Our Friday best: Kenny Chesney, Wild Hearts Tour, song fest, Khalid, 'Red Rock West'

Kenny Chesney

Country music's king of stadium concerts was scheduled to play in Minneapolis in May 2020. Since that postponement and another in 2021, he's scored two more No. 1 singles (making it 31), including "Half of My Hometown" with Kelsea Ballerini and "Here and Now," title track of his current album. His usual stadium marathon has a well stocked lineup, with Carly Pearce, whose "29: Written in Stone" was one of the best country albums of 2021; Dan + Shay, who crushed it at Target Center last year, and Old Dominion, the "One Man Band" hitmakers who opened for Mr. No Shoes in 2018 at the Vikings stadium. (5 p.m. Sat., U.S. Bank Stadium, Mpls., $38-$475, ticketmaster.com.)
JON BREAM

Sharon Van Etten, Angel Olsen & Julien Baker

In a perfect (and perhaps less sexist) music industry, all three of these captivating and ever-evolving singer/songwriters could fill Surly Field on their own. But they do make an excellent trifecta together on the so-called Wild Hearts Tour. Van Etten and Olsen put out two of the year's most acclaimed indie-rock albums, each addressing the chaos of the past few years with equally dramatic songs about healing and inner peace. Olsen's "Big Time," in particular, is a near masterpiece. Look for these two longtime cohorts also to pair up onstage a bit. (6 p.m. Tue., Surly Brewing Festival Field, 520 Malcolm Av. SE., Mpls., $50, axs.com.)
CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER

Source Song Festival

This weeklong art song celebration returns to live concerts for the first time since 2019, offering a showcase for some fine singers, pianists and composers. Highlights include an opening concert of Minnesota women singing songs by Minnesota composers (7:30 p.m. Mon.), the premiere of eight composers setting poetry by Mary Moore Easter (7:30 p.m. Wed.) and tenor David Portillo performing a recital with acclaimed collaborative pianist Warren Jones (7:30 p.m. Thu.). (Aug. 8-12; Westminster Hall, 1215 Nicollet Mall, Mpls.; $25; sourcesongfestival.org.)
ROB HUBBARD

Khalid

The Grammy-nominated Texas electro-R&B crooner of "Talk" fame is playing the first big concert in the Commons park outside U.S. Bank Stadium in conjunction with the MLS All-Star Game, but the show isn't just for soccer fans and actually comes at a cheap price. That's good news to all the kids who packed Xcel Energy Center and drained their phone batteries for his last local gig in 2019, when he breezed through 30 songs in 100 minutes, including "Young, Dumb & Broke" and "Location." He's laid-back but mighty charming and talented in concert. (7:30 p.m. Mon., the Commons, 425 Portland Av. S., Mpls., all ages, $25, seatgeek.com.)
C.R.

'Red Rock West'

Few movies offer more pure pleasure than this neo-noir gem from 1993. It's a variation on the "Postman Always Rings Twice" formula except this time the postman rings about 100 times. Nicolas Cage plays a dupe — conned into helping a duplicitous beauty (Lara Flynn Boyle) knock off her inconvenient husband (J.T. Walsh) — who keeps trying to leave Red Rock, Wyo., but keeps getting sucked back in. The movie is hilarious, suspenseful and, in the hands of John Dahl, wickedly stylish. (7:30 p.m. Sun., 7 and 9 p.m. Mon.-Tue., Trylon Cinema, 2820 E. 33rd St., Mpls., $8, trylon.org.)
CHRIS HEWITT

'The Cohort 2022: Stage'

After performing its annual production outdoors last year, Rhythmically Speaking returns to the Southern Theater with "The Cohort," bringing together choreographers who work within jazz and American social dance forms. Kathleen Doherty, of Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Los Angeles-based Laura Ann Smyth join RS member Rae Charles and artistic and executive director Erinn Liebhard. RS shows are jovial and show off a deep understanding of movement that comes from the rhythm of the music. (7:30 p.m. Aug. 11-13 & 2 p.m. Aug. 13, Southern Theater, 1420 Washington Av. S., Mpls.,rhythmicallyspeakingdance.org.)
SHEILA REGAN

Maverick City Music and Kirk Franklin

Franklin is the uncrowned king of modern gospel music and Maverick City Music is the hottest newcomer. The hyper-prolific Atlanta collective has released 11 albums — yes, 11 — in the past three years. That has led to GMA Dove Awards for best new artist and top worship album for "Old Church Basement." That record has earned the Grammy for best contemporary Christian music album. MCM teamed with Franklin on their latest project, "Kingdom Book One," and for a memorable performance at this year's Grammy Awards. With Jonathan McReynolds and Housefires. (6:30 p.m. Sat. Xcel Energy Center, 199 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, $36-$220, ticketmaster.com.)
J.B.

Little Africa Festival

The smells, sights and sounds of the world's second-largest continent will permeate St. Paul this weekend. Sponsored by African Economic Development Solutions, the cultural festival highlights music, dance, food and art from various parts of Africa. There also will be a fashion show at the family-friendly event. Noon-9 p.m. Sun. Hamline Park, 1564 Lafond Av., St. Paul, eventbrite.com.)
MELISSA WALKER

Billy Strings

He plays acoustic guitar but at times his music sounds like heavy metal. He also gets jazzy, bluegrassy and spacey. Aided by myriad effects pedals, Strings is a fast-fingered marvel who can blend genres in the same song and make enough noise to fill big venues without a drummer. His lineup is just upright bass, banjo, mandolin and his otherworldly acoustic guitar. The Michigan-reared, Grammy-winning 29-year-old has three albums of original material, and he's known for throwing in a wide range of covers, from Bill Monroe and Cher to the Doors and the Dead, in his trippy, two-set marathons. (7 p.m. Fri. Surly Brewing Festival Field, 520 Malcolm Av. SE., Mpls., $49.50-$54.50, axs.com)
J.B.

'Wish It Was a Coming Out'

Italian photographer Melissa Ianniello's series tells the stories of older gay men and lesbian women in Italy. The Naples-born artist's six large-scale photographs and 16 portraits were all shot in the subjects' homes. To further contextualize the nature of this taboo topic, the exhibition explains the country's history and culture in relation to its traditional and religious beliefs. The show confronts topics such as Italy's "civil union," which allows LGBTQ people to marry but grants only some of the rights that heterosexuals have; a lesbian woman who was forced to marry a man; and a poet/activist, who worked in the lesbian feminist separatist movement. Curated by Zoe Cinel, it's the first time this documentary series is being shown in North America. (Ends Jan. 29, 2023. 30 Civic Center Drive SE., Rochester. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Wed.-Sun., $5 adults, free for ages 21 and under, rochesterartcenter.org.)
ALICIA ELER