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MONDAY 7.6
Taking the Scenic Route
Trylon
Road trips? In this economy? Fortunately, to save you the cost and hassle of driving across our large, dumb country, the Trylon is screening 14 cinematic road trips throughout the summer. And we’re working with a very expansive definition of “road trip” here, broad enough to take in both Chantal Akerman’s Je Tu Il Elle and The Muppet Movie, at least one of which is sure to sell out quickly. You can catch the muppets on Trylon’s fancy new laser projector, as well as Paris, Texas, because Nastassja Kinski deserves to be seen in the highest definition possible. A mess of these will be on 35mm film, including Ingmar Bergman’s Wild Strawberries (a stone classic even if the dream sequence bored you in film class), It Happened One Night (simply one of the funniest movies of all time), and Two-Lane Blacktop (the definitive ’70s American road race movie). And each screening will only cost you $8, which wouldn’t get you enough gas to get out of the metro area. 2820 E. 33rd St., Minneapolis; find complete listings, showtimes, and more info here. Through September 29—Keith Harris
Bob Dylan
Mystic Lake Amphitheater
What’s left to say about Bob Dylan? Not to totally abdicate my blurbly duties here, but go read books by Greil Marcus or Elijah Wald if you’re seeking profound and/or revealing insights into our greatest living musician, who happens to be from Hibbing, Minnesota. What I can tell you is that the robust community of online Dylan-heads firmly believes that Bob is locked into a nice career groove these days, and having witnessed last year’s Mankato stop of his Rough and Rowdy Ways Tour with my dad, I gotta agree. As always, don’t expect chitchat or much (if any) guitar playing; instead drink in an 85-year-old master at work, an artist reinterpreting his peerless catalog through the lens of loungey jazz to accommodate his current capabilities. (Read about recent lineup shakeups here.) And if Bob happens to eschew ’60s hits in favor of the new stuff? It’s alright, ma: His most recent album, 2020’s Rough & Rowdy Ways, is among his 10 best. $35–$205. 7 p.m. 700 Canterbury Rd., Shakopee; find more info here.—Jay Boller
WEDNESDAY 7.8
Chuck Tingle
Parkway Theater
Sometimes, when I’m feeling a little blue or need a quick pick-me-up, I’ll check in on Chuck Tingle and see what he’s been up to lately. The Utah-born L.A. resident is one of the most prolific authors out there, crafting a multiverse where sentient corncobs get it on with vampire airplanes (yes, you read that right), and consent and communication are king (or possibly queen?). Tingle writes, he says, to prove that “love is real,” and we love him for that. In recent years, he’s gone full queer horror, penning best-selling works like Lucky Day and Bury Your Gays. At the Parkway this week he’ll be talking up his latest, Fabulous Bodies, described as “a supernatural joyride where Drive meets Beetlejuice.” It follows Poppy, a fashion influencer who also robs graves (everyone has a side hustle these days) and dreams of fame. Things take a turn for the worse when one of her bodies turns out to not be as dead as previously presumed. $40–$45 (tickets include a signed copy of Fabulous Bodies). 6 p.m. 4814 Chicago Ave., Minneapolis; find more info here.—Jessica Armbruster
Father John Misty
Palace Theater
Father John Misty could feel like a holdover from the more irony-soaked trenches of Obama-era indie sleaze. (History is proving unkind to that epoch of Pitchforkian artists, generally speaking.) But Joshua Tillman happens to be a great singer-songwriter, so aging gracefully hasn’t been an issue. While his 2022 LP, Chloë and the Next 20th Century, featured uneven yet compelling adventures in jazz, his latest, 2024’s Mahashmashana, bowled listeners over with Tillman’s S-tier, Loki-like lyrics riding an avalanche of adventurous arrangements. Critics heralded it not just as a return to form, but, simply, one of the best offerings in the Father John Misty discography. (Local connection: Alan Sparhawk of Low contributed guitars to the massive-sounding single “Screamland.”) In a rare 2025 interview, Tillman distilled his project down with the trenchant humor that bubbles throughout his songs: “My whole thing is a therapist’s nightmare. It’s this Bergman-esque psychodrama where this Father John Misty construct really has it out for this Josh Tillman guy who keeps writing increasingly more humiliating songs,” he told WNXP. “I must be convinced that there’s some kind of truth. We’ll see when the body of work is finished. We will see what was achieved.” King Tuff opens. $61-$81. 7 p.m. 17 W. 7th Place, St. Paul; find more info here.—Jay Boller
