Critics’ picks: The 12 best things to do and see in the Twin Cities this week

There have been a lot of noteworthy moments of late for bluegrass’ brightest new star. On Sept. 27, 2024, he released “Highway Prayers,” which became the first bluegrass album to top Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart in more than 20 years. Two days later, his first child, a son, was born. In February, Strings won his second Grammy for best bluegrass album, this time for “Live Vol. 1,” his first concert album, which is more adventurous than “Highway Prayers.” On June 20, Strings’ mom died in her sleep after he played a concert that night in his home stage of Michigan. The next day onstage in Lexington, Ky., he asked the crowd: “Instead of a moment of silence, can you please make as much noise right now for my mom?” After setting attendance records with two sold-out arena shows in Denver this year, Strings makes his first arena headline appearance in the Twin Cities. (7:30 p.m. Sat., Target Center, 600 1st Av. N., Mpls., $61-$102, axs.com)

JON BREAM

The bookers for the 44th annual camping-and-country music fest in northern Minnesota are finally catching on. The young people want to party to new country. Therefore, for the second consecutive year, the headliners are all relatively newer (and younger) stars: the hard rock-tinged Hardy, party starter Jon Pardi and Texas hero Cody Johnson. The rest of the lineup also skews fresher with the likes of Megan Moroney, Kip Moore and Ashley McBryde. The only “old-timers” are ’00s faves Gretchen Wilson of “Redneck Woman” fame and Rodney Atkins, remembered for “Watching You,” as well as ’90s hitmaker Sammy Kershaw, who still convinces with “Queen of My Double-Wide Trailer” and “She Don’t Know She’s Beautiful.” (Gates open at 2 p.m. Thu.-Sat., Soo Pass Ranch, Detroit Lakes, $139 and up, wefest.com)

J.B.

Why does St. Paul get all the cool, free, summer music fêtes? Alongside TC Jazz Fest and Lowertown Sounds comes this two-day, nonprofit, lakeside pickathon where the music genre really is “anything guitar-related.” That wide definition this year includes Twin Cities indie-folk troubadour Mason Jennings, Mexico’s dramatic Spanish-guitar ace Ehekatl Arizmendi and Eau Claire’s neo-twanger Hemma on Friday night. Saturday’s eclectic daytime lineup is led by Grammy-winning New York jazzist Mark Whitfield, with blues vets Joe and Vicki Price, warm-vibe groovers the Neighborhood Quartet, classical/jazz hybrid Duo Corda, Foxgloves’ Liz DeYoe, experimenter Paul Metzger and more. (6-10 p.m. Fri., 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat., Como Lakeside Pavilion, 1360 Lexington Pkwy. N., St. Paul, free, missionmusic.com)

CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER

Simply put: The remade lineup of this intense Texas thrash metal band was monstrous last year opening for Metallica at U.S. Bank Stadium. Longtime Ozzy guitarist Zakk Wylde and Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante aren’t just capable but also enthusiastic filling in for the band’s late sibling co-founders, “Dime Bag” Darrell and Vinnie Paul Abbott. The two surviving heyday members, frontman Phil Anselmo and bassist Rex Brown, thrive off the chance to keep the music alive and try to offset the tarnish Anselmo has brought on the quartet over the years. Sweden’s Amon Amarth and Australia’s King Parrot open. (7 p.m. Thu., Target Center, 600 1st Av. N., Mpls., $24-$197, ticketmaster.com)

Contemporary composers have grown increasingly fascinated with percussion as a means of expressing their ideas, and this Iowa foursome is the go-to group when they seek the unique sound that can be created by mallets sonorously striking bars of rosewood. A Midwest tour brings them to Minneapolis, where they’ll perform pieces that range from a contemplative chorale inspired by the forested “Lost 40” of northern Minnesota to an ebullient celebration of camaraderie by the group’s leader, Matthew Coley. (7:30 p.m. Sun., Center for the Performing Arts, 3754 Pleasant Av. S., Mpls., $15-$30, https://www.heartlandmarimba.com/events)

ROB HUBBARD

As our country is swept up in immigration raids, this would be a good time to revisit Minnesota Opera’s powerful 2023 production of José “Pepe” Martinez’s mariachi opera, “Cruzar la Cara de la Luna.” A filmed version will be shown on a big screen in St. Paul’s Rice Park, providing an opportunity to experience one of the most exciting and deeply involving productions the company has offered this century. Employing a classical-mariachi musical hybrid, it follows a family divided by the border between the U.S. and Mexico. (7 p.m. Sat., Rice Park, 4th and Washington streets, St. Paul, free, ordway.org)

R.H.

