Art Hounds: Desert blues comes to the Cedar Cultural Center

This week on Art Hounds: the Tuareg band Tinariwen, cool music for kids and a talk about books. Music lover Elliot Novak says his favorite band to see live is the Tuareg band Tinariwen. Novak says these musicians, exiled from their homeland, are true rebels; many of them received military training in Libya under Moammar Gadhafi. Featuring nomadic rhythms and electric guitars, these "desert boys" have created a sound that's all their own. Tinariwen performs Monday, April 10, at the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis.

Red Wing Arts' Lacy Schumann has found a band that both she and her 5-year-old enjoy — Secret Agent 23 Skidoo. Billed as "equal parts Dr. Seuss and Dr. Dre," the group deals in beats and rhymes specifically for kids. Schumann's favorite song is "Bored is a Bad Word," but you might prefer "I Like Fruit" or "Speak the Truth." Secret Agent 23 Skidoo performs April 13 at the Sheldon Theatre in Red Wing.

Writer Janet Anderson is heading to the Guthrie Theater tonight, but not to see a show. Instead she'll be listening to Man Booker Prize winner Marlon James and National Book Foundation Executive Director Lisa Lucas discuss the question, "Can Literature Make a Damn Bit of Difference?" It's part of the Big Ideas series presented by the Loft Literary Center. The conversation gets underway at 7 p.m. in the Dowling Studio.