The 70mm Experience
The Heights
Look, I’m not in the habit of giving orders around here, but you need to watch 2001: A Space Odyssey and Lawrence of Arabia on 70mm at least once in your life. And this July, the Heights is giving you that opportunity, firing up its Norelco AA2 projectors to display these two classics, along with the also estimable West Side Story and Boogie Nights, in the greatest format film has ever known. You’ll be absolutely convinced that an extraterrestrial incursion sparked human evolution, that Alec Guinness was an Arab, that Natalie Wood could sing, and that Mark Wahlberg has an immense dick. Fun fact: West Side Story oddly features two future cast members from Twin Peaks. Guess which? 3951 Central Ave. NE, Columbia Heights; find complete listings, showtimes, and more info here. Through July 15—Keith Harris
THURSDAY 7.9
Craig Finn & Patterson Hood
Fitzgerald Theater
Two perfectly matched songwriters in an ideally intimate setting. Probably the most impressive moment of Finn’s quite impressive new set, Always Been, comes on the closing song, “Shamrock,” which notes the shift from SA to Speedway to show the passage of time—and the guy hasn’t even lived here in decades. Now that’s an eye for detail. If the strugglers on Hold Steady albums always hold out a hope for salvation that’s reflected in the sweep of the music, Finn’s solo albums center on quieter vignettes about similar down-and-outers set to the sympathetic accompaniment of a back-up band inspired by ’70s singer-songwriter rock. Like Finn, Hood is best known for his band output (the Drive-By Truckers) and works solo in a subtler, more miniature scale. His most recent album, 2025’s Exploding Trees & Airplane Screams, begins with a beauty queen dead in a hurricane and climaxes with the promised flight disaster. Lyrics like “Lithium and tranquilizers/Lithium and tranquilizers” and “I was sad before I’s born” establish a mood that not even Katie Crutchfield’s harmonies on one track or Wednesday’s clamor on another can lighten much. I mean, the one where Pat hooks up with Lydia Loveless while spinning Tattoo You is even more of a bummer than the one about suicide. $37–$89. 8 p.m. 10 E. Exchange St., St. Paul; find more info here.—Keith Harris
Isaac Butler
Magers & Quinn
I remember the ’80s, and they sucked. Way more than I realized at the time. (When you’re a teen you just assume that everything lame about the world has always been that way.) So I’m looking forward to Isaac Butler’s This Perfect Moment: God, Sex, Art, and the Birth of America’s Culture Wars, about how it all went sideways for the U.S. (Extended sidenote: If you’re looking to pitch a history book these days, the trend is “When did America fall apart?” See also: John Ganz’s When the Clock Broke, which dates the roots of our demise in the ’90s. Maybe I’ll overshoot everyone and blame… the ’30s?) Butler’s The Method: How the 20th Century Learned to Act is the definitive guide from how a new approach to performance traveled from Moscow to Hollywood, so I trust him as a guide here. Tonight he’ll be in conversation with Charles Baxter. Free. 7 p.m. 3038 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis; find more info here.—Keith Harris
FRIDAY 7.10
Art N’ Pils
Utepils Brewing
No way around it: Art and pills just go hand in hand. Oh, uh—excuse me, that’s art and pils. Sorry about that. The event formerly known as Artepils returns to Utepils this weekend with local artists, live music, and lots of beer. This year’s featured artist is St. Paul’s Michael Iver Jacobsen, and art vendors include Mystic Healing Stones, Wander Want, Two Birds Tie Dye, and Fi Diaz. On the music side? We’ve got Mr. Rogers and the Make Believe Friends headlining Friday night, the Orange Goodness and Shotgun Ragtime band on Saturday’s lineup, and She’s Green and Dumbstar among Sunday’s performers. See ya by the creek! Free. 4–8 p.m. Fri.; noon to 8 p.m. Sat.; noon to 4 p.m. Sun. 225 Thomas Ave. N. #700, Minneapolis; find more info here. Through Sunday—Em Cassel
