Friday, April 6
Jazz From Downriver
WHAT: A Love Letter to New Orleans
WHERE: Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis
WHEN: 8 p.m.
CNN’s Soledad O’Brien hosts this celebration of trumpeter Irvin Mayfield’s new memoir and CD, and, more broadly, the city from which he and American’s native music sprang. New Orleans’ finest — Aaron Neville, Jason Marsalis, and Bill Summers — join the party. Learn more at mnorch.org.
Friday, April 6
Old Time Hits the Big Time
WHAT: Pert Near Sandstone
WHERE: First Avenue, Minneapolis
WHEN: 8 p.m.
Pert Near Sandstone came up in the gritty wash of O Brother, Where Art Thou?, when everyone with a banjo and a beard tried their hand at old-timey bluegrass. They’ve stuck around because their smart tunes and infectious camaraderie transcend trends. Learn more at first-avenue.com.
Saturday, April 7
25 and Kicking
WHAT: Shapiro & Smith Dance’s 25th Anniversary
WHERE: Cowles Center, Minneapolis
WHEN: 8 p.m.
Many things have changed for the Twin Cities’ longest-lived contemporary dance troupe, which has carried on since Danial Shapiro’s death in 2006, but not its essential avant-garde bravado. Here co-founder Joanie Smith offers two premieres with a troupe of all-star guests: Uri Sands, Carl Flink, Erin Thompson, and Broadway vet Wilson Mendieta. Learn more at shapiroandsmithdance.org.
Saturday, April 7
The Magic Of Rock
WHAT: Harry and the Potters
WHERE: Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis
WHEN: 1 p.m.
The Harry Potter generation has come of age, and without putting down the wand. This band of brothers plays family-friendly music with a power-pop bang: what Harry himself might have created if he’d had time to rock out in the dormitory basement. Learn more at thecedar.org.
Sunday, April 8
Worst Birthday Ever
WHAT: The Birthday Party
WHERE: Jungle Theater, Minneapolis
WHEN: 8 p.m.
Claudia Wilkens and Richards Ooms star in Harold Pinter’s black comedy about a mysterious stranger who shows up at an old man’s party and ruins all the fun. Not seen in the Twin Cities since the Guthrie’s version 26 years ago (also starring Claudia Wilkens), it’s extreme politics at its most hilarious and frightening. Learn more at jungletheater.com.
Sunday, April 8
Democracy 101
WHAT: We the People
WHERE: Minnesota History Center, St. Paul
WHEN: 12 to 5 p.m.
Many people claim to know the U.S. Constitution through and through; some want to amend the Minnesota Constitution. See for yourself what’s in there as a rare copy of the U.S. Constitution circa 1787 is displayed alongside the House version of what would become the Bill of Rights and the original two, yes two, Minnesota Constitutions (even back then, Republicans and Democrats couldn’t agree), later rectified. Learn more at minnesotahistorycenter.org
