Critics’ picks: The 11 best things to do and see in the Twin Cities this week

Back in downtown Minneapolis for the third consecutive year, the annual food-and-music fest with free admission has some winning veteran entertainers on tap. Headlining the main stage at 7:30 p.m. Saturday is spunky Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Joan Jett of “Bad Reputation” and “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll” reputation; she’ll be preceded at 5:45 p.m. by power pop standard-bearers Cheap Trick, who landed in the Hall of Fame thanks to hits like “Surrender” and “I Want You to Want Me.” Headlining Sunday at 7:30 p.m. is rapper-turned-“Fast and Furious” actor Ludacris, who will entertain with “Money Maker,” “Runaway Love” and “How Low.” He’ll be preceded by premier Twin Cities rapper Nur-D. Two other stages feature local jazz musicians like Connie Evingson and singer/songwriters like Caribou Gone. (12:30 p.m. Sat.-Sun., Marquette Av. & Nicollet Mall between 4th St. & Washington Av. S., Mpls., free, tasteofmn.com)

JON BREAM

It’s now Duluth’s biggest annual live music event and a highlight each year on Trampled’s always-bustling tour itinerary, drawing fans from all around the country. But the harborside homecoming show by the all-acoustic string sextet continues to avoid feeling stale. This year, the group is coming in with strong new songs off last year’s EP, “Always Here.” It also just dropped a stunning new LP with Low bandleader and (ahem!) Duluth resident Alan Sparhawk. Maybe best of all, Trampled is bringing in one of the buzziest songwriters in Americana as an opening act, Kentuckian S.G. Goodman, who just issued her second album last week. Local contest winner Sophie Hiroko also performs. (6 p.m. Sat., Bayfront Festival Park, 350 Harbor Drive, Duluth, all ages, $60, axs.com)

CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER

Like Jelly Roll, Swims is a heavily tattooed heavyweight who switched genres and found success with deeply emotional, deeply personal songs. A former hard-core rocker, Swims sent “Lose Control” to No. 1 last year and set some records doing so. The biggest single of 2024, it took an unprecedented 32 weeks to reach the top of Billboard’s Hot 100. In May, “Lose Control” set a record for longest time on the Hot 100, breaking Glass Animals’ “Heat Waves” mark of 91 weeks. In addition to performing songs from both of his albums, “I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy” (parts 1 and 2),” the Georgia native with the rich, robust voice has been doing a choice cover every show by Michael Jackson, Marvin Gaye, Shania Twain or Kings of Leon from his YouTube repertoire that helped launch his career. (8 p.m. Sun., the Armory, 50 S. 6th St., Mpls., $150 and up, resale, ticketmaster.com)

J.B.

Ever since he took over the stage at First Avenue’s Best New Bands showcase in 2023, the Nigerian-born Minnesota singer/guitarist has turned up the volume and groove power in his expanded live band, the Black Atlantics. He and the nine-piece unit blend together Fela Kuti-style Afrobeat funk and soukous guitar licks with reggae and American soul influences to create a sweltering vibe even in winter. No surprise they’re in high demand with numerous big gigs this summer, including this club-headlining date they’re billing as the Highlife Dance Party, also featuring Afrocentric DJs, live art and guests from the co-op label that Obi co-founded, Ozone Creations. (9:30 p.m. Sat., Turf Club, 1601 W. University Av., St. Paul, $12, axs.com)

The St. Paul Chamber Music Institute has quite the distinguished faculty. This week, high school and college-age string players are gathering for master classes and rehearsals with the esteemed Jasper String Quartet, which is fresh from winning Chamber Music America’s 2025 album of the year honor for its latest, “Insects and Machines.” The foursome will play works of multiple centuries at a free concert at the History Center, which is free for your exploring on Thursday evenings. (6:30 p.m. Thu., Minnesota History Center, 345 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, free, thespcm.org)

ROB HUBBARD

Many Americans first heard clarinetist Anthony McGill when he helped play a John Williams quartet at Barack Obama’s presidential inauguration in 2009. Now he’s arguably classical music’s foremost clarinetist and was named instrumentalist of the year by Musical America in 2024. When he’s not being principal clarinetist of the New York Philharmonic, McGill travels around playing concertos with other major orchestras, as well as recitals like this one at Winona’s Minnesota Beethoven Festival, where he’ll perform works romantic and contemporary with pianist Rieko Tsuchida. (7:30 p.m. Tue., Page Theatre, St. Mary’s University, 700 Terrace Heights, Winona, $25, mnbeethovenfestival.org)

R.H.

Open Eye Theatre’s driveway tour takes it to Scandia this weekend. The Minneapolis company will stage the first of its two summer shows at the open-air Gammelgården Museum. The adventure story centers on Katie, a bored kid on summer break who finds a skeleton named Mr. Boo Boo in her garden. The tale is told with puppetry and music. “Tomatie” closes July 13 and has engagements in Minneapolis, St. Paul, Hudson, Wis., and Hopkins. (1 p.m. Sat. Gammelgården Museum, 20880 Olinda Trail N., Scandia, Minn. Free. openeyetheatre.org)

The Minneapolis company presents the last hurrah of its summer tour for young audiences, and combines an interactive dance workshop with a performance. Each show starts with a participatory element for dancers 3 years old and up, teaching movements to use during the show. Then the professional company performs a work called “The People I See Are a Part of Me,” created by co-director Karla Nweje. The show infuses poetry, percussive and modern dance with a story about a character named Alra, who embarks on a journey that teaches her important life lessons. (10 & 11:30 a.m. Sat. Father Hennepin Bluffs Park Bandshell, 420 SE. Main St., Mpls. Free, dancecomn.com)

SHEILA REGAN

Nine Minnesota-based international artists investigate what’s gained and what’s lost through the process of physically relocating in a group exhibition at the Rochester Art Center. Curated by Zoe Cinel, the show features artists Dahm Gim, Ivonne Yáñez, Mayumi Amada, Peng Wu, Prima Jalichandra-Sakuntabhai, Rituparna Rana, Roshan Ganu, Shafrin Islam and Ziba Rajabi. It also includes a short documentary on the topic by Pawan Sharma, with words by Rituparna Rana. Ends Feb. 1, 2026. (11 a.m.-4 p.m. Wed.-Sun., 30 Civic Center Drive SE., Rochester, $5-$8, free for 21 and under, rochesterartcenter.org)

ALICIA ELER

How will cities exist in the future? How will people live, work and play? A new exhibition at the Weisman Art Museum considers the pursuit of the “future city” through architectural and design drawings, diagrams and models that investigate the past 150 years of discourse around the formation of the city as a concept. Ends Sept. 14. (10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wed.-Sun., 333 East River Road, Mpls., free, 612-625-9494 or wam.umn.edu)

Make-believe beings come to life, bringing a magical summer to the Como Town grounds. The walk-through exhibit encompasses more than 60 animatronics that make ancient myths a reality. Embark on a fairy-tale adventure through the woods for an encounter with unicorns, phoenixes and dragons. Make the experience grander by getting on the amusement rides in Como Town, frolicking through Hodge Podge Park and cooling down at the Splash Zone. (10:15 a.m.-4:15 p.m. daily through Sept. 1. $9.99. Como Town, 1301 Midway Pkwy., St. Paul. comotown.com)