Eat, dance, sing and paint your way across the Twin Cities cultural scene this weekend

The Twin Cities art calendar is packed this weekend, with events spotlighting Indigenous narratives, Asian cuisine, and Afro-diasporic music. The MacPhail Center for Music will honor the legacy of Indigenous composer Louis W. Ballard in a classical music concert. Meanwhile, the Walker will host a five-episode watch party for the TV series “Reservation Dogs.”

In St. Paul, the Asian Street Food Night Market returns with its annual festival, while local DJs, musicians, and dancers celebrate Afrobeat music at 7th St. Entry.

Interested in making art this weekend? The Cedar is inviting community members to contribute to a mural commemorating the center’s 35th anniversary.

Tribute concert honors Indigenous compositions

The MacPhail Center for Music presents “The Native Spirits Sing,” a concert featuring works by Native American composers Louis Wayne Ballard, Brent Michael Davids , and Jerod Tate . The program celebrates the fusion of Indigenous musical traditions with Western classical forms. Curated by Turkish pianist Pinar Başgöze , the concert is part of MacPhail’s annual faculty spotlight series.

“I’ve always had a passion for introducing my own Turkish music culture and always looked for avenues to bring different cultures together,” Başgöze said. This passion led her to co-found Duo Harmonia with Portuguese American pianist Susana Pinto.

The “Native Spirits Sing” concert was inspired by Başgöze’s research into the works of Ballard, often called the “father of Native American composition .” Ballard’s music blends Native American musical rhythms and storytelling with Western classical forms, such as orchestral suites, piano concertos, and ballets.

“Louis Ballard was such an influential composer; he opened up the road for successor Native American composers,” Başgöze said. “I chose these three composers because Brent Michael Davids and Jerod Tate had a mentor-apprentice relationship with Louis Ballard.”

The program begins with Davids’ “Taptonahana,” a solo flute piece commissioned by the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra .

“Taptonahana means ‘we speak’ in the Mahican language,” Başgöze said. “It sets the tone of the concert and gives the core construction of Native musical traditions.” Flutist Julie Johnson , a MacPhail instructor, will perform the work.

Başgöze will perform Ballard’s “Katcina Dances,” the piece that initially sparked her interest in curating the program, along with cellist Rebecca Merblum. The concert will also include selections from Ballard’s “Four Moons Ballet Suite,” a work dedicated to five trailblazing Indigenous ballerinas from Oklahoma. “Each ballerina represents a different tribe within the piece,” Başgöze said.

The concert closes with Tate’s “Moonstrike,” a string quartet featuring narrated storytelling by two-spirit Anishinaabe and Hupa artist Sequoia Hauck . The composition, recounting three mythical stories about the moon’s creation from Native American folklore, will be performed by cello instructor Rebecca Merblum , and violinists Chi-Chi Lin Bestmann , Ashley Ng , and Elizabeth York .

The center will also host a pre-concert discussion at 6 p.m., featuring Pinar and Hauck. They will discuss Zitkála-Šá, the pioneering Native American composer and political activist who, in 1913, became the first Native person to write an opera.

“If the audience leaves the concert with a smile on their faces, sparked by the powerful and striking music of these composers, that would be a success for me and for all of us,” Başgöze said.

Date: Sunday, June 9

Time: 6:30 p.m.

Location: MacPhail Center for Music, 501 S. 2nd St., Minneapolis

Cost: Free

For more information: Visit macphail.org .

‘Reservation Dogs’ watch party, director talk

The Walker Art Center will host a watch party , screening the first five episodes of the TV series “Reservation Dogs,” created by Seminole filmmaker Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi of Maori descent. The series, which features an all-Indigenous team of writers and directors, follows four Indigenous teenagers in rural Oklahoma as they navigate friendships and dreams of honoring their deceased friend by traveling to California. Harjo will be at the Walker on June 12 to discuss his efforts to highlight Indigenous stories and perspectives in the film and TV industry.

Date: Saturday, June 8

Time: 1 p.m.

Location: The Walker Cinema, 725 Vineland Place, Minneapolis

Cost: Free

For more information: Visit walkerart.org .

Food, art, and music converge at an Asian street food festival

The Asian Street Food Night Market returns to St. Paul for its third annual festival , featuring 35 food vendors, 11 arts vendors, and 15 musical performances.

The food vendors offer a variety of food, beverages, and desserts from Mrs. Eggroll , Sap-Sap Thai Street Food & Dessert , Saigon Meats Manila , Hmoob Grill & Specialities , Miss Laos Papaya , Tea Boba , Mochi Munchies Yummy , among others.

Saturday’s live music performances, from 3 to 11 p.m., include Hmong alternative rock artist Dang Thao , Ci Dance Academy , Liberian singer-songwriter J-Mo on the Beat , and Duab’s Dance Troupe performing Hmong, Thai, Laos, and Chinese dance styles. Sunday’s lineup, from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m., features Hmong qeej players, Cultural Society of Filipino Americans , rapper Ron Onill , and more. Both evenings will conclude with a DJ spinning top hits and EDM music.

Additional attractions include a beer garden, a cornhole tournament , and a bouncy house.

Date: Saturday, June 8 and Sunday, June 9

Time: 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday. 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Sunday.

Location: 425 Rice St., St. Paul

Cost: Free

For more information: Visit asianstreetnightmarket.org .

Community mural project celebrates the Cedar’s 35th anniversary

The Cedar Cultural Center , in collaboration with the West Bank Business Association , will host a “Community Paint Day” featuring Minneapolis artists Leslie Barlow and Hibaaq Ibrahim , with music by the Douala Soul Collective , who will be spinning a fusion of African rhythms, funk, soul, jazz, cumbia, disco, hip-hop and reggae. The event marks a key part of the Cedar’s 35th anniversary celebrations.

Participants will have the opportunity to help create a large-scale mural on the building’s facade, designed by Barlow and Ibrahim.

Barlow is known for her life-sized oil paintings that incorporate photographs and fabrics, focusing on themes of multiculturalism, identity, and family. In response to George Floyd’s murder in 2020, Barlow, along with a collective Black, Indigenous, and artists of color , painted murals on boarded-up businesses across the Twin Cities.

Ibrahim, a muralist inspired by her extensive collection of over 2,000 photos of flowers and plants, transforms Minneapolis restaurants, homes, and businesses into botanical-themed environments.

Date: Saturday, June 8

Time: 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Location: Cedar Cultural Center, 416 Cedar Ave., Minneapolis

Cost: Free

For more information: Visit thecedar.org .

Afro-diasporic artist takeover at 7th St. Entry

First Avenue presents “Afro Rave,” featuring a lineup of local DJs, performers, and dancers celebrating music and dance from the African diaspora.

Among the performers are Twin Cities DJs Big Tunzy , McShellen , Tolzy Sound, who will spin Afrohouse and R&B tunes, gospel drummer Je, saxophonist Jerome Richardson , Afrobeat dancer Vuyd , Nigerian Afrobeat artist Wale Rebel , Liberian rapper Caesar Weah , and Nigerian Afro-drill artist Fenomevibez .

Date: Sunday, June 9

Time: 8 p.m.

Location: 7th St. Entry, 701 N. 1st Ave.,  Minneapolis

Cost: $15 online. $20 at the door. For more information: Visit first-avenue.com .

The post Eat, dance, sing and paint your way across the Twin Cities cultural scene this weekend appeared first on Sahan Journal .