Tangled up in choir
Nobel laureate Bob Dylan is notorious for reinventing his music in live performance. So he probably wouldn't bat an eye at this effort to reshape some of his best songs into a 70-minute work for choir. After premiering in Pittsburgh last year, "The Times They Are a-Changin': The Words and Music of Bob Dylan" gets its first Midwest performance by VocalEssence. The program features arrangements of "All Along the Watchtower," "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall" and "It's Alright Ma." Terry Blain
8 p.m. Sat. Palace Theatre, St. Paul. $16.50-$40, vocalessence.org.
It's no surprise that Dylan has been singing the praises of Valerie June. With her 2013 debut, she established herself as an idiosyncratic but irresistible music maker of various styles of American music, from Appalachian to gospel. On her second album, 2017's "The Order of Time," the singer/guitarist/banjoist opted for moody, atmospheric minimalism, using a touch of electronics to take her front-porch music into an emotion-filled living room.
Jon Bream
7 (sold out) & 9:30 p.m. Wed. Cedar Cultural Center, Mpls. $30-$35, thecedar.org.
Ann Michels delivers an incandescent performance as "Victor/Victoria," a woman who plays a man who's a female impersonator in order to get work as a singer in 1930s Paris. Michels inhabits a role created for and by an icon — Julie Andrews — but comes off relaxed, confident and measured in Michael Matthew Ferrell's gorgeous soft-shoe production. More than one audience member left the theater singing "Le Jazz Hot" a bit too loudly.
Rohan Preston
2 p.m. Sun., 7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Ends May 5. Bloomington Center for the Arts. $15-$46, 952-563-8575, artistrymn.org.
With the Roots also headed to Mystic Lake this summer, Snoop Dogg's show at Treasure Island this week might be the start of a new wave of old-school rap acts performing at local casinos. About time, really. The Southern Cali hip-hop legend is marking the 25th anniversary of "Doggystyle," the Dr. Dre-produced debut that gave us "Gin & Juice" and "Who Am I? (What's My Name?)." His longtime crony Warren G of "Regulate" fame will join him.
Chris Riemenschneider
8 p.m. Fri. Treasure Island Casino, Red Wing. Sold out.
You can help In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre prepare for the annual MayDay parade. The theme is "Beloved Community," using the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s words to evoke a sense of what unites, rather than divides Twin Cities residents. Volunteers will help make the puppets and masks that will parade down Bloomington Avenue S. on May 5. Make your own creation to keep after the parade or help with larger floats.
Melissa Walker
7-9 p.m. Tue. & Thu., 9-11 a.m. & 1-3 p.m. Sat. through May 2. In the Heart of the Beast, Mpls., hobt.org.
With his hyper-intelligent playing, Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson is a rising star in classical music. For his Minnesota Orchestra debut, Ólafsson plays his countryman Haukur Tómasson's Second Piano Concerto, a work written especially for him. The program also includes a rare solo outing for the bass clarinet, with the Minnesota Orchestra's Timothy Zavadil performing the U.S. premiere of Geoffrey Gordon's "Prometheus."
T.B.
11 a.m. Thu., 8 p.m. Fri. & Sat. Orchestra Hall, Mpls. $12-$102, minnesotaorchestra.org.
Jazz's Renaissance man, Benny Golson is a composer of instrumental standards, a giant of the saxophone, a prolific composer for TV and film, and even an actor. He played himself in the 2004 Tom Hanks film "The Terminal." For the first time since 2012, the 90-year-old saxophonist comes to town with his combo and his classics, including "Whisper Not" and "I Remember Clifford."
J.B.
7 & 9 p.m. Wed.-Thu. Crooners, Fridley. $30-$40, croonersmn.com.
Spring brings fresh foliage, but also brand new life. The cutest, smallest and fuzziest denizens of the animal kingdom will be on display at the Barnyard Babies event. There's no need to travel miles to the nearest farm, as the city of Edina brings them to the inner 'burbs via this full-size petting zoo. Kids can get creative and make a variety of crafts at the art table. There will also be kid-friendly music for bopping about.
M.W.
10 a.m.-noon Sat. Rosland Park, Edina. $5, 12 and under free, edinamn.gov.
St. Paul Chamber Orchestra Associate Concertmaster Ruggero Allifranchini is a superb exponent of music of the classical period. He plays Mozart's Fifth Violin Concerto for a concert program that also includes Haydn's 63rd Symphony. Also featured are works by Bohuslav Martinů and George Walker, the first African-American composer to win a Pulitzer.
T.B.
11 a.m. & 8 p.m. Fri., 8 p.m. Sat. Ordway Concert Hall, St. Paul. $12-$50, 651-291-1144 or thespco.org.
