Best of the Week: 'Hamilton,' NPG, Beck, Liz Phair

The ballyhooed blockbuster musical "Hamilton" — set in the midst of the American Revolution and the building of our country's democracy — finally makes it to Minnesota, and it's every bit as good as you'd hope it would be. Led by Nik Walker's Aaron Burr and Joseph Morales' Alexander Hamilton, it's a funny, thoughtful and poignant evening, jam-packed with hummable melodies and memorable beats. Tickets are expensive, but available.CHRIS HEWITT

Ends Oct. 7. Orpheum Theatre, Mpls., $180 and up, ticketmaster.com

It's the NPG on PPV, which translates to New Power Generation on pay-per-view, a livestreaming concert. A collection of mostly former Prince musicians, NPG is taking to First Avenue for the first time, with a new singer, MacKenzie, and drummer, Chris Bailey, who have no connection to the Purple One. Led by keyboardist Morris Hayes, NPG will offer a wide array from Prince's catalog, with special guests including the Hornheads and Mayte Garcia, Prince's first wife and a former NPG dancer.

JON BREAM

8 p.m. Thu. First Avenue, Mpls, $31.21, etix.com

St. Paul's Turf Club was one of seven lucky venues this summer in which '90s alt-rock heroine Liz Phair performed the entirety of her landmark 1993 "Exile in Guyville" album, which liberated women to frankly discuss sexuality, unapologetically use locker-room language and unhesitatingly tell guys to buzz off. That night was essentially a duo show. Now Phair returns with a full band, with promises to go beyond "Guyville" and explore material from some of her other five albums, as well.

JON BREAM

After going nine years without a Twin Cities show, Beck, the golden-boy of '90s alterna-grooves, is back for his third local gig in just over a year, counting last year's joyous, sold-out Palace concert and his echoey opening set with U2. The "Loser" and "Devil's Haircut" hitmaker hasn't changed up his set lists much in the interim, even after releasing "Colors," the more up-tempo follow-up to his Grammy-winning downer of a disc, "Morning Phase."

CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER

8 p.m. Thu., the Armory, Mpls., sold out, resale tickets $85-$115 via ticketmaster.com

The end-of-summer exhibition "New to Mia: Art From Chicago" at the Minneapolis Institute of Art is a must-see. This is a collection of work from the 1960s to '80s by a group broadly known as the Chicago Imagists, a network of artists who portrayed the surreal, psychological and traumatic, bucking the New York art world's bias toward cleanliness and abstraction. See this show for weirdness, eccentricity and DIY ethos.

ALICIA ELER

5 Seconds of Summer, the Aussie boy band that dared to play its own instruments, is defying the odds again by maintaining an admirable amount of success. Though the Armory is a step down in size from Xcel Center, where the lads played in 2015, it promises to be a packed and rowdy setting as the quartet returns while promoting its third album, "Youngblood." The title track earned Top 40 airplay with its Maroon 5-like groove.

CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER

7 p.m. Sun., the Armory, Mpls., all ages, $47, ticketmaster.com

Earth, air, fire and water. They're all included in "The Elements" by baroque composer Jean-Féry Rebel. Former St. Paul Chamber Orchestra artistic partner Thomas Zehetmair returns to lead a rare performance of the colorful work. Also featured are Beethoven's Romance No. 1 for Violin, Haydn's 95th Symphony and Claude Vivier's "Zipangu" for electronically amplified string orchestra.

TERRY BLAIN

Apple Splash offers fall fun for the whole family by the Apple River with water races, sports play areas and ATV, UTV and boat displays. A kids' corner features inflatables, activities and a petting zoo. There will be a chalk-art drawing competition as well as music and a car show.

MELISSA WALKER

11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat.-next Sun. Somerset Amphitheater, Somerset, Wis., free, applesplashfestival.com

Wisconsin-born countertenor Patrick Terry was one of five singers selected to enter the prestigious Jette Parker Young Artists Programme at London's Royal Opera House this fall. But first, the University of Minnesota alumnus stops off for a recital at his alma mater before heading overseas. The program, fittingly, is entirely British including Purcell, Quilter, Finzi, Weir and Musgrave.

TERRY BLAIN