Art Hounds: Lowertown Classics, Kay Herbst Helms, and a dance queen from Ames, Iowa

This week, an avant garde classical oasis in a Lowertown loft, an artist who paints the hands of artists, and a little bit of Vegas from a state directly to our south that shall not be named.

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Doomtree rapper Dessa is an adventurous spirit when it comes to cultural experiences. Last month, at the invitation of a German classical guitarist, Dessa ventured over to the Lofts of Lowertown in St. Paul to take in an installment of the experimental classical music series, Lowertown Classics. She really liked it. The next installment is Friday, March 14, at 8 p.m.

Mankato mixed media artist and musician Amanda Wirig got an illuminating reminder of the importance of hands in the creative lives of artists, when she went to see an exhibition of photographs at the Arts Center of St. Peter. "Inner Necessities" features the work of Kay Herbst Helms, who photographed the hands, faces and studio spaces of artists in south central Minnesota. Through March 30.

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Twin Cities singer Claudia Holt will definitely be in attendance when the Ames, Iowa dance band Leslie and the Lys blow the roof off the Triple Rock Social Club this Friday, March 14. Claudia, a member of the Como Avenue Jug Band and the Prairie Fire Lady Choir, says frontwoman Leslie Hall, with her gold lamé jumpsuits, back-up dancers, and Vegas-style chic, is magnetic on stage.

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