ChromaZone Mural Fest, Phoebe Bridgers, Neighborhood Super Sale: This Week’s Best Events

Welcome to Event Horizon, your weekly roundup of the best events in Minneapolis, St. Paul, and beyond. 

TUESDAY 9.15

Sun Yung Shin

Moon Palace Books

The subtitle of poet and essayist Shin’s latest work, Heart Eater: A Memoir of Immigration, Belonging, and How We Find Ourselves in Language, really charts out its course for you. Composed of short essays she dubs “Field Notes,” Shin draws from the story of her adoption (she was a nameless, abandoned infant) as well as her experiences with public school and Catholicism as she tackles big questions like “What does it mean to be American?" Tonight she’s joined by Kristin Collier, Jennifer Eli Bowen, Michael Kleber-Diggs, Rachel Moritz, and Michael Torres. Free. 7 p.m. 3032 Minnehaha Ave., Minneapolis; find more info here.—Keith Harris

WEDNESDAY 9.16

Lily Allen

Armory

Allen seems an unpopular figure in her home country, due in part I gather to how she pronounces “beau’iful” despite her posh pedigree but also because she’s an unavoidable tabloid fixture. So it makes sense that her latest album, West End Girl, an autopsy of a marriage that died by degrees, would have something of the tabloid to it—if someone’s gonna drag you through the mud, might as well wallow on your own terms. Consider its lyrical hooks (“Da da da da/Who’s Madeline?” or “I thought it was a dojo/I didn’t know it was a pussy palace” or “If it has to happen, baby, do you want to know?”) the clickbait headlines that draw you into personal essays much more revelatory (and juicier) than the norm. A basic plotline: Living separately leads to infidelity leads to an open marriage leads to the indignity of scouring the apps to find companionship. Whatever hubby David Harbour might have to say for himself, Allen’s such a damn pro as a storyteller, phrasemaker, and tunesmith that her version will always ring true. Art can be unfair that way. Scaled down from a poorly selling arena show, this solo theatrical event focuses solely on the new album—don’t expect “Smile” or “Fuck You.” $65.45 and up. 8 p.m. 500 S. Sixth St., Minneapolis; find more info here.—Keith Harris 

THURSDAY 9.17

ChromaZone Mural & Art Festival

Various Locations

What’s the largest mural fest in Minnesota? This guy right here. In 2019, ChromaZone invited 15 artists to create 12 murals over eight days on the facades of the St. Anthony Park neighborhood of St. Paul. Seven years later the event is still going strong; in total they’ve commissioned 73 murals by 82 artists, and according to organizers, of that artists’ roster 74% are local, 75% are BIPOC, and 50% are women/nonbinary. Six new murals have been created for the 2026 fest, and you can check them out this weekend at a variety of events, including an artist’s talk on Thursday at Bang Brewery. If alley parties are more your style, stop by 2345 University Ave. W. (between Twin Cities Reptile Shop and Twin Cities Janitor Supply) to watch live painting on Friday and Saturday. Bring your bike to the Baker Court Building on Saturday for a bike tour led by folks from Move Minnesota, or head to the block party at 2370 W. Territorial Rd. for a day of hands-on art making, bus tours, an artist market, food trucks, and DJ tunes. Find a complete schedule of events and locations here. Through Saturday—Jessica Armbruster

Phoebe Bridgers

Grand Casino Arena

At the Palace Theatre in 2017, Conor Oberst introduced the night’s opener by saying, “This is Phoebe Bridgers. She’s going to be a big star.” Makes you wonder what else Mr. Bright Eyes is right about! Bridgers has completed the rare busking-to-arena career arc, and tonight’s victory lap is in support of her masterpiece of a new album, Lost Weekend. Three obvious topics pillar the dazzling LP: the loss of one love (Irish actor Paul Mescal), the arrival of a new one (American comic Bo Burnham), and the death of her father, with whom she had a deeply complicated relationship (see previous single "Kyoto"). Over the course of almost an hour, Lost Weekend artfully blurs the lines between those touchstones and even the tracks themselves. It’s unclear who or what Bridgers is singing about in a given moment, except for the unmistakable Gracie Abrams diss track and the subsequent Burnham love song; Lost Weekend is a vibes-based journey that hits on profound emotions while morphing between folk, indie rock, and new flourishes of experimental electronic music. And hey, if all this praise sounds gratuitous, we’ll even the scales with a little bit of dirt that reflects poorly on Bridgers: Per the local internet gossip mill, the 32-year-old star was a lil rude during a recent visit to Marty’s Deli in northeast Minneapolis. I’m very comfortable separating the art from the artist here. Alex G opens. $159-$582. 7:30 p.m. 199 W. Kellogg Boulevard, St. Paul; find more info here.—Jay Boller

