Dua Lipa
After collecting the Grammy for best new artist in 2019, the British pop star backed up the accolades with the blockbuster sophomore album "Future Nostalgia." The effervescent, Grammy-winning, neo-disco disc offers such winning bops as "Don't Start Now" and "Levitating," the biggest single of 2021. In the tradition of Madonna and Ariana Grande, Lipa promises a colorful, poppy spectacle with a phalanx of fabulous dancers. Opening are alt-pop singer Caroline Polachek, the voice of the beguilingly minimalist "Bunny Is a Rider," and Lolo Zouai, a collaborator with H.E.R. (7:30 p.m. Tue., Target Center, 600 1st Av. N., Mpls., $41-$112.50, ticketmaster.com)
JON BREAM
Our Friday best: Minnesota Dance Theatre turns 60, Dua Lipa, 'Waitress' and a fairy tale for adults
Critics' picks for entertainment in the week ahead.
'Masterworks Old & New'
And just like that, Minnesota Dance Theatre is celebrating 60 years. Originally called the Contemporary Dance Playhouse when it was founded by Loyce Houlton in 1962, the company, now run by her daughter Lise Houlton, celebrates with a trio of works. Set to a score by Samuel Barber and featuring the original costumes and set, Loyce Houlton's "Knoxville: Summer of 1915" is based on James Agee's novel "A Death in the Family," with soprano Linh Kauffman and pianist Tom Linker providing music. The company will also perform Lise Houlton's "Alchemical Wedding" and Alexander Hille's "Chichester Psalms," set to Leonard Bernstein and commissioned for a performance with VocalEssence last fall. (7:30 p.m. Sat., 2 p.m. Sun., the O'Shaughnessy, 2004 Randolph Av., St. Paul, $35-$45, 651-690-6700, oshag.stakate.edu)
SHEILA REGAN
'Once Upon a Winter Night'
Billed as a fairy tale for adults, "Winter Night" imagines a conflict between Sister Winter, who's over the cold months, and a dreamy little girl. Michael Sommers devised the play, which uses puppets, live music (with an original score by Eric Jensen) and magic to create a new myth for the season. (7:30 p.m. Thu.-Sat., 4 p.m. Sun., Open Eye Theatre, 506 E. 24th St., Mpls., $26, openeyetheatre.org)
CHRIS HEWITT
First Avenue's Best New Bands
Don't worry, the two-month postponement of this annual roundup of Minnesota buzzmakers due to COVID didn't take away the "newness" of it. There's an even stronger buzz now for brother/sister rock band Durry, whose TikTok-viral slacker anthem "Who's Laughing Now?" continues to pick up steam. See our rundown of all the bands — including dynamic soul-rocker Evv, jazz-pop trio Honeybutter, electro hip-hop/R&B artists Kokou Kah and Papa Mbye, Duluthian neo-twanger Lanue and spazzy rockers Vial — at startribune.com/music. (7 p.m. Fri., First Avenue, 701 1st Av. N., Mpls., $12-$15, first-avenue.com)
CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER
'Rejoice!' with the Aeolians
VocalEssence has invited the Aeolians of Oakwood University, a historically Black college in Huntsville, Ala., for its annual "Witness" concert celebrating African American musicians and history. Named "Choir of the World" at the 2017 World Choir Games, the group led by conductor Jason Max Ferdinand is known for its expertise with everything from baroque to spirituals to contemporary Black composers. (4 p.m. Sunday, Orchestra Hall, 1111 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., $10-$40, 612-371-5656 or vocalessence.org, which also will livestream a young people's concert at 10 a.m. Fri.)
ROB HUBBARD
'The Big Blue River'
Patrick Coyle's world-premiere drama envisions a therapist who, in the midst of a pandemic, begins a writing project that draws on stories her patients have told her. Investigating those stories leads to the therapist unearthing her own buried secrets in the darkly funny play, which Coyle also directs. (7 p.m. Wed.-Sun., North Garden Theater, 929 W. 7th St., St. Paul, $25-$35, mariahtheatre.com)
C.H.
Illuminati Hotties
After several years of serving as a studio producer and engineer for other people's records (a hard gig for women in rock to come by), Sarah Tudzin started making her own poppy recordings under this cheeky band name. Her second LP, "Let Me Do One More," made many indie tastemakers' year-end lists with its echoes of the sunny but punky vibes of such Los Angeles predecessors as Best Coast and the Go-Go's. (8 p.m. Sun., 7th St. Entry, Mpls., $18-$20, axs.com)
C.R.
Romanian family day
To celebrate a new exhibit at Landmark Center, "Romanian Spring Traditions," the Heritage Organization of Romanian Americans in Minnesota presents a day of family activities focused on the culture and traditions of Romania. Learn folk dance with the Izvorasul ensemble and how to make a "martisor," a traditional spring lucky charm given as a symbol of love. (1-4 p.m. Sun., Landmark Center, 75 W. 5th St., St. Paul, 651-292-3225, landmarkcenter.org)
MELISSA WALKER
'Waitress'
This comfort-food musical concluded its successful Broadway run last December. But it's bound to have a long life in touring productions like this one, which closes Ordway Center's Broadway season. The main reason is pop star Sara Bareilles' timeless tunes. Just hearing "She Used to Be Mine," one of the best tearjerkers of the past decade, is worth the price of admission. (7:30 p.m. Tue.-Sun., 2 p.m. Sat.-Sun., 345 Washington St., St. Paul, $44-$122, ordway.org)
NEAL JUSTIN
Parquet Courts & Mdou Moctar
What a disparate but delectable double bill. Parquet Courts, New York's beloved quirky art-punks, found some eccentric and often downtempo dance grooves on 2021's "Sympathy for Life," their seventh full-length. Co-headlining is excitingly psychedelic Nigerienguitarist Moctar, whose electrifying desert-blues disc "Afrique Victime" was one of the most arresting albums of 2021. Minneapolis' Pit Stop opens. (8 p.m. March 10, First Avenue, 701 1st Av. N., Mpls., $27-$32, first-avenue.com)
J.B.
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