Hwy. 169 revisited
Bob Dylan returns to his home state after a two-year absence — and makes his first appearance in Mankato since 1996. Set lists on the latest leg of his Never Ending Tour (31 years and counting) have been an appealing mix of 1960s classics, a healthy serving of the 2012 album "Tempest" and 1997's "Time Out of Mind," even "Gotta Serve Somebody" from his born-again period — but usually nothing from his recent standards repertoire. JON BREAM
8 p.m. Thu., Mankato Civic Center, $49.50-$89.50, ticketmaster.com
It's "Swan Lake" as you've never seen it. As imagined by Irish choreographer Michael Keegan-Dolan and his troupe Teaċ Daṁsa, the story is set not to Tchaikovsky, but to Nordic and Celtic music played live by Dublin-based group Slow Moving Clouds. The drama "Loch na hEala" (literally, Gaelic for "Swan Lake") blends myth and angst with a touch of bleak magic, and one of the most often produced stories in dance is contorted anew into a dark, electric dream.
SHEILA REGAN
8 p.m. Thu.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. Walker Art Center, Mpls. $32-$45, 612-375-7600, walkerart.org
Sesame Street's favorite red furry resident shares the "power of yet" in the new live show "Sesame Street Live! Make Your Magic." Follow along as Elmo, Abby Cadabby, Big Bird and others embark on a magical journey. Learn the science behind baking, a few magic tricks and important life lessons. Keeping the pace lighthearted and upbeat, a few songs and dance numbers are sprinkled throughout to get toddlers (and parents) out of their seats.
MELISSA WALKER
1 & 5 p.m. next Sun. $20+. Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul. xcelenergycenter.com
An inner-city student at an exclusive prep school impulsively pushes his teacher against a whiteboard. The school wants to expel him for assault — potentially throwing him into the netherworld of the justice system. This fraught situation gets a poetic but gut-wrenching examination in Dominique Morisseau's "Pipeline," directed by Lou Bellamy, with moving performances by Kory LaQuess Pullam and Erika LaVonn.
ROHAN PRESTON
2 p.m. Sun., 10 a.m. Wed.-Thu., 7:30 p.m. Thu.-Sat. plus 2 p.m. Sat. Ends Nov. 3. Penumbra Theatre, St. Paul. 651-224-3180 or penumbratheatre.org
After making Xcel Energy Center one of the first stops on their Bandito Tour a year ago, electro-rock duo Twenty One Pilots, of "Stressed Out" and "Ride" hitmaking fame, are back to play the arena across town as one of their last shows before singer/bassist Tyler Joseph becomes a dad. Their effects-filled, high-energy set doesn't seem to have changed much since then, but fans will probably want to see it again.
Chris Riemenschneider
8 p.m. Thu., Target Center, Mpls., $36-$89, axs.com
Kids only groan about learning when it's boring. The Bakken Museum will be anything but dull Saturday as it slips in electrifyingly good lessons in science, math and engineering. During Discover Days, the museum exposes kids to the basic concepts of these topics by challenging them to create a new invention using everyday items. And because it's nearly Halloween, kids in costume get $1 off admission.
M.W.
11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sat. $5-$10. Bakken Museum, Mpls. thebakken.org
The exhibition "Volta Photo" contains more than 30 images by West African artist Sanlé Sory, whose studio photographs from the 1960s-'80s offer a peek into Burkina Faso following its independence from France. From elegant portraits of dressed-up women to playful, hip youth posing in bell bottoms in front of painted sets, Sory's images reveal an evolving and urbanizing youth culture.
ALICIA ELER
Noon-5 p.m. Tue.-Sat. Ends Jan. 4. Weinstein Hammons Gallery, Mpls. Free. weinsteinhammons.com
The Minnesota Sinfonia's combination of educational outreach and professional music-making gives it a unique position in the classical ecosystem. The kickoff to its 30th-anniversary season is a mix of tried and trusted repertoire — Elgar's Introduction and Allegro, Bruch's First Violin Concerto, Bach's Third Brandenburg Concerto — with the world premiere of a work by composer Kirsten Broberg. Jay Fishman, founder and artistic director, conducts.
Terry Blain
7 p.m. Fri., Metropolitan State University, St. Paul; 2 p.m. next Sun., Basilica of St. Mary, Mpls. Free, mnsinfonia.org
Politicized guitar hero Tom Morello is promising less talk and more rock on tour behind 2018's adventurous "Atlas Underground," with visuals by Roger Waters' artistic director. But he's likely to pull out a Springsteen gem or John Lennon rally cry — or something from his bands Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave, or his acoustic Nightwatchman persona. Guaranteed to rattle your psyche and senses.
J.B.
8 p.m. Mon., Varsity Theater, Mpls., $35 and up, ticketmaster.com
