In bloom
Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden and Bird Sanctuary opens Friday for its 115th season of self-guided walks through nature. This weekend's programming includes Early Birders, where participants learn to observe and identify birds by sight and sound with a naturalist. During Garden Walks, a naturalist leads a tour and discusses seasonal plants in bloom. See website for programming times and meeting point. (7:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Fri.-Sun., free, 1 Theodore Wirth Pkwy., Mpls., mplsparks.org)
MELISSA WALKER
Liv Warfield
To mark the sixth anniversary of Prince's passing, Paisley Park is presenting "A Night to Remember," with his protegee Warfield — an unstoppable vocal force — rocking the Paisley soundstage as she did many times with him and with her own band. As a sequel to her 2014 Prince-produced studio album "The Unexpected," the Portland, Ore., powerhouse this year released "Live at the Cafe Wha," a collection of unfettered gospel fervor, kinetic funkified soul and blazing guitar work from Ryan Waters. (7 p.m. April 21, 7801 Audubon Road, Chanhassen, $85-$100, paisleypark.com)
JON BREAM
'Alice's Looking Glass'
Out on a Limb Dance Theater Company belatedly celebrates its 20th anniversary by revisiting a story that helped launch it in 2001 at the Minnesota Fringe Festival. In this multimedia production, tap, hip-hop and classic ballet are mashed up with Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass." Seventy dancers — both children and adults — perform to a soundtrack of Minnesota music, including the Suburbs, the Suicide Commandos, Flamin' Oh's and Replacements drummer Chris Mars. (7 p.m. April 26-27, the O'Shaughnessy, 2004 Randolph Av., St. Paul, $32, 651-690-6700, oshag.stkate.edu)
SHEILA REGAN
Snail Mail
After a whirlwind rise to indie-rock stardom while still in her teens, Maryland singer/guitarist Lindsey Jordan was forced to slow down by both a rehab stint and the pandemic before finishing her second LP as Snail Mail. "Valentine" wound up on many best-of-2021 lists as Waxahatchee producer and Bon Iver cohort Brad Cook helped bring out an earthy tenderness in her dramatic but sometimes darkly witty songs. Philly band Joy Again opens. (8 p.m. Fri., First Avenue, 701 1st Av. N., Mpls., $25-$30, eTix.com)
CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER
'Imagine a U.S. Without Racism'
The prompt that playwright Seema Sueko gave to dozens of people from every state ended up as the title of this new work at Mixed Blood Theatre. A powerhouse cast — including Warren C. Bowles and Faye Price, who was in the first show ever produced at Mixed Blood, back in 1976 — shows what happens when a confrontational teacher forces students to dig deep into their biases and dreams for the future. (7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun., Mixed Blood, 1501 S. 4th St., Mpls., $25 or pick-a-price, mixedblood.com).
CHRIS HEWITT
Magnetic Fields
Twenty-three years since their "69 Love Songs" mega-set landed with instant-classic status, lovable misanthrope Stephin Merritt and his baroque rock group continue to come up with fun gimmicks for their albums, including the early-pandemic release "Quickies" — 28 songs all under two minutes. There's nothing novel about their post-pandemic shows, though, which have featured 30-plus songs from throughout their discography. Southern folk traditionalist Jake Xerxes Fussell opens. (8 p.m. Sat., Fitzgerald Theater, 10 E. Exchange St., St. Paul, $40+, eTix.com)
C.R.
Robert Robinson
He has a divine voice, a serene presence and a repertoire as deep as the Bible. With his magnificent range, Robinson has been a go-to voice in Minnesota whether singing the national anthem at a sporting event or a hymn at a funeral. Isn't Minneapolis' Pavarotti of gospel the perfect choice to celebrate Easter in a secular setting? (6 p.m. Sun., Crooners, 6161 Hwy. 65, Fridley, $35, croonersmn.com)
J.B.
Staging a home
Fake real estate agents take fake buyers/theatergoers on tours through real Minneapolis houses (a different one in each of the four weekends the comedy is produced) in "House[expletive]." Designed to explore the joys and pains of buying and selling homes, the hourlong immersive work by Jay Owen Eisenberg and Shelby Richardson is available for just 15 theatergoers at a time. Real estate taxes are not voluntary but audience participation is. (7 p.m. Sat., 2 p.m. Sun., Minneapolis locations disclosed to ticket buyers, $25, wearemarried.org)
C.H.
Anthony McGill
Most of America discovered this brilliant clarinetist as part of an all-star quartet at Barack Obama's inauguration. A barrier breaker as the New York Philharmonic's first Black principal musician, he'll close the Schubert Club's International Artist Series season with a pair of recitals. Pianist Anna Polonsky joins him for works by three Black composers — James Lee III, Adolphus Hailstork and Jessie Montgomery — and sonatas by Leonard Bernstein and Aaron Copland. (7:30 p.m. April 21, 10:30 a.m. April 22, Ordway Concert Hall, 345 Washington St., St. Paul, $75-$28, 651-292-3268 or schubert.org)
ROB HUBBARD
