MN Shortlist is your weekly curated roundup of recommended events from MPR News, highlighting standout performances, exhibits and gatherings around the region.
Chastity Brown at The Hook and Ladder
July 18 — Minnesota-based Chastity Brown is 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. (Anika Besst)
Starling Shakespeare Company on Tour
July 18-19 — The Starling Shakespeare Company 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. (Anika Besst)
Minnesota Scottish Fair and Highland Games
July 19 — 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 screen lawns of the college will host the Minnesota Scottish Fair and Highland Games. 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. (Jacob Aloi)
‘Basketball State: The Land of 10,000 Hoops’
July 23 — 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 his 2024 documentary, “Basketball State: The Land of 10,000 Hoops. “
The Minneapolis Parks Foundation is hosting a free screening at the Capri Theater in North Minneapolis (registration encouraged). 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. (Alex V. Cipolle)
Danger Boat Improv at Lyndale Gardens
July 23 — Minneapolis-based Danger Boat Productions is partnering with Illusion Theater for a live improv event 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. (Anika Besst)
