Critics' picks: The 12 best things to do and see in the Twin Cities this week

John Mayer

The beauty of doing a solo show, even in an arena, is there are no restrictions dictated by set lists, production cues or the band's familiarity with songs. Such is the case with Mayer's current Solo Acoustic Tour. He even has the freedom to play electric guitar and answer requests from signs held by fans. Not only does he survey his 22-year recording career, but he is also known to toss in covers of Beyoncé, Tom Petty and, of course, the Grateful Dead as well as brand-new originals. Sounds like a Mayerhead's dream concert. Opening is talented singer-songwriter Joy Oladokun, who is preparing to drop her fourth album, "Proof of Life," in April. (7 p.m. Sat., Xcel Energy Center, 199 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, $54.50-$995, ticketmaster.com)

JON BREAM

Lil Wayne

He has a terrible track record for making his gigs in the Twin Cities — see: three cancellations in a row in the 2010s — but New Orleans' little rap giant does have a reputation for solid, energetic performances when he does show up. This one's the kickoff date for his Welcome to Tha Carter Tour, a more intimate and back-to-basics outing that seems like a good alternative to his last time in town on a rather silly arena tour with Blink-182. He just dropped a braggadocious new single ahead of the trek, "Kant Nobody," to show he means business. (7 p.m. Tue., the Fillmore, 525 N. 5^th St., Mpls., $210-$350, livenation.com)

CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER

'Kitchen Dances'

In 2020, Maribeth Romslo collaborated with the Minneapolis Institute of Art to make a film called "Kitchen Dance," which was inspired by the museum's work "Frankfurt Kitchen," one of two in existence today. Designed in 1926 by Austrian architect Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky to keep the kitchen as efficient as possible, it saved space and reduced the burden of women's labor in the home. Ballet Co.Laboratory artistic director Zoé Henrot performed in the film, and wanted to take the project further. Now the St. Paul ballet company presents "Kitchen Dances," which is choreographed by Claire Davison of American Ballet Theatre and draws on ballet, flamenco, modern and jazz styles as it looks at women's roles and agency. Guest performers are Susana di Palma and MerSadies McCoy. (7 p.m. Fri. & Sat., 2 p.m. Sun., Luminary Arts Center, 700 N. 1st St., Mpls., $40, luminaryartcenter.org, 612-333-6669)

SHEILA REGAN

Playwright Showcase

New Arab American Theater Works will showcase eight in-development plays by writers including Ifrah Mansour and Ahmed Ismail Yusuf in a two-day festival of comedies and dramas. Each 45-minute piece will be followed by a discussion with the playwright. (First play is at 1:30 p.m. Sat., 2 p.m. Sun., Open Book, 1011 Washington Av. S., Mpls., free, newarabamericantheaterworks.org.)

CHRIS HEWITT

Cantus and Cantus

On their many travels, members of the Minneapolis-based low-voice ensemble Cantus are periodically asked if they're the Cantus that sings in Disney's "Frozen." They were being mistaken for a wonderful women's choir from the Arctic environs of Trondheim, Norway, that has since won top honors for a female chamber choir at the 2018 World Choir Games. The two groups will at last meet onstage, exchanging songs and joining voices on a predominantly Nordic repertoire. The concert also will be livestreamed, available through April 16. (3 p.m. Sun., the O'Shaughnessy, St. Catherine University, 2004 Randolph Av., St. Paul; $5-$75; 651-690-6700 or oshag.stkate.edu.)

ROB HUBBARD

Winter Jazz Festival

New York trumpeter Bruce Harris, who has played with everyone from Wynton Marsalis and Tony Bennett to Rihanna and Lady Gaga, will be backed by some of Minnesota's finest jazz musicians at this daylong fest. Also performing in Crooners' three rooms are guitarist Tim Sparks, Dave Graf's Friendly Five, Gypsy Mania, New Orleans traditionalists Southside Aces, vocalists extraordinaire Ginger Commodore and Connie Evingson, and pianist Rick Carlson. (2 p.m. Sun., Crooners, 6161 Hwy 65, Fridley, $45-$125, croonersmn.eventbrite.com)

J.B.

