Down-home voice
NBC's "The Voice" — and his romance with Gwen Stefani — elevated country star Blake Shelton to tabloid celebrity status. But he's more than the kind of fun-loving Oklahoma dude you'd love to have a beer with. He continues to churn out sprightly country ditties with homespun values. How can women resist a proposal like "I'll Name the Dogs," his late 2017 hit? Or its winning follow-up, "I Lived It," a lovingly nostalgic look back on how he was raised? Jon Bream
7 p.m. Fri. Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul. $26 and up, ticketmaster.com.
Frank Theatre staged a fondly remembered production of Marc Blitzstein's lefty operetta "The Cradle Will Rock" in an abandoned Sears building (now the Midtown Global Market) in 2003. Frank will close its 30th season with Wendy Knox's new staging, and a cast including some 2003 performers. The show grew out of the New Deal's Federal Theatre Project in the 1930s, and its "workers unite" back story was dramatized in the Tim Robbins movie "Cradle Will Rock."
Chris Hewitt
8 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2 p.m. next Sun. Ends April 7. Gremlin Theatre, 550 Vandalia St., St. Paul. $25-$30, franktheatre.org.
Akin to Minneapolis' own "Funkytown" hitmakers Lipps Inc., the British group Jungle started as a producers' studio project and has grown into a seven-piece ensemble. Their slick, breezy, top-down brand of funk-pop caught on in 2014 with the singles "Platoon" and "Busy Earnin'," and now they've blended in '70s R&B influences for their sophomore album, "For Ever." Houses, aka L.A. songwriter/producer Dexter Tortoriello, opens.
Chris Riemenschneider
8 p.m. Tue. First Avenue, Mpls. $20, etix.com.
Celebrating its 60th anniversary, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is touring the country with two works. The program opens with "Lazarus," a two-act ballet by hip-hop choreographer Rennie Harris. The 2018 work explores the racism Ailey faced when he founded the company in 1958. Closing out the evening is the gospel-, blues- and spirituals-inspired "Revelations," created by Ailey himself in 1960.
Sheila Regan
7:30 p.m. Tue. Northrop, Mpls. $50-$75; 612-624-2345, northrop.umn.edu.
Witness the daily job that very few humans would apply for: "cockroach concierge" at the new exhibit "Brave the Rainforest" at Sea Life. Learn how the caretaker looks after as many as 1,000 cockroaches in the two-story exhibit. Find out how these insect custodians of the rain forest contribute to the ecosystem. The highlight of the new attraction is a giant dome that even an entire family can enter and safely be surrounded by the misunderstood insects.
Melissa Walker
Opens Fri. Mall of America, Bloomington. $14.99-$27.99, visitsealife.com.
Mark-Anthony Turnage's "Martland Memorial" honors fellow composer and longtime friend Steve Martland, who died six years ago. The Minnesota Orchestra invited Scottish percussionist Colin Currie to play the U.S. premiere of the percussion concerto, filled with marimba, vibraphone and toy instruments. Also featured is Missy Mazzoli's "These Worlds in Us," dedicated to her Vietnam-vet father, and Copland's Symphony No. 3.
Terry Blain
11 a.m. Thu., 8 p.m. Fri. & Sat. Orchestra Hall, Mpls. $12-$97; 612-371-5656, minnesotaorchestra.org.
The team that created last year's Leonard Bernstein revue, "Dear Lenny" — Dan Chouinard, Diana Grasselli, Bradley Greenwald and Prudence Johnson — returns with a multimedia tribute to late Belgian songwriter Jacques Brel. The composer's tunes were covered by artists from David Bowie to Nina Simone and adapted into English-language hits such as "Seasons in the Sun" and the frequently covered "If You Go Away."
C.H.
7 p.m. Tue. The Dakota, Mpls. $30-$40, dakotacooks.com.
The timing wasn't ideal. Micky Dolenz and Michael Nesmith were long scheduled to hit the road as the Monkees in March, but their former bandmate Peter Tork died of cancer on Feb. 21. Since the Monkees have always been pros, they are following through on their 12-concert tour. They promise "I'm a Believer" and other Prefab Four hits, deep tracks, some Nesmith solo numbers and tributes to their late mates, Davy Jones and Tork.
J.B.
8 p.m. Thu. Mystic Lake Casino, Prior Lake. $39-$79, mysticlake.com.
When Mary Theresa Mehegan, daughter of Irish immigrants, wed James J. Hill, a young immigrant of Scotch-Irish stock, they vowed to retain their heritage. On Irish Heritage Weekend, immerse your family in the story of how the Hill House's inhabitants practiced Irish values and culture through music, needlepoint and lace-making. Guided tours share some of the family's favorite songs and stories of their servants and the history of Irish Americans in Minnesota.
M.W.
10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat; 1-4 p.m. next Sun. James J. Hill House, St. Paul. $6-$10, mnhs.org.
