Critics’ picks: The 13 best things to do and see in the Twin Cities this week
Critics’ picks for entertainment in the week ahead.
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Green Day & Smashing Pumpkins
Two bands that first met up on the Lollapalooza IV tour in 1994 — Billie Joe Armstrong’s crew were the openers that year, and Billy Corgan’s group headlined — continue the hot-selling Gen-X nostalgia trip started by the Foo Fighters at the Twins ballpark this summer. Each has pretty good new albums to tout, but they are mostly sticking to the oldies on this outing. Green Day is even playing its two best-loved LPs in full, 1993′s “Dookie” and 2004′s “American Idiot.” There are two excellent openers, too: Rancid of “Time Bomb” fame and smile-igniting teen punks the Lindas Lindas. (5:30 p.m. Sat., Target Field, 1 Twins Way, Mpls., $63-$493, ticketmaster.com)
CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER
Def Leppard and Journey
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame bands, both big in the ‘80s and ‘90s, toured together in 2018. Now they’re teaming up again for the Summer Stadium Tour, following Metallica and Green Day for the last of four Minneapolis stadium shows in four days. While the British hitmakers of “Pour Some Sugar on Me” fame have had the same lineup since 1992, San Francisco’s Journey hasn’t stopped believing in its repertoire as its personnel has changed in recent years. While feuding co-founder Neal Schon and longtime keyboardist Jonathan Cain reportedly have reached a temporary détente, the rhythm section is relatively new and replacement singer Arnel Pineda has been on board longer than original hitmaker Steve Perry. Opening is another Hall of Famer, Steve Miller, an underappreciated guitarist best known for “Jet Airliner,” “Fly Like an Eagle” and other hits. (6 p.m. Mon., Target Field, 1 Twins Way, Mpls., $70-$1,600, axs.com)
JON BREAM
Hozier
He’s the first Irish singer to have a No. 1 song in the States since Sinead O’Connor in 1990. This year’s “Too Sweet” proved that Hozier wasn’t merely a one-hit wonder, known for 2013′s “Take Me to Church.” His true fans, though, know the depth of his catalog, which features songs (and videos) that explore gay rights, women’s rights, civil rights and domestic violence, among other topics. On Friday, he will drop “Unaired,” his second EP of the year, featuring outtakes from his 2023 “Eat Your Young” album. Opening is Allison Russell, the exceptional French-Canadian singer/songwriter who duetted with Hozier on “Wildflower and Barley,” on his March EP, “Unheard.” (8 p.m. Sat., Xcel Energy Center, 199 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, $40-$80, ticketmaster.com)
J.B.
Jhené Aiko
Four years since earning an album of the year Grammy nomination for her ultra-chill and soothing collection “Chilombo,” the Los Angeles R&B singer is making good on that record’s pandemic-stymied hype with her first arena tour and big festival gigs this summer. She’s issued a series of spiritually toned singles since then, including this year’s standout “Guidance.” She also still has a devoted following going back to her 2013 debut, “Sail Out,” when she was part of the B2K camp. Her tour’s “co-stars” include Coi Leray and Tink. (7 p.m. Tue., Target Center, 600 1st Av. N., Mpls., $50-$250, axs.com)
C.R.
Koe Wetzel
Like Zach Bryan, outsider Wetzel has built momentum on streaming and ticket sales to the point that country radio, the ultimate gatekeeper to Nashville stardom, is finally paying attention. “High Road,” his power ballad duet with teenager Jessie Murph, made it to No. 8 on Billboard’s country chart. Wetzel is an omnivore when it comes to genres, embracing country, rock, hip-hop, pop and grunge. On last month’s “9 Lives” (his sixth full-length, produced by “Stick Season” ace Gabe Simon), the wild-eyed, hard-to-pigeonhole Texan declares himself both “Damn Near Normal” and “Last Outlaw Alive.” Kolby Cooper and Kat Hasty open. (7 p.m. Thu., the Armory, 500 S. 6th St., Mpls, $48.50 and up, ticketmaster.com)
J.B.
‘Faust’
Mixed Precipitation’s annual Pickup Truck Opera takes French romantic Charles Gounod’s “Faust” to outer space, delivering that legendary deal with the devil with a little Depeche Mode on the side. Bring a blanket or lawn chair when it travels to parks, farms and wineries around Minnesota through Sept. 15. (7 p.m. Thu., Loring Park Garden of the Seasons, 1382 Willow St., Mpls.; 7 p.m. Fri., Caponi Art Park, 1220 Diffley Road, Eagan; 6 p.m. Sat., Chateau St. Croix Winery, 1998 Hwy. 87, St. Croix Falls, Wis.; 3 p.m. Sun., Franconia Sculpture Park, 29836 N. St. Croix Trail, Shafer, Minn., $5-$45, mixedprecipitation.org)
ROB HUBBARD
Zeitgeist
The Twin Cities’ foremost purveyor of adventurous contemporary music is moving a little farther afield. After being based in St. Paul for more than four decades, Zeitgeist has picked up its percussion, piano and reeds and moved to Red Wing, where it will be an ensemble in residence at the Anderson Center. Yet don’t be surprised if the group periodically comes closer to the cities for presentations like “A Murmur in the Trees,” Eve Beglarian’s piece that invites you to wander through a grove of trees while being serenaded by 24 bass players. (7:30 p.m. Tue. Silverwood Park, 2500 County Road E, St. Anthony, free, zeitgeistnewmusic.org)
R.H.