FinnFest

Various Locations 

As the U.S. Census and this heatmap tell you, Minnesota is home to the country’s largest number of Finnish-Americans. Those Finns celebrate their cultural heritage with parties like FinnFest, which, after three years up in Duluth, is coming to the big city. The main conference is stationed at the downtown Hilton; free satellite events include rapper Paleface (no relation to Ghostface) at the Cabooze on Friday and the world premiere of the play MORTON: The Forgotten Founder at Minnehaha Park Pavilion on Sunday. Back at the hotel you’ll find speakers like keynote author Robert Strand, explaining his book Nordic Capitalism, plus weaving demos, live music, dancing, panel discussions, poetry, and a whole lot more Finnish fun (view the whole schedule here). $39.21-$142.83. Thu.–Sun. Find more info here.—Jay Boller

FRIDAY 9.18

Carly Pearce

Fine Line

Carly Pearce is the greatest country singer-songwriter you’re not listening to—don’t you hate when critics say shit like that? Well, prove me wrong and listen to her latest, Honest Woman, which sits worthily alongside is predecessors, 29 and Hummingbird. Pearce shows her ease with old school Nashville vernacular on lyrics “If you can take him you can have him” and “If I don’t leave I’m gonna stay,” the latter from a Riley Green duet that became a genuine country radio hit. “Who’s Lying Here” and “He Don’t Like My Dogs” offer inventive twists on their titles, while “Leave My Heart Alone” is an invitation to a one-night stand. Beginning with the lament “Dream Come True” and reconciling with the closer “Why God Why,” Honest Woman is a loose concept album about small-town Christian girls who follow their passions to the big city but still fret that they’re not around to take papa to his doctor appointment and occasionally envy their friends who got hitched and settled down. I bet there are more than a few of them in these parts. With Belle Frantz. $44.87. 7:30 p.m. Fri.–Sat. 318 First Ave. N.; find more info here.—Keith Harris

SATURDAY 9.19

Capital City Fest

Minnesota State Capitol 

Racket’s lovely readers often accuse us of covering Minneapolis, where all four staffers live, over St. Paul. (We attempted to remedy that with an exhaustive 2023 investigation into what, generally, is going on over there.) And as an additional olive branch, please accept our hearty endorsement of Capital City Fest, the annual free, family-friendly celebration of “the people, creativity, and culture that make our city special.” That means 40+ food options (see the partial roster here), 50+ local vendors, a car show, high-flying wrestling, kids’ activities, and genre-spanning live music (see the partial bill here) that includes a battle of the bands. May St. Paulites never grouse about Racket again! Free. 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. 75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul; find more info here.—Jay Boller  

Neighborhood Super Sale

Lake of the Isles 

Savvy secondhand shoppers adopt the same adage as any halfway decent journalist (or the path not chosen by an inept Walz administration): Follow the money. That means us hoi polloi buying crap off of our wealthier neighbors, and good lord, they don’t get much posher than denizens of Minneapolis neighborhoods East Isles, Lowry Hill, East Bde Maka Ska, Kenwood, and Cedar-Isles-Dean. (The Wedge, a bit of a financial outlier, is also part of the event). Over 150 yard sales in those hoods pop up Saturday, and they’re all easily navigable via handy online map. Me, myself, personally? I’ll be roaming the streets with my 11-month-old in pursuit of deals on high-end baby gear. See ya out there! Free. 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Find more info here.—Jay Boller 

Harvest Press

Minneapolis Cider Company

If the cold, overcast weather wasn’t enough of an indicator, it’s officially fall. (OK, fine… in about a week.) And here’s another autumnal sign: It’s apple pressing time at Minneapolis Cider Company. Join the MCC crew, including head cider maker Rob, for a community pressing event that includes live folk music and a spread of “harvest-themed foods.” The freshly harvested apples you’ll help press, which come from Fireside Orchard in Northfield, will eventually become Minneapolis Cider Co.’s flagship cider, Fireside Hazy. $18 (includes a drink); $45–$95 (includes a growler and multiple drinks/passes). 3–6 p.m. 701 SE Ninth St., Minneapolis; find more info here.—Em Cassel

Taco Tour on Lake Street

Mercado Central

As the Minnesota Reformer’s Atra Mohamed wrote last week, immigrant-owned businesses are still waiting for customers to return post-Operation Metro Surge, and that means that, as the organizers of this taco tour write, “Every bite is an act of solidarity.” From noon to 4 p.m. today, head to Mercado Central and visit 30+ vendors including La Loma, La Perla, Apóstol Santiago Cocina, and The Best Tacos Del Sol while enjoying a bounce house, a mechanical bull, free bike repairs, and lots of live music. (There’s also a taco-eating contest.) Then, from 4–8 p.m., make your way over to El Nuevo Campo for more music, live screenprinting, and something called a “Lake Street VR Time Machine” from neighborhood newsletter Longfellow Whatever. Free. Noon to 8 p.m. Mercado Central, 1515 E. Lake St., Minneapolis and El Nuevo Campo, 2709 E. Lake St., Minneapolis; find more info here.—Em Cassel