Haley

With her second daughter due in June and a new album in the pipeline, the brightly voiced Twin Cities indie-rock mainstay is throwing a big hurrah before hunkering down for a while. She's promising a preview of the Beatrix Potter-inspired new record, "Hunca Munca," plus some old faves and covers with a cast of friends along for fun, including Diane, Lamar, Tender Ness, Ian Allison, Al Church and Jeremy Ylvisaker. (7:30 p.m. Sat., the Hook & Ladder Theater, 3010 Minnehaha Av. S., Mpls., $15-$25, thehookmpls.com)

C.R.

'12x12'

It's going to take a whole summer for Mixed Blood Theatre's hugely ambitious project to come together and it should be fascinating to watch it happen. The first production under new(ish) artistic director Mark Valdez, "12" will feature a dozen pieces in a dozen Twin Cities neighborhoods or cities. Each event sends an artist into a community to create a short piece with the residents there. In August, all of the works will come together at Mixed Blood for a performance festival. First up is Alison Bergblom Johnson, whose mixed-media art explores "disability, identity and joy." (3 p.m. Sat., Powderhorn Park Rec Center Gymnasium, 3400 15th Av. S., Mpls., sliding scale of free-$50, mixedblood.com.)

C.H.

'Love to Death (Amor a la Muerte)'

Samoan choreographer Lemi Ponifasio creates not so much a performance as a ceremony remembering Camilo Cantrillanca, an Indigenous Chilean activist who was murdered in 2018. A member of a Mapuche community that declared autonomy from the Chilean state in 2003, Cantrillanca's death sparked widespread protests across that country. Ponifasio collaborates with Mapuche singer and composer Elisa Avendaño Curaqueo and contemporary flamenco dancer Natalia Garcia-Huidobro for the ritualistic work combining theater, dance, visual art and music. The work is presented by the Walker Art Center and Northrop. (8 p.m. Fri., Sat. & Sun., Walker Art Center, 725 Vineland Place, Mpls., $31.50, walkerart.org, 612-375-7600)

S.R.

Queer Hankies

The Queer Ecology Hanky Project is a traveling exhibition filled with hankies by more than 120 artists from across North America. Each artist offers their interpretation of what "queer" means to them, in relation to ecology and queer culture. Artists V. Adams and Mary Tremonte founded the project and actually kicked it off in 2019 at the now-closed White Page Gallery in Minneapolis. Since then, they've added many more hankies and traveled to different locations, including Cleveland, Kingston, N.Y., and Pittsburgh. (Ends April 22. Free. Quarter Gallery, Regis Center for Art, 405 21^st Av. S., Mpls. Hours: 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue. & Fri., 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Wed. & Thu., 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sat. 612-625-8096 or cla.umn.edu)

ALICIA ELER

Ezra Collective

The jazzy London ensemble is picking up new followers of late, thanks to the effervescent party jam "Life Goes On" featuring Sampa the Great receiving airplay on the Current and other public radio stations. The seven-year-old quintet's sophomore album, 2022's "Where I'm Meant to Be," is a delicious throw-it-into-the-blender mix of jazz, Afrobeat, reggae, salsa, funk and hip-hop, with cameos from Emeli Sande, Kojey Radical, Nao and Sampa. The intoxicating, strikingly sophisticated collection, which includes a cosmic treatment of Sun Ra's "Love in Outer Space," suggests a groovy party coming to downtown Minneapolis. (7 p.m. Fri., the Dakota, 1010 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., $30-$35, dakotacooks.com)

J.B.

Cirque US

The New England-based theater troupe brings its high-energy, multidisciplinary show to Minneapolis this weekend. "One Man's Trash" turns garbage into glee with a theme of the greatness that comes out of people working together, even with something as small as passing an object to a juggler. The positive and upbeat 75-minute performance includes acrobats, aerialists and, of course, clowns. (7:30 p.m. Sat.; 1 p.m. Sun. $16-$20. Xelias Aerial Art School, 1121 NE. Jackson St., Mpls. thecirqueus.com)

MELISSA WALKER