If the upcoming holiday ends up making you feel ready to get out of the house, never fear: There’s music, art and literature awaiting you in the Twin Cities this week. Whether you stop by the Cedar Riverside neighborhood to celebrate the Afghan Cultural Society’s one-year anniversary in its new digs, take in a concert at the Dakota, the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, or Hook & Ladder, or venture to the North Loop for Mohamed Hersi’s abstract art, you can experience all that Twin Cities artists have to offer. Then next Wednesday, stop by the Weisman for an important conversation about art, tribal sovereignty and climate change featuring artist and filmmaker Courtney M. Leonard.
First anniversary for Afghan Cultural Society
The Afghan Cultural Society celebrates the one-year anniversary of opening its community center in the Cedar Riverside neighborhood by hosting two days of cultural and arts programming. First up is an evening of poetry on Friday, Nov. 24, from 6 to 9 p.m. (free). The next day, the cultural society hosts a traditional Afghan dance class, and an open house in its space (free). See here for info about the events at the Afghan Cultural Society. The festival culminates with an art, history and culture night on Saturday, Nov. 25, at 8 p.m. at the Cedar ($32-37). More information here.
[image_credit]Supplied[/image_credit][image_caption]Gabriel & Jeffrey Kahane[/image_caption]Gershwin’s ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ with Gabriel & Jeffrey Kahane
It’s a family affair for Gabriel and Jeffrey Kahane, as they join the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra for a night of original tunes, American popular songs and jazz standards. Concert pianist Jeffrey Kahane will direct the orchestra and perform in George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue,” and will play a concerto that his son, Gabriel Kahane, wrote for him. In addition, he’ll conduct the orchestra playing a number of other of the younger Kahane’s tunes, while Gabriel plays piano and guitar and sings. They’ll also play songs by Paul Simon and Connie Converse together, and Gabriel will play Jerome Kern’s “The Folks Who Live on the Hill” as a solo piece. Friday, Nov. 24, and Saturday, Nov. 25, at 7 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 26, at 2 p.m. at the Ordway Concert Hall. ($12-55). More information here.
[image_credit]The Dakokta[/image_credit][image_caption]Nachito Herrera & Ginger Commodore[/image_caption]Nachito Herrera & Ginger Commodore
It’s been 20 years since the Dakota moved to Nicollet Avenue, after 18 years located in Bandana Square. This week, two audience favorites team up for a post-Thanksgiving evening of jazz. Both pianist Ignacio “Nachito” Herrera and singer Ginger Commodore bring classical training into their work, with Herrera infusing his music with Cuban rhythms, and Commodore adding a gospel influence into her jazz style. See what happens when they light up The Dakota together as we enter the holiday season. Friday, Nov. 24, at 7 p.m. at The Dakota ($40-50). More information here.
Urban Heat, Rare DM & Stranger Gallery
Austin-based synth-rock has a sound that’s both goth and upbeat at the same time. The three-piece, post-punk trio formed in 2019, and has been touring widely. It’ll be performing with Rare DM, a dreamy avant-garde act featuring singer, producer and multi-instrumentalist Erin Hoagg, from Brooklyn, and Minnesota’s own Stranger Gallery. Saturday, Nov. 25, at 8:30 p.m. at Hook & Ladder, $15-20. More information here.
“Defying Imagination,” an exhibit by Mohamed Hersi
It’s been 10 years since Mohamed Hersi hosted his first art exhibition at a studio in the Grain Belt Bottling House in northeast Minneapolis. The Somali artist, who goes by The Original Refugee, brings his personal narrative and global issues into abstract painting, all the while keeping up an apparel business as well. Hersi will be showing a mix of portraits, landscapes and more for the celebration. Saturday, Nov. 25, from 5 to 9:30 p.m. (free). More information here.
Artist talk: “Perspectives on Water” with Courtney M. Leonard
In her ongoing series “Breach,” ceramic artist Courtney M. Leonard investigates the impact of industrialization and climate change, with a close eye toward humans’ relationship to water, other species and the environment as a whole over time. A member of the Shinnecock nation, Leonard often uses whale bone in her work as she explores her tribe’s historical ties to water, whales and sustainability. On Wednesday, Leonard will be in conversation with Native scholars Kate Beane (director of the Minnesota Museum of American Art), and Roxanne Biidabinokwe Gould (professor emerita at the University of Minnesota. They’ll talk at the Weisman Art Museum where Leonard’s work is on view in the exhibition Ebb/Flow. Wednesday, Nov. 29, at 6 p.m. (pay what you wish). Before the panel, starting at 4:30 p.m., Justis Brokenrope of Wathéča Records will play some music in the Riverview Gallery until 6:30 p.m. More information here.
