MUSIC
Crowded House
After a surprise stint touring with Fleetwood Mac, Crowded House frontman Neil Finn is back with co-founder Nick Seymour, and they're augmented by keyboardist Mitchell Froom, their producer extraordinaire, and Finn's kin Liam and Elroy. Known for the mid-'80s hits "Don't Dream It's Over" and "Something So Strong," the Aussie group returned to form in 2021 on their first album of new material in 11 years, "Dreamers Are Waiting," showcasing Finn's gift for melody, with the minor-key "Deeper Down" standing out. (8 p.m. Sun., State Theatre, 805 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls., $49.50-$160, ticketmaster.com)
JON BREAM
Yves Tumor
This Tennessee-reared, Italy-based artist is an experimentalist and provocateur who mixes poetry, noise and performance art. Influenced by David Bowie, Sun Ra, Prince and so many other musical geniuses, Tumor contemplates life, death and spirituality with screams, incantations, melodies and you name it. Fresh from Coachella 2023 (a "wonderland of violent delights," Rolling Stone said of Tumor), they are celebrating their dizzyingly eclectic, overstuffed fifth album, "Praise a Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds)." Pretty Sick and Nation open. (9 p.m. Sat., First Avenue, 701 1st Av. N., Mpls., $30, axs.com)
J.B.
Minnesota Orchestra
Only a handful of classical violinists are virtually guaranteed to deliver a deeply thought-out and thrilling performance whenever they step to the lip of a concert hall's stage to perform a solo. One of them is Leonidas Kavakos. The Greek virtuoso will be both soloist and leader for J.S. Bach's First Violin Concerto, then put down his bow and pick up a baton to conduct Johannes Brahms' First Symphony. (11 a.m. Thu., 8 p.m. Fri.; Orchestra Hall, 1111 Nicollet Mall, Mpls.; $40-$109; 612-371-5656 or minnesotaorchestra.org)
ROB HUBBARD
Off!
One of the greatest punk rock bands of the 21st century features alumni from some of the 20th century's best. Los Angeles howler Keith Morris, of Circle Jerks and early Black Flag fame, fronts a newly re-formed lineup of the hard-throttling, age-defying Off!, now with Burning Brides' Dimitri Coats on guitar and a funkier rhythm section including Thundercat drummer Justin Brown. They dropped a wild new EP on Record Store Day, cheekily titled "Free LSD." (8 p.m. Fri., Fine Line, 318 1st Av. N., Mpls., $20-$35, axs.com)
CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER
Iris DeMent
While her fellow songwriter husband Greg Brown is claiming he's retired, the Arkansas-born, Iowa City-based folk favorite is back with one of the best albums of her acclaimed career. "Workin' on a World" tries to make sense of America's great divide with sometimes wry or tender and sometimes seething lyrics, all sold by her ultra-down-home voice and the warm charm that made her John Prine's best duet partner. Minnesota's Liz Draper is playing bass with her on tour. (7:30 p.m. Thu., Cedar Cultural Center, 416 Cedar Av. S., Mpls., $40-$45, thecedar.org)
C.R.
Palmer's Twang Fest
Patio season begins at one of Minneapolis' oldest and most-celebrated dive bars with a roundup of some of the Twin Cities' best Americana/alt-country players. Roots music maven Molly Maher and her all-star Disbelievers top off the six-band lineup, which also includes stylish song man Doug Collins and his Receptionists, torchy twang-rocker Becky Kapell, the Good Time Gals, Union Suits and John Magnuson. (4-10 p.m. Sat., Palmer's Bar, 500 Cedar Av. S., Mpls., $25, palmers-bar.com)
C.R.
COMEDY
Samantha Bee
"The Daily Show" has lifted the career of several comics. That impressive list includes Bee, an acerbic wit who can be just as outraged as her old boss, Jon Stewart, but with an emphasis on gender issues. She lost her ambitious TBS talk show "Full Frontal" last year after seven seasons, but the cancellation gives her more time to perform live. She's doing only one Twin Cities show as part of her "Your Favorite Woman" tour, so expect tickets to go quickly. (7 p.m. Fri., Pantages Theatre, 710 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls. $39.50-$129.50. hennepintheatretrust.org)
NEAL JUSTIN
THEATER
'Three Decembers'
Composer Jake Heggie's 2008 chamber opera orbits a famous theater actor and her two adult children as family secrets come to light over three decades of the AIDS crisis. Gene Scheer crafted the libretto based on Terrence McNally's unpublished play "Some Christmas Letters." Norah Long headlines this regional premiere by director Gary Briggle for Skylark Opera Theatre. (7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. May 12-21. Jungle Theater, 2951 Lyndale Av. S., Mpls. $55, 612-440-0911, skylarkopera.org)
ROHAN PRESTON
DANCE
Leslie Parker
The St. Paul-based choreographer explores ways Black artists write themselves into the future with "Divination Tools: Imagine Home." It's the latest iteration of a multiyear project that looks toward the past and the future, and considers how memory can be used to hold and build community. Before the opening night performance Thursday, there will be a processional at 7 p.m. through the Walker Art Center's public spaces, beginning at the top of the stairs to the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden on Vineland Place. (8 p.m. Thu.-Sat., Walker Art Center, 725 Vineland Place, Mpls. $31.50, 612-375-7600, walkerart.org)
SHEILA REGAN
'The 3-Women Project'
St. Paul's TU Dance is featuring three Black women choreographers to work in this project. Minnesota-based Alanna Morris' work taps into joy and pleasure with upbeat music and infectious energy. Stefanie Batten Bland has created a theatrical piece using the 1967 Sidney Poitier film, "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," as inspiration. And Yusha-Marie Sorzano, born in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, has created a dance with calypso music and werewolves in an investigation of colonization's impact. (7:30 p.m. Fri. & Sat., O'Shaughnessy, 2004 Randolph Av., St. Paul, $35, 651-690-6700, oshag.stkate.edu)
S.R.
ART
St. Croix Valley Pottery Tour
Pottery fills the tour once again this Mother's Day weekend. This year, 71 artists at eight studios will display their works. Unlike shopping for ceramics at a retail store, here you can chat directly with the potters about their back stories and styles. Although many live in Minnesota, others have traveled from Georgia and Colorado. The pottery ranges from straightforward, sensual and earthy to funky, colorful and hyper-patterned. (10 a.m.-6 p.m. Fri.-Sat. & 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sun., free, minnesotapotters.com)
ALICIA ELER
FAMILY
Shepherd's Harvest Sheep and Wool Festival
Warmer weather is here so it's time to relieve fuzzy animals of mounds of heavy fleece. The fest includes the largest fleece competition, sheep shearing, fleece skirting demonstrations and family activities. Cuddle with sheep and goats and watch a stock dog trial. Fiber vendors also will sell their wares. (9 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat.; 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sun. $5, ages 8 and under free. 12300 N. 40th St., Lake Elmo. shepherdsharvestfestival.org.)
MELISSA WALKER
