the fair, right? More popular than ever in its 148th run, the Great Minnesota Get-Together is the one time of year when residents of all stripes put aside their differences, strap on the feed bag and interact with livestock. Call it the deep-fried unifier. This year's grandstand entertainment is also demographic-spanning, featuring blues (Bonnie Raitt with Mavis Staples, Aug. 23), country (Alan Jackson on Aug. 24 and Rascal Flatts on Aug. 30) and R&B (Anita Baker, Aug. 26). There's dinosaur rock aplenty, with a KISS/Mötley Crüe double bill (Aug. 29) and a Journey/Pat Benatar/Loverboy trifecta (Sept. 1). THC-loving rappers Wiz Khalifa and Mac Miller (Sept. 3) close out the fair; the Pittsburgh MCs are the first rap acts to headline the grandstand since Vanilla Ice in 1991. Folk-rockers Dawes (Aug 23-24), '90s pop-vocal trio Wilson Phillips (Aug. 31-Sept. 1) and soul great Bettye LaVette (Sept. 2-3) are among the free concert highlights hitting the bandshell. -JAY BOLLER