Our Friday Best: Luke Bryan at Treasure Island; big bugs at the Bell; First Ave at the fair

Before he embarks on his annual Farm Tour of the hinterlands, the country superstar is squeezing in two bigger venues: Milwaukee's Summerfest and Treasure Island Casino's amphitheater. Since 2010 he's been on a roll with 25 No. 1 country singles, including his latest, "Waves." His visibility as a judge on "American Idol" has demonstrated he can do more than shake his booty and crack open a beer. Just kidding. Opening is Dylan Scott, who has gained traction with the Top 10 singles "My Girl," "Hooked" and last year's "Nobody." (7 p.m. Fri., Treasure Island, Red Wing, $42.50 and up, ticketmaster.com)

JON BREAM

Big insects have taken over the grounds of the Bell Museum. Designed by artist Lorenzo Possenti, the exhibit features a butterfly with a 5-foot wingspan, a long-armed beetle more than 10 feet tall and stag beetles with huge jaws. The exaggerated size of the replicas are meant to showcase the hidden beauty of some of the tiniest creatures in nature. (10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesdays-Sundays. Ends Sept. 12. $9-$12. 2088 W. Larpenteur Av., Falcon Heights. bellmuseum.umn.edu.)

MELISSA WALKER

After taking a sabbatical from the music biz for several years, the rootsy Ottawa singer with ties to Maren Morris, Bon Iver and many other well known fans emerged with one of the most inspiring post-lockdown singer/songwriter albums. "Total Freedom" is a celebration of self-discovery and gratitude with a rich musical backdrop that's part Lucinda Williams and part War on Drugs. Lauded Irish rocker Mick Flannery opens. (8 p.m. Thu., Fine Line, 318 1st Av. N., Mpls., $30-$45, axs.com)

CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER

The Great White Way is slowly opening up after 18 dark months, but if you're not quite ready to venture to New York, this new documentary could tide you over. It's a somewhat scattershot history of the past 50 years of Broadway, focusing on a few key shows ("Company," "A Chorus Line," "Cats," "Hamilton"). This ground would be better covered in a docuseries but "Broadway" hits many of the highlights, including a thoughtful depiction of the transformation of Times Square from 1970s squalor (which Helen Mirren, one of many articulate interviewees, confesses she loved) to present-day theme park. (MSP Film Society at St. Anthony Main Theatre, 115 SE. Main St., Mpls., $5-$9.50, mspfilm.org)

Two nights at the State Fair's West End stage will expose you to about two weeks' worth of homegrown acts you might see at Minnesota's best-known rock club or its sister venues. Utility player maximus Al Church will lead a house band with rotating guests, including Lady Midnight, Lanue, Eleganza!, Heiruspecs and Derecho with Low's Alan Sparhawk on Friday, and then Monica LaPlante, EVV, Longshot, the Shackletons' Colin Campbell and Diane of D Mills & the Thrills on Saturday. (8 p.m. Fri.-Sat., Schell's at West End Stage, State Fairgrounds, free with admission.)

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Screening films with live orchestral accompaniment has become a big box-office draw for the Minnesota Orchestra. But the concept is offered on a far more intimate scale at this annual gathering, which moves outdoors this year. Eighteen randomly paired teams of filmmakers and composers will premiere 90 minutes' worth of short films — both live action and animated — the music performed by a 16-piece chamber orchestra. Bring a lawn chair. (8 p.m. Sat., Mears Park, 221 E. 5th St., St. Paul, $15 suggested donation, filmscorefest.org)

ROB HUBBARD

Fired from Fleetwood Mac in 2018, the singer/guitarist will drop his first solo album in 10 years Sept. 17, but he'll preview songs in the Twin Cities on the second stop of his new solo tour. Last seen kicking off his duo trek with Mac's Christine McVie in 2017 at Northrop, Buckingham has already issued two singles from the self-titled album — the layered "I Don't Mind" and the poppy "On the Wrong Side" with hushed verses and Mac-like choruses. He says the record addresses the challenges of long-term relationships. Singer-songwriter Sammy Brue, 20, opens. (8 p.m. Fri. Mystic Lake Casino Showroom, Prior Lake, $29 and up, ticketmaster.com)

New Native Theatre is heading to the empty lot off Lake Street where Migizi Communications and Gandhi Mahal once stood for a new post-apocalyptic play. The former thriving business corridor was destroyed by fires during the unrest of 2020, and is now seeing new life as a space for the arts. Written and directed by Yvette Nolan, an Algonquin theater artist from Saskatchewan, "The Unplugging" imagines a world where women past childbearing age are removed from their community. Two aunties face this harrowing reality together in a tale of survival and resilience. (2 p.m. Fri.-Sun. & Wednesdays-Sundays through Sept. 19, 3017 27th Av. S., Mpls., pay-what-you-can, $35 suggested, newnativetheatre.org)

SHEILA REGAN

With Hurricane Ida devastating New Orleans, we could sure use a taste of the Crescent City for a little solidarity. Nobody gets the NOLA party spirit going quite like Trombone Shorty and his band Orleans Avenue. Mixing brassy jazz, funk, R&B, hip-hop and some love for Prince, Shorty has been a party starter at the Minnesota Zoo for several years. This summer, he brings the funky fun to the lush Hilde Amphitheater. Twin Cities jazzman L.A. Buckner opens. (7 p.m. Sun., 3400 Plymouth Blvd., Plymouth, $52-$112, etix.com)

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