Our Friday best: St. Cloud's new amphitheater plus Patti Smith, Shakespeare in the park and more

One of the most important figures in the history of rock, Smith is often hailed as the poet laureate of punk rock. Not only is she a transcendent performer with "Dancing Barefoot," "Because the Night" and other tunes, but in concert she creates community like no other artist. "People have the power," she sings, and so does she. Fresh from a tour of Italy, the Rock Hall of Famer and award-winning author is playing a rare 2021 U.S. concert with her band, which includes long-timers Lenny Kaye and Jay Dee Daugherty plus her son Jackson Smith. Gregory Alan Isakov opens. (7 p.m. Sat., Surly Festival Field, 520 Malcolm Av. SE., Mpls., $50, axs.com)

JON BREAM

Your ticket to this summer's production will take you to a planet on the edge of the universe three times larger than Earth. "Galaxium" features daring aerialist and acrobatic performers on an outer-space mission complete with conspiracy theories, comedy and high-flying adventure. (7 p.m. Fri.; 1 & 7 p.m. Sat.-Sun. Ends Aug. 15. $30-$50. Circus Juventas, 1270 Montreal Av., St. Paul. 612-343-3390. circusjuventas.org)

MELISSA WALKER

The first big concert at central Minnesota's ambitious new amphitheater turned out to also be the opening date for one of this year's coolest co-headlining rock tours. Irish-blooded punk vets the Dropkick Murphys and their late-'90s counterparts Rancid are teaming up for two months on the Boston to Berkeley II Tour starting at the Ledge, a new $11.5 million, 6,000-person outdoor venue on the outskirts of St. Cloud in a former rock quarry. (7 p.m. Tue., Ledge Amphitheater, 1700 Parkway Drive, Waite Park, $45, ticketmaster.com) They will be followed by a night of boomer-era good vibrations with the touring version of the Beach Boys, featuring Mike Love and Bruce Johnston. (7 p.m. Wed., $73-$97.)

Chris Riemenschneider

Summit Players Theatre may seem to be pushing it with this outdoor production of William Shakespeare's tragicomedy but it's not actually set in winter (the title refers to a tradition of oral storytelling). Which is a good thing since temps are apt to be steamy for the play, which is touring Wisconsin state parks, about romantic confusion and mistaken identity. (7 p.m. Aug. 6 at Governor Knowles State Forest, 325 Hwy. 70, Grantsburg, Wis., and 7 p.m. Aug. 7 at Interstate State Park, 1275 Hwy. 35, St. Croix Falls, Wis., free; performances are preceded by education workshops at 5:30 p.m., summitplayerstheatre.com)

Folks still not comfortable with theaters or indoor music venues can get a double dose of overdue entertainment as the Star Tribune's Music & Movies series returns to Lake Harriet every Friday night in August, with musicals as this year's cinematic theme. The kickoff night promises to be a fun one with buzzing fuzz-rocker Monica LaPlante followed by "Little Shop of Horrors." Subsequent weeks feature Foxgloves with "Sister Act" Aug. 13, Faith Boblett with "Greatest Showman" Aug. 20 and Matt Wilson & His Orchestra with "Hairspray" Aug. 27. (7:30 p.m., Lake Harriet Band Shell, Mpls., free)

C.R.

A year ago, dancers and choreographers Helen Hatch, of Hatch Dance, and Berit Ahlgren, of HoneyWorks, teamed up to produce Live @ The Shed for an evening of joyful movement at the outdoor space near the Lab Taproom. This week, the duo return to the same spot with their latest work, "LDV," which is inspired by Federico Fellini's 1960 film "La Dolce Vita." The cast of 26 dancers, of all ages and backgrounds, bring to nonlinear life Fellini's classic homage to Rome. (5:30 & 8 p.m. Sat. & Sun., 3 p.m. Sun., outside the Lab Taproom, 767 N. Eustis St., St. Paul, $25-$50 or pay as able, helenhatch.wixsite.com/hatchdance)

sheila regan

After a year in cyberspace, St. Croix Valley Opera re-emerges with a riverside concert of operatic arias and show tunes. Bring a lawn chair and enjoy soprano Vanessa Becerra, mezzo-soprano Sarah Larsen, tenor Andres Acosta and baritone Luis Orozco serenading you as the St. Croix River flows by. Andrew Sun conducts a chamber ensemble featuring musicians from the Minnesota Opera Orchestra. There's also a performing arts fair with various organizations from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (7 p.m. Sat., Lowell Park, 201 N. Water St., Stillwater, free, scvopera.org/ootr)

After doing her "String Sessions" podcast during 2020's pandemic, YouTube sensation Stirling has returned to the road with a 36-concert U.S. tour. Bolstered by appearances on "America's Got Talent," the 34-year-old violinist combines dance/electronica music with lavish visual effects, which have made her a hit on the internet and in concert. It doesn't hurt that she's recruited such vocal stars as Elle King, Lzzy Hale and Evanescence's Amy Lee to work with her. Opening is electro-pop performer Kiesza. (7 p.m. Mon., Armory, 500 S. 6th St., Mpls., $67 and up, ticketmaster.com)

J.B.

The Orange Advisory principal Rob Sherer wanted his Twin Cities clients to see more art from the coasts without having to travel there. His new project, TOA Presents, billed as a "flexible exhibition space," invites galleries to have pop-up exhibitions. On Friday, the New York/L.A. gallery François Ghebaly opens a group show featuring Kelly Akashi, Farah Atassi, Neïl Beloufa, Channa Horwitz, Rindon Johnson, Christine Sun Kim and Candice Lin, who also has an installation opening at the Walker Art Center. Sherer has ambitions of pairing emerging and midcareer artists, and presenting Twin Cities artists, too. (Opening 4-7 p.m. Fri., 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Sat. Otherwise by appointment. Ends Sept. 18. TOA Presents, 655 19th Av. NE., Mpls., theorangeadvisory.com)

ALICIA ELER