Death Cab for Cutie
The Armory
Similar to non-local band the Hold Steady, Death Cab for Cutie continue to churn out middle-late-career albums that have no business being so good. With their latest, June’s I Built You a Tower, the Pacific Northwest indie heavyweights went literally indie, releasing the harder-rocking LP on Anti- instead of their longtime major label, Atlantic. It’s a divorce record, it’s a meditation-on-aging record, it’s Death Cab, now three records removed from the departure of multi-instrumentalist/producer Chris Walla, continuing to successfully experiment ever-so-slightly with their tried ‘n’ true sound. “You compartmentalise all these memories in these buildings so they’re not out in the street, yelling at you 24/7,” frontman Ben Gibbard tells The Line of Best Fit, explaining the new release’s titular metaphor and theme. Jay Som opens. $70-$161. 6 p.m. 500 Sixth St. S., Minneapolis; find more info here.—Jay Boller
Bastille Day Celebrations
Various Locations
Last weekend, we celebrated the signing of the Declaration of Independence with binge drinking, 4 a.m. fireworks, and hot dogs. This weekend, we celebrate the storming of the Bastille with cocktails, 4 a.m. fireworks (there’s always 4 a.m. fireworks in the summer), and hot dogs. At a three-day fest at 50th & France, you can catch a free screening of Amelie, a free performance of Beauty and the Beast from Morningside Theatre Co., free face painting for kids, and a free open-air flea market (check out the full schedule here). Bûcheron in south Minneapolis is hosting a block party this Sunday from noon to 4 p.m., enjoy beer, wine, and fried green tomatoes, plus kids get free hot dogs. The big fish in town, Alliance Française, will be celebrating next week, with live music, a vintage Citroën car parade, French food trucks, and bounce houses on Tuesday, July 14, from 5–8 p.m.—Jessica Armbruster
How to Support Trans Youth: Author Nico Lang and Chris Stedman in Conversation
Plymouth Congregational Church
These are tough times to be a trans teen in America—no one asks to be at the center of a culture war. Nico Lang’s American Teenager: How Trans Kids Are Surviving Hate and Finding Joy in a Turbulent Era is the perfect book for this moment. In his 2025 Stonewall Honor Book, Lang spoke with eight trans and nonbinary youth, as well as their friends and family members, to learn how they’ve been affected by the anti-trans movement and what their lives are like. Lang is in conversation this evening with local author Chris Stedman, and the two will discuss how to support trans youth here in Minnesota and across the U.S. They’ll also be collecting stories of LGBTQIA+ mutual aid for Stedman’s We Help Us project, which you can read more about right here in Racket. Free. 6–7:30 p.m. 1900 Nicollet Ave., Minneapolis; find more info here.—Em Cassel
SATURDAY 7.11
The Black Food Truck Fest
The Black Market
Since 2021, The Black Market has hosted a series of events centered around BIPOC business owners, artists, chefs, and creatives of all kinds. But this is the group’s very first Black Food Truck Fest—and trust us, you won’t want to miss it. More than 30 Black food vendors will be in attendance, and here’s just a sample of what we’re working with: Taste the Real Nawlins (po boys, gumbo, catfish, hush puppies), Cajun Grillin’ (wings, corn on the cob), Maggie’s Food for the Soul (wings, ribs, stuffed turkey legs), Good Vibes African Cuisine (jollof rice, meat pies, kabobs), and Pop & Son Grill (loaded baked potatoes). And that’s only a fraction of the food! We haven’t even gotten to the sweets and drinks. Nor will we—go sip for yourself. Free. 2–6 p.m. 767 Eustis St., St. Paul; find more info here.—Em Cassel
Horse Lords
Cedar Cultural Center
The jittery Baltimore experimentalists are back, and they’re no longer purely instrumental, as Nina Guo and Evelyn Saylor now contribute abstract vocal sounds to the mix. Adding a bass clarinetist and a trombonist on top of that may be the avant-garde equivalent of tossing a juggler a couple extra chainsaws, but I’m happy to report after several listens to Demand to Be Taken To Heaven Alive! that no one has been seriously harmed by this expansion. Opening is Sidi ould Ahmed Zeydan, the Eau Claire-based master of Mauritanian classical music, which he has adapted from traditional lute to microtonally fretted electric guitar. $25/$30. 8 p.m. 416 Cedar Ave., Minneapolis, find more info here.—Keith Harris
