Best of the Week: 2Cellos, Caitlyn Smith, St. Paul Winter Carnival, Chinese Dance Theater

2Cellos, a pair of classically trained cellists from Croatia, bounced from YouTube to Sony Masterworks to "Glee" to PBS to arenas by playing instrumental versions of well-known pop and rock hits by Michael Jackson, AC/DC, Coldplay and others. The duo recorded its fourth album, 2017's "Score" — featuring TV and movie songs from "Game of Thrones" and "Chariots of Fire," among others — with the London Symphony Orchestra. Working with orchestral players, 2Cellos will give the acoustics at the remodeled Target Center a workout.JON BREAM

8 p.m. Thu. Target Center, Mpls, $29.50-$65, axs.com

A native of Cannon Falls, Minn., who first tested her songs in the Mad Ripple Hootenanny and 400 Bar, Caitlyn Smith relocated to Nashville in 2010 and wound up co-writing Meghan Trainor's No. 1 duet with John Legend, "Like I'm Gonna Lose You." She has her own record deal now and there's a good buzz on her twang-poppy, Lambert-meets-Clarkson-flavored album "Starfire," including a sparkly performance of the fun single "Contact High" last week on Jimmy Fallon's "Tonight Show."

CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER

7 p.m. Thu. Turf Club, St. Paul, $19.50, etix.com

Subzero temperatures mean nothing to hardy Minnesotans. Even in winter, we enjoy a good outdoor festival. The ice palace returns to the St. Paul Winter Carnival this year, with a lighting ceremony this week. Other events and attractions sprinkled throughout the carnival include ice carving and snow sculpting competitions, orchid show, parades and the rousing Klondike Kate cabaret.

MELISSA WALKER

Frederick Douglass, the 19th-century American champion of freedom, had a moment a year ago when President Donald Trump declared that Douglass was "being recognized more and more." If that's true, that's good for theater auteur Roger Guenveur Smith. Best known for his work in Spike Lee films, Smith is a master of the solo show, including ones on Huey P. Newton and Bob Marley. He takes on Douglass at the Claude Purdy Festival of experimental works.

ROHAN PRESTON

Thu.-next Sun., Penumbra Theatre, St. Paul, $15-$25, penumbratheatre.org

Did Mozart ever write a better work for soloist and orchestra than his Sinfonia Concertante for Violin and Viola? Violinist Eunice Kim and violist Hyobi Sim step forward from their section chairs to play the piece for this St. Paul Chamber Orchestra concert.

TERRY BLAIN

CAAM Chinese Dance Theater offers the world premiere of "Our Dance, Our Dreams," as the company celebrates its 25th year of promoting China's diverse heritage and dance styles. The show follows the adventures of a single dancer as she encounters a multitude of traditions from China's rich dance history. The production features nearly 160 dancers, ranging in age from 3 to 70.

SHEILA REGAN

7 p.m. Sat., 2 p.m. Sun., the O'Shaughnessy, St. Paul, $20, oshag.stkate.edu.

Director Leo Geter's stage adaptation of Herman Melville's sprawling 1851 novel "Moby-Dick" is crisp and wryly funny at times. As delivered by actor Jack Weston and a trio of folksy musicians, this 90-minute one-act is essentially a one-man campfire story told on the high seas.

ROHAN PRESTON

The prescient, racism-exploring social commentary on Drive-by Truckers' 2016 blistering album "American Band" was deemed a risky venture for Alabama/Georgia country-rockers with thick Southern accents, but co-leaders Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley and their enduring band actually seemed to get a bump in popularity off it 20 years into their run. They definitely got more great songs out of it. Second-generation singer Lily Hiatt makes for an intriguing opener.

CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER

9 p.m. Sat., First Avenue, Mpls., $25, eTix.com

Al Jardine is the co-founder of the Beach Boys with high school classmate Brian Wilson. The rhythm guitarist and harmony singer isn't one to write a book-length memoir, but he has chosen a storyteller concert to share his Beach Boys tales. He'll explain how he got to sing lead on "Help Me, Rhonda" and other stories behind the songs. Minneapolis will be the premiere of Jardine's "A Postcard From ­California."

JON BREAM