ONGOING

“The Radical Act of Having Each Other’s Back”

FindFurnish

If there’s any lesson on resistance to be taken from Minnesota’s response to January’s hostile ICE takeover, it’s that we look out for and take care of our neighbors. For this group show, 26 Minnesota artists—Adam Turman, Biafra, Bump Opera, Harriet Bart, Jennifer Davis, Kao Lee Thao, Piotr Szyhalski, Wes Winship, and others—will reflect on the acts of kindness that held our communities together to the point of creating a movement. At the center of the exhibition is Iced Out Guernica, a huge 21’x7’ aerosol and acrylic painting created by Rock CYFI Martinez, EWOK, Hottea, and Shock, inspired by Picasso’s anti-war masterpiece. "Standing before Picasso's Guernica, I understood that bearing witness cannot be passive," says Martinez. "Art can preserve what official accounts overlook or attempt to erase.” Half of the proceeds from sales will benefit recovery efforts in the community. 2014 Central Ave. NE, Minneapolis; find more info here. Through September 20—Jessica Armbruster

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 

The 10th Neighborhood Garage Tour

Various Locations

That’s right, Off-Leash Area’s summertime tradition of bringing theater to the backyards, driveways, and, yes, garages of the Twin Cities turns 10 this year. Over the past decade, they’ve traveled through 44 neighborhoods producing 120-plus kid-friendly shows. This year, they’ll present Stardust Rendezvous, a piece about three space travelers from different worlds who must learn how to communicate and work together to get off the asteroid they’re trapped on. Locations this year include homes in St. Paul, Brooklyn Park, south Minneapolis, and Turbo Tim’s northeast Minneapolis location. $5–$30 suggested donation. 7 p.m. Fri.–Sat. Find tickets and more information here. Through October 3—Jessica Armbruster

The Minnesota Renaissance Festival

Festival Site

Huzzah! Ye olde faire has returned to Shakopee for another epic meeting of the realms. These realms are not beholden to any time or place or reality, but loosely include: fairies, Arthurian knights, miscellaneous hobbits, Rococo French folks, ancient Celts and Scots, a handful of mermaids, and some old-school Oktoberfest Germans. Some years, there’s even a decent smattering of Whovians. The crowd is part of the fun, but there are plenty of things to see and do, including jousting, mini plays, concerts, free wine and beer samplings on themed weekends, and giant turkey legs. Shop handmade wares, try a few feats of strength, and return to 2026 safely via steel horse (aka the park-and-ride shuttlebus). 16.95–29.95. 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sat.–Sun., plus Labor Day (Sep. 7) and Festival Friday (Oct. 2). 12364 Chestnut Blvd. (Queen's Gate) and 3525 145th St. W. (King's Gate), Shakopee; find more info here. Through October 4—Jessica Armbruster

“Your Favorite Artists’ Favorite Artists” 

Southside Preservation Society

Following its recent “Full House” exhibit, Southside Preservation Society, the newish Seward gallery space from BRLSQ, asked participating artists about their favorite artists. The resulting show? It’s “Your Favorite Artists’ Favorite Artists”! Alexis Politz, Maw Reh, Tshab Her, Amy Rice, Jennifer Davis, and Magdalena Mora are among those featured, and though they differ widely in media and style they have one thing in common: If you don’t already know their names, you should. There will be an opening reception on Fri., Sep. 11, from 7–10 p.m. 2619 28th Ave. S., Minneapolis; find more info here. Through October 9—Em Cassel

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 18—Jessica Armbruster

“Olalekan Jeyifous: Hydricosmic Litanies”

Walker Art Center

Recently, Racket ran a story by Drew Ross about what trash and treasures might surface if we were to drain the Mississippi River gorge. By curious coincidence, a new exhibit at the Walker constructs imaginary artifacts from composite, fictional cultures that might be found in the river. In his first solo show, “Hydricosmic Litanies,” the Nigerian-born artist Olalekan Jeyifous, also known as Lek, draws upon Yorùbá, Dakota, and Ojibwe traditions to create stories about the interaction between peoples and the river. You should check out Jeyifous’s Insta for a taste of what his art is like. 725 Vineland Place, Minneapolis; find more info here. Through January 3, 2027—Keith Harris