THEATER
‘Mary Poppins’
Veteran stage performer Norah Long has longed to play English nanny Mary Poppins and she’s going to pour spoonfuls of sugar alfresco on the riverfront against the backdrop of Stillwater’s historic Lift Bridge. The cast of this limited run production, under the aegis of Frosted Glass Creative’s Broadway on the Saint Croix, includes Peyton Dixon as Bert, Sean Dooley as George Banks and Angela Walberg as Queen Victoria. (7 p.m. Fri.-Sun., Lowell Park, 201 Water St. N., Stillwater. $20-$45. frostedglasscreative.com)
ROHAN PRESTON
A Taste of Puppetry
The Puppeteers of America are having their regional festival in Minneapolis and St. Paul this weekend, and two shows give a sample of their works. The bilingual company Paradox Teatro, run by Mexican artist Sofia Padilla and Minnesota video-maker Davey Steinman, is doing a show on refugees called “Migraciones/Migrations.” The couple draw on their experiences with the U.S. immigration system as they meditate on migration, which humans and monarch butterflies alike do to survive.
The sampling also includes the return of “The Amazing Gnip Gnop Circus” by Minnesota’s own Z Puppets Rosenschnoz, run by founders Shari Aronson and Chris Griffith and featuring glow-in-the-dark, miniature wonders. (“Migraciones/Migrations” is at 7:30 p.m. Thu., and “Gnip Gnop” is at 1 p.m. Sat., Open Eye Theatre, 506 E. 24th St., Mpls. $20-$30. 612-874-6338, openeyetheatre.org)
R.P.
ART
‘Women in Soviet Art: 1930-1991’
Thirty paintings by known Soviet artists showcase women working. The realistic paintings in this show portray tractor drivers, loggers, harvesters, construction workers and more, questioning masculine-feminine gender roles during the Soviet era. Ends Oct. 20. (10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun., Museum of Russian Art, 5500 Stevens Av. S., Mpls., $5-$14, 612-821-9045 or tmora.org)
ALICIA ELER
Dutch paintings
The paintings in this show peek into a curious time during Dutch history, when the country sought independence from Habsburg Spain and was trying to assert its national identity. Dutch painters of the 1600s often portrayed scenes of daily life, still life and people in transit. Cornelis Dusart’s painting “Interior With Pipe Smoker” portrays working-class figures taking it easy, like a man wearing a ruffled white collar puffing on a white clay pipe, while a dog sits nearby and other members of the house quarrel. Works in this show are part of a gift to the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Ends Aug. 25. (10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.,, Wed., Fri.-Sun., 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Thu., 2400 3rd Av. S., Mpls., free, 612-870-3000 or new.artsmia.org)
A.E.
DANCE
‘The Cohort’
Rhythmically Speaking is adding tap dancing to the mix for its annual production of “The Cohort.” In past years, the company highlighted jazz and social dances, but this will be the first time it showcases tap when it presents “Sonic Leather,” by Jake Nehrbass. He will be joined by two other choreographers, both based outside Minnesota. Eboné Amos of Clarksville, Tenn., presents “Welcome to Soulsville,” a piece set to the vibrant soul era of the 1950s and ’60s, with music by James Brown, Sly and the Family Stone, Curtis Mayfield and Dinah Washington. Maurice Watson of Greensboro, N.C., explores individual expression inside of community in “Chasing the (1) = 1.″ Artistic director Erinn Liebhard, meanwhile, premieres a new dance called “Conversation Piece,” drawing on historical dance instruction diagrams and audio recordings. (7:30 p.m. Thu. & Fri., 2 & 7:30 p.m. Sat., Southern Theater, 1420 Washington Av. S., Mpls., $26, $24 students/seniors, pay-what-you-can Sat. matinee. southerntheater.org)
SHEILA REGAN
FAMILY
Music & Movement Festival
The dreaded topic of school may be approaching, but there’s still time to get the fam outside for fresh air and festival fun. Sponsored by the Twin Cities Steppers Association, KMOJ radio and other community organizations, the grounds will be jamming with guests invited to participate in partner and line dancing for all ages. Kids can burn energy through various activities. Food trucks prepare a wide variety of eats against the picturesque Western Sculpture Park. Sounds provided by the Maxx Band, Ray Covington, No Limit, Johnnie Brown Experience and more. (11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sat., free, Western Sculpture Park, 387 Marion St., St. Paul, facebook.com)
MELISSA WALKER
Semiretired mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade will perform recitals and hold master classes as part of the opera company’s fundraiser.