It draws you in with exquisite, raunchy artistry after you’ve fallen for the characters, and guts you with a reveal of their true colors. If Joseph Haj’s production of Kander and Ebb’s classic musical feels like probably the show’s most immediate staging ever, that’s partly because other productions were cautionary tales about fascism shutting down freedom and life in Weimar Germany. This version sizzles like a five-alarm fire, while keeping all the references historical. Haj gets outstanding performances from a cast led by Jo Lampert as the Emcee, Mary Kate Moore as Sally Bowles and Jason Forbach as Cliff Bradshaw. But excellence ripples throughout the ensemble, including Michelle Barber as Fräulein Schneider, Remy Auberjonois as fruit seller Herr Schultz and Monet Sabel as Fräulein Kost. (7:30 p.m. Tue.-Fri., 1 & 7:30 p.m. Sat., 1 & 7 p.m. Sun. Ends Aug. 24. $39-$105, 612-377-2224, guthrietheater.org)

We get another glimpse of Vie Boheme’s magnetic talent when the actor, who plays entertainer Texas in “Cabaret” at the Guthrie, moves from Berlin’s Kit Kat Klub to the jazz club Berlin in Minneapolis. On Monday, the all-star artist showcases her creativity in two intimate shows where she will perform self-penned alternative R&B tunes and lyrical dance as well as jazz standards and covers of pop tunes. Boheme is joined for the evening by keyboardist and beatboxer Theo Brown and guitarist Deevo. (6:30 & 8:30 p.m. Mon. Berlin, 204 N 1st St., Mpls. $20-$25. berlinmpls.com)

R.P.

From reels and jigs to céilí dancing, the fair celebrates dance, music, culture and food from the Emerald Isle. More than 20 dance performances and demonstrations take place across the three days of the festival, featuring local and regional dance troupes. Among them are the Green Fire Irish Dancers, a Woodbury-based multigenerational troupe that fuses contemporary and historic dances, and the Lóma mór Irish Dance Club performing with Tim McAndrew, with live music by the Twin Cities Céilí Band. Dancers from O’Shea Irish Dance, Rince na Chroi, Mactír Academy and the Hudson Irish Dance Academy will also take the stage. New this year is a pre-festival event of sorts on Thursday called Ceol on the River, with music by the Coronas, Róisín O and the Belfast Cowboys. It has a separate price and ticket. (3 p.m.-11 p.m. Fri., 10 a.m.-11 p.m. Sat., 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Sun. Harriet Island, 175 W. Water St., St. Paul. $25 adults, $15 youth and seniors, children free. 651-461-4990, irishfair.com)

SHEILA REGAN

The Twin Cities’ longest-running African art venue Mhiripiri Gallery continues to show Zimbabwe Shona stone sculpture, African masks and paintings by artist and owner Rex Mhiripiri, who just turned 90. The gallery feels like a museum, with a permanent exhibition of work by many of the gallery’s artists. Shona sculpture often depicts fables, myths and stories from the Shona Tribe. Colleen Madamombe’s voluptuous stone sculptures and Bernard Matemera’s inquisitive figures are just a few artists to check out. On the second floor, smaller sculptures of animals and human figures are on display. (10 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 9001 Penn Av. S., Bloomington, free, shonasculpturemhiripir.com or 952-285-9684)

Artist Eleanor McGough prefers cutting paper with scissors to traditional drawing. In her works, she explores climate change, the role of insects in our ecosystem and landscapes that are quickly disappearing. This exhibition also includes a peek into the artist’s process. Ends Aug. 31. (Noon-4 p.m. Sat. & Sun., Rosalux Gallery, 315 W. 48th St., Mpls., free, rosaluxgallery.com)

A.E.

After months of being closed for reconstruction, the Stone Arch Bridge has reopened earlier than anticipated. To commemorate the renovation, there will be a celebration on and near the bridge by the Mississippi River with food from trucks, live entertainment and interactive activities. The public can also witness a demonstration of construction materials and view historical facts. (11 a.m.-1 p.m. Sat. Free. Downtown side of Stone Arch Bridge, 100 W. River Pkwy., Mpls. dot.state.mn.us)