MUSIC

Arcwelder

Twenty-four years since releasing its last in a series of LPs for the fabled noise-rock label Touch & Go (see also: the Jesus Lizard, Butthole Surfers), the masterfully stormy Minneapolis power trio finally dropped a new album last week via Bandcamp after years of teasing new work and playing almost-annual reunion gigs. Sibling co-leaders Bill and Rob Graber and drummer/co-vocalist Scott Macdonald worked with J. Robbins of Jawbox fame on mastering the new record, whose manic but melodic songs should appeal to modern fans of bands like Japandroids or Metz. They're playing two sets at the release party, one with the new stuff and one the classic material. Eleganza opens. (8 p.m. Sat., Turf Club, 1601 W. University Av., St. Paul, $20, axs.com)

CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER

Larry Long

A folk singer from the old school, the St. Louis Park-reared singer troubadour is about building community, on- and offstage. For more than 40 years, he's sung about struggling farmers, struggling workers, struggling veterans, underrepresented communities and the like. He has just donated his life's work — recordings, oral histories, posters, personal writings, school workshops, etc. — to the University of Minnesota Libraries Performing Arts Archives. And Long continues to perform, with his ongoing American Roots Revue, this time featuring Barbara Cohen, Robert Robinson, Tonia Hughes Kendrick, Alana Dickenson-Gaabay Aniikwaad and a band led by Michael Bland and Billy Steele. (6:30 & 8:30 p.m. Sat., the Dakota, 1010 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., $20-$40, dakotacooks.com)

JON BREAM

The Silent Treatment

Your new favorite punk band might not be a bunch of snotty kids, but rather this quartet of middle-aged scene vets and parents who are royally P.O.'d at the world we're leaving those kids. Frontwoman Claire Luger — an educator and Wyoming City Council member by day — channels Joe Strummer and Kathleen Hanna by night with ace backers Keely Lane (Trailer Trash), Rob Sells (Low Rats) and Dave Randall (Kinda Kinky). They're releasing their smartly smarmy, blisteringly boisterous debut album, "Suplex in 10!," at what promises to be a rowdy party with the Mood Swings, Spit Takes and Loki's Folly. (8:30 p.m. Fri., 7th St. Entry, 701 1st Av. N., Mpls., $12-$15, axs.com)

C.R.

Mama Digdown's Brass Band

A blast of New Orleans music is the perfect way to warm up in January — even if the funky brass band comes from Madison, Wis. Mama Digdown's has been playing second-line NOLA sounds since 1993. The energetic 12-man combo has released eight albums, the latest being a spirited live set recorded at the Green Mill in Chicago. The group is working on an album of brassy arrangements of Michael Jackson material. Opening is the Akie Bermiss Trio, featuring the sweet Brooklyn soul man best known as the keyboardist/singer with Lake Street Dive. Comedian Trish Cook is the night's emcee. (8 p.m. Fri., Parkway Theater, 4814 Chicago Av. S., Mpls. $25-$33, Eventbrite.com)

J.B.

Zeitgeist and No Exit

For nine years, the dean of Twin Cities new music ensembles, Zeitgeist, has been collaborating annually with its Cleveland-based kindred spirit, No Exit. After premiering four new pieces — and accompanying films — in Cleveland, they bring them west, each taking for inspiration the dream world and the 20th-century surrealists who explored it. The concerts will feature films and music by Timothy Beyer, James Praznik, Luke Haaksma, Philip Blackburn and Zeitgeist. (7 p.m. Thu., Anderson Center, 163 Tower View Drive, Red Wing; 7 p.m. Fri. and Sat., Studio Z, 275 E. 4th St., St. Paul, $15-$25, zeitgeistnewmusic.org)

ROB HUBBARD

Martin Luther King Jr. Tribute

For 43 years, the University of Minnesota School of Music annually has been paying tribute to the legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King with performances that speak to his dream of equality in America. This year's concert is curated by VocalEssence's G. Phillip Shoultz III and will feature performances by vocal activist Melanie DeMore, mezzo-soprano Mikalia Bradberry, VocalEssence Singers of This Age, members of the University of Minnesota Gospel Choir and dance troupe Jornae. (3 p.m. Sun., Ted Mann Concert Hall, 2128 S. 4th St., Mpls., free, diversity.umn.edu/MLKTribute)

R.H.

THEATER

'Funny Girl'

We all love an underdog story and few are as heart-tugging as "Funny Girl," the musical by Jule Styne and Bob Merrill about a Lower East Side kid whose stage dreams get pooh-poohed by everyone until she makes it big. For this Broadway tour, rising star Katerina McCrimmon plays the title role that famously has been inhabited by Barbra Streisand to Lea Michele (Jan. 16-21, Orpheum Theatre, 910 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls. $40-$139. hennepintheatretrust.)

ROHAN PRESTON

DANCE

'A Plot/A Scandal'

The last time choreographer Ligia Lewis visited the Walker Art Center in early 2020, it was for a deeply funny, disturbing and lushly visual performance of "Water Will (in Melody)." That piece deftly wove fairy tales into an exploration of race, class, trauma and gender. Now, Lewis returns to the center's "Out There" series to present the Walker-commissioned "A Plot/A Scandal." Born in the Dominican Republic, raised in the United States and based in Berlin, Lewis explores enlightenment, colonialism, oppression and Black resistance in a work that's both historical and fiercely contemporary. (8 p.m. Thu.-Sat., Walker Art Center, 725 Vineland Place, Mpls., $25-$35, 612-375-7600, walkerart.org)

SHEILA REGAN

ART

Native Photography

There are only a few days left to check out the Minneapolis Institute of Art's groundbreaking exhibition "In Our Hands: Native Photography, 1890 to Now." The show includes more than 150 pictures by and for Indigenous people, ranging from historic images to contemporary artworks. (Ends Jan. 14. 2400 3rd Av. S., Mpls., $20, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue., Wed., Fri.-Sun.; 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Thu., 612-870-3000 or new.artsmia.org)

ALICIA ELER

Leon Hushcha

Ukrainian American artist Leon Hushcha dives deeper into his connection to the homeland through paintings about displacement and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Born to Ukrainian parents in 1946 in a displaced persons camp in Austria, Hushcha and his family moved to St. Paul three years later. This is his third show at the Museum of Russian Art. Talks are still underway about the museum's possible name change. (Ends March 3. 5500 Stevens Av. S., Mpls., $5-$14, free for kids up to age 13, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun., tmora.org or 612-821-9045)

A.E.

FAMILY

Alexander Ramsey House

Imagine a chaperone with you on a date or being required to mourn for two years in color-specific clothing when your spouse died. These and other 19th-century beliefs will be revealed during the "Ramsey After Dark: Victorian Superstitions" tour. A guide will lead you through the historic home of the former governor and describe superstitions, customs and rituals. Play fortunetelling games and hear excerpts from Ramsey family letters. The tour is recommended for ages 18 and up. (8:30 p.m. Fri., $18-$20, 265 S. Exchange St., St. Paul, mnhs.org)

MELISSA WALKER