Art at St. Kate’s
St. Catherine University
Tired of AI slop? Curated corporate minimalism got you down? Need a reminder of humanity’s capacity to create? Art at St. Kate's is a cute St. Paul art fair with over 100 jury-selected artists and makers that can restore your faith in mankind. Come to look at handmade jewelry, paintings, scarves, leather bags, stained glass, pottery, birdhouses, and more. Maybe even go crazy and buy something. Booths fill the large triangle of grass between Randolph and Cleveland Avenue on the grounds of St. Catherine University, with strolling musicians adding to the artsy vibe. Food trucks, lots of shady trees, and available seating make the event a practical and comfortable way to spend a few of your weekend hours. Free. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 2004 Randolph Ave., St. Paul; find more info here.—Clare O’Connor
ONGOING
“Cats and Dogs in Soviet Art: Workers, Teachers, Friends”
The Museum of Russian Art
Pet obsession is nothing new. Pre-internet, folks were just as into their animals, relying on them for comfort, amusement, and help with everyday work tasks. For this show at TMORA, there’ll be 40 paintings on display celebrating cats, dogs, and other animal companions, as well as a collection of porcelain cat and canine figurines. 5500 Stevens Ave., Minneapolis; find more info here. Through July 12—Jessica Armbruster
The Tempest
Various Locations
Last year, Classical Actors Ensemble kept it light with the raunchy (for its time) comedy All’s Well That Ends Well. This year they’re going darker with The Tempest, one of Shakespeare’s final works. You might know it as the one that gave us the (unfortunately timely) banger, "Hell is empty, and all the devils are here.” It’s one of the Bard’s more bonkers works, featuring a shipwreck (Shakespeare loved a shipwreck), a vengeful magician, an angry spirit creature, and a drunk butler and jester who team up with an enslaved islander in hopes of murdering their way to freedom (I know who I’m rooting for). This summer you can see it in the parks of the Twin Cities and surrounding ‘burbs. Find times and other locations here. Through July 12—Jessica Armbruster
Sunset Yoga in the Sculpture Garden
Walker Art Center
You don’t have to pay money or hit up YouTube for a good yoga practice this summer. Free classes and special events are happening all over town. One great example: This weekly evening yoga session, held right by the Okciyapi piece in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. Bring a mat and some water for this one-hour Vinyasa-style (pose focused) session led by the Twin Cities Yoga Cooperative. And if you’re really ambitious, you can do free yoga almost every day of the week, with train depot yoga (Mon., Wed., Sat.), Greenway yoga (Fri.), anti-fascist yoga (Sun.), and even cemetery yoga (Sat.). Free; donations accepted. 7:30 p.m. 725 Vineland Place, Minneapolis; find more info here. Through August 6—Jessica Armbruster
Skyline Mini Golf
Walker Art Center
Warmer weather means it’s putt-putt season in Minnesota. Yeah sure, you can play mini-golf year-round in the North Loop, but it’s just not as whimsical an experience when you drop a course into a dimly lit bar with a “hot young singles only” vibe. The Twin Cities’ only putt-putt in the sky is back at the Walker, featuring 10 quirky holes made by local artists. New this year is Indhaha Dayaxa–Eyes of the Moon by Ifrah Mansour, a Minneapolis-based Somali artist who you may have seen performing at the Minnesota State Fair, featured on TPT’s Minnesota Original, or exhibiting works at the Mia. Return holes this year include the hot dog one, the one where you race via color, the one with ping-pong paddles, and the pool-hall one. Bring sunscreen and enjoy those views of Loring Park, downtown Minneapolis, and the endless Hennepin-Lyndale traffic jam. $12. 725 Vineland Place, Minneapolis; reserve a time and find more info here. Through October 4—Jessica Armbruster
