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MN Shortlist is your weekly curated roundup of recommended events from MPR News, highlighting standout performances, exhibits and gatherings around the region.

bringing gospel and blues to The Hook and Ladder Theater

. Brown estimates that since her last album in 2017, she has written nearly 100 new songs, many authored during the 2020 lockdown, where she looked inward as a source of self-preservation. 

Ten of those new songs made their way into her latest album, “Sing To The Walls,” which came out in 2022. Lately, she has been exploring genre-blending as she continues to embrace Black American musical forms. She is joined by Twin Cities-based singer-songwriter Anna Devine. Devine brings a sensitive quality to indie folk music. 

 is bringing two classics on the road. On Friday, “Hamlet” will be performed by the group outside the Nordic Center at Lake Elmo Park Reserve. Then on Saturday, they bring “Comedy of Errors” to the Leas Schwickert Bandshell in Mankato. Both performances are free. 

The Company is a nonprofit interested in taking William Shakespeare’s work on tour to share his complexity and humor. They hope to foster connections with their audience wherever they go. 

Minnesota Scottish Fair and Highland Games

 — Macalester College in St. Paul has a lot of its identity wrapped up in Scottish culture — its mascot is a Highland Cow, after all. This weekend, the rolling green lawns of the college will host the 

 The celebration includes bagpipe bands, Scottish country dancing and classic British cars on exhibition. 

The iconic Heavy Games will also take place, including the caber toss, which sees competitors hurl trimmed trees that can weigh over 100 pounds. 

‘Basketball State: The Land of 10,000 Hoops’

 — Filmmaker Gabe Hostetler wants the world to see Minnesota as a basketball state. “People have always seen Minnesota as a hockey state, but there’s a deep-rooted love of basketball here that flows through every gym,” Hostetler says in 

, “Basketball State: The Land of 10,000 Hoops. “

The Minneapolis Parks Foundation is hosting a free screening at the Capri Theater in North Minneapolis (

). The film tells the ascent of both women and men’s basketball in Minnesota through interviews and footage of a wide roster of players, coaches and community members from the Kevins (Kevin McHale and Kevin Garnett) to Lindsay Whalen, Zeke Nnaji, Anthony Edwards, Nia Coffey, Paige Bueckers and Chet Holmgren. 

There will also be a panel discussion with Hostetler, Minnesota Lynx broadcaster Lea B. Olsen, former Lakers player and North Minneapolis community leader Devean George, University of Utah guard and Columbia Heights High graduate Terrence Brown and University of Florida guard and Hopkins High graduate Liv McGill. 

 — Minneapolis-based Danger Boat Productions is partnering with Illusion Theater for 

 at the Amphitheater at Lyndale Gardens. 

Danger Boat’s short-form improv relies on audience engagement for lively, interactive comedy performances constructed from shouted-out suggestions. The goal is to inspire meaningful conversation and stronger communities, all while having fun and working as a team. 

free July outdoor music and puppetry festival

 continues Friday and Saturday evenings. Billed as a “double-whammy weekend,” the docket includes performances by puppet artists Happy Accident and 

 accompanied by live music from Isabella Dawis (July 18) and TaikoArts Midwest (July 19).

Shows take place in the green space across from Open Eye; blankets and folding chairs encouraged and, Open Eye warns, some content is PG-13. The festival closes July 25 with a final performance by The Puppet Union and music by Too Old Cat. 

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MN Shortlist is your weekly curated roundup of recommended events from MPR News, highlighting standout performances, exhibits and gatherings around the region.


MN Shortlist, July 18-24: Chastity Brown, touring Shakespeare and more

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