Japanese drums take over the Guthrie this weekend with Mu's Taiko Festival

Fri.-Sat.: The Guthrie Theater will resound with the sounds of Japanese drums this weekend as it plays host to what's billed as Minnesota's first taiko festival. The occasion is the 20th anniversary of Mu Daiko, the subsidiary of Mu Performing Arts that practices the Japanese art of taiko drumming. The event, taking place on the proscenium and studio stages as well as an eighth-floor classroom where there will be free family activities, features taiko drummers from the United States, Canada and Japan, including Naomi Guilbert and Hiroshi Koshiyama of Winnipeg's Fubuki Daiko, Shoji Kameda of Los Angeles' On Ensemble and Yuichi Kimura of Daichi No Kai in Kobe, Japan. The roster also includes Californian Tiffany Tamaribuchi and Portlander Michelle Fujii, who will be doing a commissioned work. (7 p.m. Fri.-Sat., Guthrie Theater, 818 S. 2nd St., Mpls. $20-$60. 651-789-1012 or muperformingarts.org.)

Rohan Preston