A half-dozen cool things in music, from two points of view:

Fran Greelis of Bloomington:

1 Ed Sheeran, State Theatre. Up close and personal with Ed was truly extraordinary. His performance was such a treat as he shared the stories behind the songs after his year of challenges. An unforgettable evening in the best venue. Autumn is coming and so is his album "Autumn Variations."

2 Keith Urban, Minnesota State Fair. He did not disappoint. His high-energy, crowd-engaging performance at the grandstand was amazing. He put the smile right back where my smile goes.

3 Cody Jinks, Wayzata Beach Bash. Looking forward to the return of one of my favorite outlaw country artists on Sept. 9. The Wayzata Beach Bash isn't the venue I would expect, but hey... "It must be the whiskey!"

Jon Bream, Star Tribune critic:

1 Little Anthony, Minnesota State Fair. Appearing at the Happy Together revue with the Turtles, Gary Puckett, Vogues and other '60s acts, Anthony Gourdine stole the show. Not only does he still have a startling falsetto at age 82, he proved to be a charming, fun-loving entertainer with classic songs, cute humor and a still-wonderful voice on "Hurts So Bad," "Tears on My Pillow" and "Goin' Out of My Head."

2 State Fair artists choose musical subjects. Whether it's the glass-on-glass mosaic of Sushila Anderson (a portrait of Chris Cornell), the photography of Kyle Hansen (a rock singer exploding a can of beer) or the crop art of Lea Stans (a portrait of Elvis Presley), among others, there is so much creativity on the part of Minnesota visual artists who love music. Bravo!

3 "Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour." A film of her massively successful U.S. tour will open in North American theaters on Oct. 13. Clearly, there will be some editing because the movie is 2 hours 45 minutes, not the 3 hours and 20 minutes that most of the concerts lasted. If you missed the tour or just want to relive it (and who doesn't), this is a multi-night engagement (AMC promises at least four shows daily Thursdays through Sundays) with Taylor-ed prices of $19.89 for adults and $13.13 for children and seniors for standard screens. (Tickets are on sale now at AMCTheatres.com and Fandango.) In announcing the movie on social media, Swift posted: "Eras attire, friendship bracelets, singing and dancing encouraged… 1, 2, 3 LGB!!!! (iykyk)."

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