Best of the Week: The Current's birthday party, 'Ruthless,' 'Carmina Burana,' the Killers

Like a teen still not set in his or her ways, radio's 89.3 the Current marks its 13th birthday with a great mishmash of sounds over two nights. Friday features grungy buzz band Bully, the return of indie-pop faves Now Now, Duluth's rocky groovers Social Animals and wild-eyed Rhymesayers rapper Dem Atlas (pictured). Saturday welcomes back Okie roots-rocker JD McPherson with Philly oddball punk Ron Gallo and rising locals Lady Lark and Reina del Cid.

CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER

8 p.m. Fri.-Sat., First Avenue, Mpls., $20 per night, eTix.com.

Listed atop the lineups for Bonnaroo, Governors Ball and other festivals in 2018, the Killers went away for a few years and apparently came back bigger than ever. The Las Vegas rockers of "Mr. Brightside" and "When You Were Young" fame graduate to arena headliner behind their fifth album, "Wonderful, Wonderful," a fun if quizzical exploration of singer Brandon Flowers.

CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER

8 p.m. Wed., Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, $62-$197, Ticketmaster.com

Minnesota Dance Theatre's classic production of Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana" is a post-holiday tradition. First choreographed in 1976 by company founder Loyce Houlton, the show was revived early this century by current MDT artistic director (and Houlton's daughter) Lise Houlton with former Theatre de la Jeune Lune artistic director Dominique Serrand. Orff's crowd-pleasing score gets a dramatic interpretation by the MDT dancers.

7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 3 p.m. Sun., Cowles Center, Mpls., $26-$45, thecowlescenter.org

A musical sendup of several classic melodramas (including "The Bad Seed," "Mildred Pierce" and "All About Eve"), "Ruthless!" surveils the larcenous career of an adorable tyke who will do just about anything to get her big break in show business, aided by her stage mother/henchwoman. The all-female cast includes vets Ruthie Baker and Greta Grosch and, puzzlingly or cleverly, the songs include one called "I Hate Musicals."

CHRIS HEWITT

7:30 p.m. Thu.-Sat, 2:30 p.m., Sun., closes Jan. 21, Howard Conn Theater, Mpls. $20, ruthless.simpletix.com

Pianist Juho Pohjonen is steadily building a reputation as one of the more exciting players on the international classical circuit. He pairs works by Bach, Franck and Mozart with Schubert's formidable "Wanderer" fantasy in what promises to be a riveting Minnesota debut.

3 p.m. Sun., Mairs Concert Hall, Macalester College, St. Paul, $30, chopinsocietymn.org

Minnesota native Cameron Naasz seeks to hold onto his title against the world's toughest and fastest skaters at the finale of the crashed ice season. At the Red Bull Crashed Ice Championship, athletes will navigate a 1,600-foot-long track with a jaw-dropping plunge of 12 stories. The thrills of the high-speed action alone should keep the crowd warm while watching skaters fight their way through obstacles to be the first one to the bottom.

MELISSA WALKER

5 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Cathedral Hill, St. Paul, redbullcrashedice.com.

The American Swedish Institute's community gallery is displaying a host of talented pastel artists. Nature abounds: A graceful rendering of a gentle Minnesota river by Fred Somers seems at home alongside Art Weeks' peaceful, snowy rural landscape. But it's not always au naturel. Barb Bjorson's croaky toads offer a swampy take on a Frog Prince.

Tue.-Sun. Ends March 4. American Swedish Institute, Mpls., $7-$10, asimn.org

Boz Scaggs and Steve Miller weren't the only blues-rock singers to launch their careers in Madison, Wis. Native Tracy Nelson started singin' the blues there before recording in Chicago and moving on to San Francisco, where her band Mother Earth was part of the scene with the Jefferson Airplane and Janis Joplin. At 73, Nelson still sings the blues with robust authority. She'll be backed by Missouri's Bel Airs.

JON BREAM

7 p.m. Thu. Dakota Jazz Club, Mpls., $30-$35, dakotacooks.com

A treat for classical music fans over the past few years has been the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra's stimulating performances of Haydn's symphonies. Next up is No. 49, "La Passione," in a concert also including Mendelssohn's bright, zippy Italian Symphony and "O Mikros, O Megas" by George Tsontakis (commissioned by the SPCO in 2016). All three works are performed without a conductor.

11 a.m. & 8 p.m. Fri., Wooddale Church, Eden Prairie; 8 p.m. Sat., Ordway, St. Paul; Jan. 30, Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church, Apple Valley, $11-$50, thespco.org