Best of the week: New Edition, Malala Yousafzai, Twenty One Pilots, 'Glensheen,' more

Did the governor or someone officially declare this '80s Weekend in the Twin Cities? Duran Duran rocked St. Paul on Saturday. On Sunday, flashback fans can choose between Culture Club at the Myth or the reunited New Edition (above) at Target Center. Be forewarned: Bobby Brown is not part of this boy-band reunion, but the rest of these R&B guys will give it a go with "Candy Girl" and "Mr. Telephone Man." Opening is Babyface, the suave singer/hitmaking producer.Jon BREAM

7:30 p.m. Sun. Target Center, Mpls., $42-$128; axs.com

While much of the United States is wrapped up in the bombast that is political conventions, people in the Upper Midwest can listen to someone with a tough-minded plan. Malala Yousafzai, the youngest recipient of a Nobel Peace Prize (she was 14), will talk about her experiences fighting for education and her award-winning book "I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban." Now 19, the Pakistani activist will answer questions from the audience.

JON BREAM

7:30 p.m. Tue. Target Center, Mpls., $33-$153. axs.com.

Twenty One Pilots, the Ohio duo behind the rap-rock smash "Stressed Out," are difficult to classify. As Rolling Stone magazine put it, the group mixes "angsty lyrics, Macklemore-style rhymes, Ben Folds-like piano pop, 311-ish reggae beats, hard-rock energy and the occasional ukulele ballad." A Twenty One Pilots concert is a trip for tweens and teens, complete with makeup, masks, banging EDM beats and a rolling hamster ball a la the Flaming Lips.

JON BREAM

Salman Rushdie's latest book, "Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights," is a complex story set in the near future when jinns abound and strange things happen. "There are monsters who slip through wormholes, or slits between worlds; there are battles and set pieces, in Fairyland and on Earth; there are sometimes ridiculous, sometimes hilarious comic turns," according to a Star Tribune review.

LAURIE HERTZEL

7 p.m. Wed. Kagin Commons, Macalester College, St. Paul, $20 (includes autographed book), raintaxi.org

Head north this week, to the FLOW Northside Arts Crawl in Minneapolis that showcases pop-up galleries, performances and events in a three-day celebration of Minnesota talent. Festivities begin Thursday night with a neighborhood block party on Plymouth Avenue, and culminate in a daylong festival Saturday along W. Broadway from the Mississippi River to Penn Avenue N. More than 300 artists will show their talents at 30 locations, from boutiques to a barbershop.

MARY ABBE

After impressively issuing one album per season in a yearlong span (2010-2011), Rogue Valley was understandably spent. So frontman Chris Koza made a poppier solo album, guitarist Peter Sieve toured with Jeremy Messersmith, keyboardist Linnea Mohn joined the Go 96.3 FM staff, and she and drummer Luke Anderson had a baby. They returned with a new commitment that shines through on the lush, poetic new album "Radiate/Dissolve."

CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER

8 p.m. Fri., Fitzgerald Theater, St. Paul, $20-$45, eTix.com

We live in an age where real-life horrors have become so common that rather than shock us, these incidents can engulf us in a wave of perpetual grief. In "AfterWind," the performance company Off-Leash Area dives into the midst of this violence, exploring the events following a large-scale terrorist attack. Co-directors Paul Herwig and Jennifer Ilse call the piece a "360-degree art and dance installation."

SHEILA REGAN

"Glensheen" is welcoming theatergoers for just one more week. The subject matter — the murder of Duluth heiress Elisabeth Congdon and her nurse Velma Pietila — might seem the stuff of tragedy, but the hit musical by playwright Jeffrey Hatcher and songwriter Chan Poling is a cheeky, fast-paced thing — think "Chicago." It's a wild ride, featuring the original cast from last fall's sold-out premiere run.

GRAYDON ROYCE

7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. History Theatre, St. Paul, $25-$56, historytheatre.com

Give fidgety children something fun to do at Kids Fest with a splash of learning. The Minnesota Zoomobile will be there to teach guests about tropical rain forests and their inhabitants. Play games on the lawn and jam to live music from the Teddy Bear Band. Bounce around in an inflatable and get a creative face painting.

MELISSA WALKER