The genius of Monáe
Part funkstress, part fashionista and fully realized visionary, Janelle Monáe is on tour celebrating her third album, "Dirty Computer," one of the most arresting recordings of 2018. The deliciously sexy, soulful and empowering project with the singles "Pynk" and "Make Me Feel" will be the focus of her concert, though she offers tastes of her previous sci-fi-obsessed albums "The Arch Android" and "The Electric Lady." Expect an explosion of dance, funk and emotion at her first Twin Cities show without her pal Prince in the audience. JON BREAM
7:30 p.m. Tue. State Theatre, Mpls., $53.50-$93.50, ticketmaster.com
A full year has passed since One Direction's most popular boy in the band, Harry Styles, announced his solo tour while his single, "Sign of the Times," was being played everywhere you went. He hasn't landed another megahit since then, but he has been earning largely favorable reviews with his rocky live shows, which include most of his self-titled album and just a few 1D tunes.
Chris Riemenschneider
8 p.m. Sun., Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, $47-$97, Ticketmaster.com
It's magic: A vibrant night market appears in the Little Mekong district in St. Paul. Centered on the plaza, the street festival will feature food trucks, music, dancing and a new, massive light art display. "We were inspired by the Southeast Asian night markets," said Katie Ka Vang, of the Asian Economic Development Association, which puts on the event. Last year, 15,000 people visited over two days, she said. This time, be one of them.
Jenna Ross
5 p.m.-midnight Sat. and 2-10 p.m. next Sun. , Western & University Avs., St. Paul, littlemekong.com
Guthrie Theater artistic director Joseph Haj and Cuban-American choreographer Maija García have infused Leonard Bernstein's iconic musical with new vitality, including showstopping dances, sublime singing and a diverse mosaic of stage talent. This "West Side Story" has new kicks and new wings. It soars.
Rohan Preston
7:30 p.m. Tue-Fri., 1 & 7:30 p.m. Sat., 1 & 7 p.m. Sun. Ends Aug. 26. Guthrie Theater, Mpls., $34-$92, guthrietheater.org
Pioneers in the art of performing classical music without a conductor, New York's Orpheus Chamber Orchestra swings by Winona this week to open the Minnesota Beethoven Festival. Their intriguing program includes Mendelssohn's famous music for "Midsummer Night's Dream," arranged for wind and brass instruments, plus Othmar Schoeck's "Sommernacht" and Mahler's arrangement of Beethoven's Op. 95 String Quartet.
TERRY BLAIN
7:30 p.m. Mon., Harriet Johnson Auditorium, Winona State University, $21-$25, mnbeethovenfestival.org
Sly, campy and inventive, "Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery" is a headlong piece of pure fun. Playwright Ken Ludwig has condensed the complex plot of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Hound of the Baskervilles" into a two-act play. There's also an abbreviated cast, with women playing the famous detective and his sidekick. Throw in some puns, accents and double entendres, and this mystery becomes a wildly comic marathon.
LISA BROCK
7:30 p.m. Thu.-Fri.; 2 & 7:30 p.m. Sat.; 2 p.m. Sun. Ends Aug. 5. Park Square Theatre, St. Paul, $25-$60, parksquaretheatre.org
Former Minnesota Dance Theatre company member Helen Hatch has been stepping out big-time as a contemporary choreographer, creating fresh work for performance festivals both locally and internationally. Her next big project is "Isotope," an evening of original choreography featuring her own Hatch Dance troupe. A collaboration with Minneapolis musician Seth Conover, the show also features live music by Conover's alt-rock band, Poolboy.
Sheila Regan
7:30 p.m. Thu.-Sat., 9 p.m. Sat., 2 p.m. Sun., Southern Theater, Mpls., $20- $24, southerntheater.org
Once the raspberry capital of the world, the city of Hopkins always hosts its raspberry festival at the height of picking season. The tradition dates back to the Depression, when local merchants hatched the idea to boost business. More than 80 years later, raspberry fields no longer occupy miles of city land, but the festival still unites neighbors and friends for nine days of sports tournaments, coronations, concerts and family activities aplenty.
MELISSA WALKER
Begins Sat., ends July 15, raspberrycapital.com
One of the most celebrated songwriters of the moment, Alabama twang-rocker Jason Isbell, and one of the most-loved-and-hated alt-rock bands of the '90s, Cake, earned the top slots at this year's Basilica Block Party. The Isbell-led Friday lineup also includes Prince's well-revived former band the Revolution and soul-pop groovers Fitz & the Tantrums and more. Saturday's Cake-eating menu offers, among others, fellow '90s throwbacks Third Eye Blind.
Chris Riemenschneider
5 p.m. Fri. & Sat., Basilica of St. Mary, Mpls., $70-$125, basilicablockparty.org
