Critics' picks: The 10 best things to do and see in the Twin Cities this week

Critics' picks for entertainment in the week ahead.

June 13, 2023 at 10:30AM
Tyler Childers performed at the Railbird Music Festival in his native Kentucky June 3. He is headed to the Armory in Minneapolis this week. (Amy Harris, Associated Press/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

MUSIC

Tyler Childers

Like his pal and fan Zach Bryan, the Kentucky-bred alt-twang/bluegrass singer has tapped into a younger, TikTok-armed generation of music fans tired of the trite bro-country sounds churning out of Nashville. His spike in popularity has made this one of the hottest tickets of summer, after a steady ascent that started with 2017's Sturgill Simpson-produced album "Purgatory" and culminated locally with two thrilling First Ave shows in 2019. His new record, "Can I Take My Hounds to Heaven?," features three different versions of each song. Marcus King opens, promoting his new Dan Auerbach-produced LP. (7 p.m. Wed., the Armory, 500 S. 6th St., Mpls., resale tickets only, armorymn.com)

CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER

T-Pain

Credit or blame him for popularizing Auto-Tune, the pitch-altering processor that factors into so many songs on the radio. The jovial Florida rapper/singer is known for his own 2007 smash "Buy U a Drank" and for winning the first season of "The Masked Singer." But T-Pain was everywhere in the '00s, featured on big hits by Chris Brown, Kanye West, R. Kelly and Flo Rida, among others. T-Pain just dropped a new EP, "On Top of the Covers," featuring his treatments of hits by Journey, Sam Cooke, Black Sabbath, Frank Sinatra and Chris Stapleton. This time around, it's the Twins vs. Tigers featuring T-Pain in concert after the ballgame. (6:10 p.m. game Thu., Target Field, 1 Twins Way, Mpls., concert is free with game admission, $21 and up, twins.com/tpain)

JON BREAM

Winstock

For the past two decades, Miranda Lambert has been the best and most consistent female recording artist in country music. She's released eight excellent albums, the most recent being last year's "Palomino" featuring the hit "If I Was a Cowboy." Moreover, she's cut four triumphs with her trio, the Pistol Annies, and another keeper, the campfire-styled "The Marfa Tapes," with Jack Ingram and Jon Randall. Lambert headlines Saturday at Winstock, the 29th annual fundraiser for Holy Trinity School in Winsted, Minn. The Saturday program also includes Jordan Davis, Dylan Scott, Jo Dee Messina and Diamond Rio. "Till You Can't" hitmaker Cody Johnson tops Friday's lineup of Gabby Barrett and BlackHawk. (4 p.m. Fri. & noon Sat., Winstock, 3233 230th St., Winsted, Minn., $175, winstockfestival.com)

J.B.

A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie

The 27-year-old Bronx rapper — whose seemingly fateful birth name is Artist Julius Dubose — has quietly become one of the hottest young stars of hip-hop. Many of his Auto-Tune-laden hits are ultra-chill and full of personal drama, going back to 2017's breakout with Kodak Black, "Drowning," on up to this year's "Take Shots" and "Water (Drowning, Pt. 2)," from his fourth album, "Me vs. Myself." In fact, the hits seem too mellow for a lively live set, but he earned a favorable reception at Coachella in April. (8 p.m. Sun., the Armory, 500 S. 6th St., Mpls., all ages, $50, ticketmaster.com)

C.R.

Minnesota Orchestra

In 1976, Andrew Davis was a promising young English conductor making his Minnesota Orchestra debut. He hasn't been back since. In 1993, Canadian violinist James Ehnes won the Friends of the Minnesota Orchestra Young Artist Competition. Today, they're Sir Andrew Davis, one of his country's foremost baton wielders, and Ehnes is a two-time Grammy winner and recipient of Artist of the Year at the 2021 Gramophone Awards. They'll close the orchestra's 2022-23 season, Ehnes soloing on Alban Berg's concerto and Davis conducting music of Chen Yi and Beethoven, sending us into summer with the spirited Seventh Symphony. (8 p.m. Fri. and Sat., Orchestra Hall, 1111 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., $35-$109, 612-371-5656 or minnesotaorchestra.org)

ROB HUBBARD

Divas & Drag

Perhaps it wouldn't play in Nashville, but this presentation from plucky little company An Opera Theatre proved a hoot and a half when presented in 2019. Teaming full-voiced singers who have been seen in Minnesota Opera productions with six flamboyant performers from the Twin Cities drag scene, it stands to be a joyous Pride celebration for opera lovers, one with passionate arias attached. (7:30 p.m. Fri. and Sat., 4 p.m. Sun., Mounds Theatre, 1029 Hudson Road, St. Paul, free-$35, anoperatheatre.org)

R.H.

THEATER

'Once Upon a Time ... Josephine Baker'

Yellow Tree Theatre artistic director Austene Van is known primarily as a performer and director but she also has playwright in her quiver. "Once Upon a Time … Josephine Baker" is her long-in-the-works stage biography chronicling the life of the St. Louis-born superstar who wowed Parisian audiences with her groundbreaking revues and who showed a heroic side while working with the French Resistance during World War II. (7:30 p.m. Wed.-Fri., 2 & 7:30 p.m. Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. Ends June 30. Yellow Tree Theatre, 320 5th Av. SE., Osseo. 763-493-8733, yellowtreetheatre.com)

ROHAN PRESTON

'Much Ado About Nothing'

For nine years, Classical Actors Ensemble has been touring free Shakespeare to area parks. This summer's show is the romcom forerunner focused on the comic contretemps of Beatrice and Benedick. Joseph Papke directs the comedy that will have performances at 14 outdoor locations across the Twin Cities plus a performance at Franconia Sculpture Park in Shafer, Minn. (June 16-July 16; check classicalactorsensemble.org for locations)

R.P.

DANCE

Discover Dance Series

A new series in Bloomington offers a taste of different styles. Ballet, modern, jazz and tap companies give a whirlwind tour of what dance can be, all presented in one concert. Besides the classic technique of the Continental Ballet Company, Rhythm Street Movement shows off its tap-dancing exuberance, Concerto Dance matches jazz music greats with theatrical flair and Alternative Motion Project explores movement with a contemporary lens. Your ticket also gets you into a free master class as part of the festival. (7 p.m. Thu.-Sat., Bloomington Center for the Arts, 1800 W. Old Shakopee Road, Bloomington, $25, 952-563-8877, bloomingtonmn.gov)

SHEILA REGAN

FAMILY

Chalkfest

These aren't your child's driveway scribbles. Regional artists fashion realistic and elaborate drawings on the sidewalks of Maple Grove this weekend for the annual event. Take a selfie at the mural tour through downtown, the Shoppes at Arbor Lakes and the Fountains for a chance to win gift cards. Entertainment, family activities and food vendors also are part of the festivities. (10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat.-Sun., Main Street between Elm Creek Boulevard and Arbor Lakes Parkway, chalkfestmaplegrove.com)

MELISSA WALKER

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