Critics’ picks: The 14 best things to do and see in the Twin Cities this week

In his quest to promote unity and urge people to vote, the wondrous music maker has undertaken a brief 11-city campaign with the mouthful title Sing Your Song! As We Fix Our Nation’s Broken Heart Tour. It takes its name from Wonder’s new single, “Can We Fix Our Nation’s Broken Heart,” advocating for “joy over anger, kindness over recrimination, peace over war.” Of course, the 25-time Grammy winner will do the classics like “Higher Ground” and “Living for the City” and comment about the state of the nation, as he is wont to do. (8 p.m. Sun., Target Center, 600 1st Av. N., Mpls., $54.50 and up, axs.com)

JON BREAM

Only eight years after Pharrell Williams heard her song “Alaska” in a recording class at NYU and helped get her a deal, the Americana-tinged, pop-coated Maryland singer/songwriter’s star is rising toward the top. She just played a two-nighter at Madison Square Garden and earned best-2024-albums-so-far nods from the New York Times and Pitchfork with her latest album, “Don’t Forget Me,” whose title track is also now her biggest hit after “Light On” and a strong showcase of her mighty but tender voice. Now comes her arena-headlining debut in Minnesota, featuring YouTube sensation Ryan Beatty as opener. (7:30 p.m. Fri., Target Center, 600 1st Av. N., Mpls., $55-$110, ticketmaster.com)

CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER

At 87, he pulled off a rare feat in jazz this year: DownBeat’s Critics Poll named him jazz artist of the year (for the second consecutive year), top tenor saxophonist, jazz album of the year and a new member of the DownBeat Hall of Fame. Lloyd first captured DownBeat’s artist of the year back in 1967. An ever-curious seeker and adventurer, he plays in four different combos these days. He’s bringing his quartet, which includes pianist Aaron Parks, bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Eric Harland. (7:30 p.m. Sun., Ordway Concert Hall, 245 Washington St., St. Paul, $50-$89, Ordway.org)

J.B.

It takes two nights to properly celebrate an epic double album. Patterson Hood, Mike Cooley and their hard-revving, literary Alabama/Georgia twang-rock band are settling in for the weekend on their Southern Rock Opera Revisited Tour, centered on a deluxe edition reissue of the 2001 conceptual two-LP set that put them on the map and made a lot of us better appreciate Lynyrd Skynyrd. They’ll be playing most of the record, including such standards as “Let There Be Rock” and “Dead, Drunk, and Naked,” plus other songs related to its themes, with a little variation between the two nights. No opener scheduled. (8 p.m. Fri. & Sat., Uptown Theater, 2900 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls., all ages, $53-$76, ticketmaster.com)

C.R.

It has been 11 years since conductor Andrew Altenbach and a group of Minnesota Orchestra musicians founded this little chamber orchestra in order to explore the music of J.S. Bach and his baroque-era contemporaries. Altenbach has since moved to Boston (where he’s music director of the Brookline Symphony), but he returns to launch the MBE season by leading the group in a program in which German composers display Italian influences and vice versa. Soloists include violinist Cecilia Belcher, oboists Basil Reeve and Merilee Klemp and soprano Linh Kauffman. (3 p.m. Sat., MacPhail Center for Music, 501 S. 2nd St., Mpls., $15-$35, mnbach.org)

ROB HUBBARD

If you’ve wondered what the string quartets of Mozart and Haydn sounded like at their premieres, this historically informed, London-based foursome has made such aural time travel its mission. Don’t expect anything academic and stuffy when it opens the Schubert Club’s Music in the Park Series season, judging from the passionate performances violinist Alina Ibragimova has delivered on past visits. The program features Mozart’s “Dissonance” Quartet (don’t worry, it’s not that dissonant) and Franz Schubert’s fiery farewell to the form, his G-Major Quartet. (4 p.m. Sun., St. Anthony Park United Church of Christ, 2129 Commonwealth Av., St. Paul, $23-$33, 651-292-3268 or schubert.org)

R.H.

