Best of the week: Shemekia Copeland, Baroness, Ruthie Foster, 'Paint Your Wagon,' State Fair art show, more

Blues powerhouse Shemekia Copeland gets her country blues on with "Outskirts of Town," her 2015 winner featuring guests Robert Randolph, Alvin Youngblood Hart and Billy Gibbons. There's a taste of Tina Turner, a pronounced twang to "Drivin' Out of Nashville" and a deeply soul gospel feel to her reading of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Long as I Can See the Light." She also does a funky version of her dad's (the late bluesman Johnny Copeland) "Devil's Hand" and a smokin' treatment of ZZ Top's "Jesus Just Left Chicago," maybe her best vocal on the record.JON BREAM

7 p.m. Sun. Dakota Jazz Club, Mpls. $35, dakotacooks.com

Ordway Center is giving Twin Cities audiences a look at a new version of the Lerner and Loewe musical "Paint Your Wagon." Playwright Jon Marans rewrote Alan Jay Lerner's script but kept the songs and lyrics. The story explores the edgy relationships that arose during the California gold rush, and the score includes "They Call the Wind Maria" and "Wand'rin' Star."

GRAYDON ROYCE

2 & 7:30 p.m. Sun. Ordway Center, St. Paul. $37-$116, ordway.org

Ruthie Foster is a hyphenate worth hearing: a blues-soul-gospel-folk singer. Her latest album, the Meshell Ndegeocello-produced "Promise of a Brand New Day," hews toward soul, which is just fine, especially on the Memphis-flavored "It Might Not Be Right," featuring William Bell. But in concert, Foster, who often lives up to the title of her best album ("The Phenomenal Ruthie Foster"), might take a Minnesota audience to church.

JON BREAM

Joe Chvala and the Flying Foot Forum will get the audience on its feet —and walking around downtown St. Paul — for "Passing Through Pig's Eye." It offers two different performance tracks, allowing for a kind of "choose your own adventure." The show features an eclectic array of live music and explosive dance. Colleen Somerville-Leeman will act as a ghostly tour guide and torch singer.

SHEILA REGAN

Previews 7:30 p.m. Thu.-Fri., 2 p.m. Sat. Opens 7:30 p.m. Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. Ends Sept. 11. Park Square, St. Paul. $20-$28, parksquaretheatre.org

One of metal's most exciting new bands of the past decade also has one of the genre's most dramatic stories of late. Georgia-based Baroness is back on the road with a stunning new album, "Purple," after surviving a 2012 bus crash that caused serious injuries, leading to two heavily banged-up members quitting. On the new Dave Fridmann-produced LP, Baroness blended in a little more melody and emotion without wimping out.

CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER

Getting accepted to the Minnesota State Fair art show is a badge of honor for even the state's top professional artists. Last year, only 329 Minnesotans were picked out of 2,365 applicants. Statistics haven't been posted yet for 2016, but competition was no doubt tough and the winning art will be impressive. There are, as always, eight categories: paintings, sculpture, photos, water media, prints and drawings, textiles, ceramics and glass. Be sure to vote for the "People's Choice" award.

MARY ABBE

Thu.-Sept. 5. Minnesota State Fair. mnstatefair.org

After wowing crowds at Festival Palomino and Eaux Claires with his dynamic stage presence and tight-grooving band, soul veteran Charles Bradley, 67, is turning heads this time by offering a free outdoor performance. Or at least it's free if you reserve online and don't intend to drink the hosts' increasingly popular product. Bradley is supporting "Changes," an album named after the Black Sabbath ballad he masterfully reinvents.

CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER

Entrepreneur Pierre Bottineau built the first wood-framed house in Maple Grove Township in 1854. Moved at least four times, the historic home now sits in Elm Creek to replicate its historic natural setting. Tour the home and view exhibits that highlight the life and times of Bottineau and how his activities affected the early development of Minnesota.

MELISSA WALKER

1-4 p.m. Sat. Pierre Bottineau House, 12400 James Deane Pkwy., Maple Grove. Free, threeriversparkdistrict.org

Sandbox Theatre, a committed small ensemble, has created a new piece called "600 Years," based on the idea that in 600 years, an exhausted humanity has decided to stop all the fussin' and feudin' and create a world based on hope and trust. Highly physical, not always linear, Sandbox builds its productions from scratch. The production is part of Southern Theatre's ARTshare program.

GRAYDON ROYCE