There’s no butler here to do it. Marked by surprising plot twists and clever writing, this imaginative new work by playwright Jeffrey Hatcher and actor Steve Hendrickson pairs two one-acts. In the first, Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes investigates a murder with a cast of characters who, 25 years later, show up in the second mystery, this one sussed out by Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot. Hendrickson and Bob Davis play the principal roles in both. The cast includes Norah Long, David Andrew MacDonald and Stacia Rice. (7 p.m. Thu.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. Ends Nov. 3. Park Square Theatre, 20 W. 7th Place, St. Paul. $25-$60. 651-291-7005, parksquaretheatre.org)

ROHAN PRESTON

A hypnotic storyteller, Roger Guenveur Smith mesmerizes in this solo tribute to Jean-Michel Basquiat, the iconic artist who also was his friend. Smith limns Basquiat’s journey from club kid to art world superstar, all the while giving a cosmic and cultural history of a driven genius who died at age 27. At an hour, “Basquiat” might seem short. But like the artwork of the subject himself, Smith opens a portal into cosmic, childlike wonder. (7:30 p.m. Wed.-Fri., 2 & 7:30 p.m. Sat., 4 p.m. Sun. Ends Oct. 27. Penumbra Theatre, 270 N. Kent St., St. Paul. $45. 651-224-3180, penumbratheatre.org)

R.P.

It’s hard to keep up appearances when mental health challenges rise in Aamera Siddiqui’s new play at Lyric Arts, a collaboration with Exposed Brick Theatre and South Asian Arts & Theater House. The title comes from the Hindi/Urdu saying, “What will people say.” And it’s a question that haunts heroine Sofia, who seems to have it all with the satisfying job, condo and fiancé. Suzy Messerole directs. (7:30 p.m. Thu.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. Ends Nov. 3. Lyric Arts, 420 E. Main St., Anoka. $40.70-$49.50. 763-422-1838, lyricarts.org)

R.P.

Theresa Rebeck’s thriller centers on a woman with a rare postage stamp who gets mixed up with some shady characters. Peter Moore, founder of Stage North, directs and acts in the show,. The cast includes Bonni Allen and newcomer Sarah Dickson. (Oct. 24-Nov. 17: 7:30 p.m. Thu.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. 480 Arts, 480 Prior Av., St. Paul. $25. stagenorthmpls.org)

R.P.

After launching the Minnesota International Dance Festival last year with a focus on Mexico, a group called Dance Projects by ME is bring it back for its second year — this time highlighting Cambodia. The festival features four days of workshops and classes, culminating in main stage performances in a program called “Confluence,” named after the junction of two rivers, and in this case, cultures. Wattanak Dance Troupe and Khumer Urban Ballet will perform folk and classical Cambodian repertoire. Dancer and fashion designer Roza Lay is among the guest artists, and Crash Dance Productions will also present a piece. The festival begins Oct. 21 with programs at HotHouse. Performances begin Oct. 25. (7:30 p.m. Fri., 2 & 7:30 p.m. Sat., Tekbox Theater, Hennepin Center for the Arts, 528 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls. $26.50. mnidancefestival.org)

SHEILA REGAN

Highpoint Center for Printmaking presents the first major survey of New Mexico-born, NYC-based artist Nicola López. Fascinated by the intersection of nature and the world that humans built, her work explores the overlaps of past and future. The show includes more than 50 prints, including collage, intaglio, lithography, silkscreen and woodblock, and is curated by William Morrow. Opening reception Fri. 7-9 p.m. Exhibition runs Oct. 25-Nov. 30. (9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri., noon-4 p.m. Sat., 912 W. Lake St., Mpls., free, 612-871-1326 or highpointprintmaking.org)

ALICIA ELER

French conceptual artist and photographer Sophie Calle’s solo exhibition at the Walker Art Center surveys more than five decades of her work. Often credited as a harbinger of social media, Calle’s practice engages with voyeurism and exhibitionism, blending the lines between documentary photography, chance encounters and intimate moments. Opening night party Fri. at 8:30 p.m., $25, free for members. Calle in conversation with Laurie Anderson on Sat. at 2 p.m., $14-18. Exhibition runs Oct. 26-Jan. 26. (10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wed., Fri.-Sun., 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Thu., 725 Vineland Place, Mpls., $2-$18, free for ages 18 and under, members and citizens of Tribal Nations. Free admission for all on Thu. 5-9 p.m. 612-375-7600 or walkerart.org)

A.E.

ARTrageous Adventures and Kenwood Park team up for their annual “Zombies in the Hood” Halloween block party. Dress up in tattered clothes and become the undead with makeovers and caricatures. Zombie guests can enjoy live music performances, strolling performers, treat bags and a creation station. The evening culminates in a Global Simultaneous Thriller dance. (3-6 p.m. Sat., free, Kenwood Community Center, 2101 W. Franklin Av., Mpls., minneapolisparks.org)

MELISSA WALKER