From MPR News, Art Hounds are members of the Minnesota arts community who look beyond their own work to highlight what’s exciting in local art. Their recommendations are lightly edited from the audio heard in the player above.

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Renee Vaughan, who plays the Swedish folk instrument the nyckelharpa, recommends a concert on Friday that will bring a mix of musical holiday folk traditions.

Red Thread will perform along with Minneapolis and Duluth-based folk band Ponyfolk, Friday at 8 p.m. at the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis.

Renee says: Red Thread is fronted by one of my absolute favorite singers, Sarah Larsson, with her lush, warm voice, coupled with these incredible harmonies, and it's mixed with a deep love of cultural lineage.

Their music spans from Yiddish and klezmer and Slavic, Scandinavian, Irish, English and American winter traditions, and they'll be sharing the stage with Ponyfolk. They're able to have this folk sound that creatively blends folk and rock and jazz and Nordic influences.

I'm sure there'll be opportunities to get up and move, but you can also sing, and it'll be like this lovely musical quilt covering the audience.

— Renee Vaughan

While you’re looking at the Cedar website, musician Leslie Vincent recommends you check out a performance there on Sunday at 2 p.m. by Ben Cook-Feltz, with Ann Reed and Zippy Laske.

Leslie says: He's an INCREDIBLE singer and performer. His “Holiday Shindig” is coming up on December 14 and features lots of my other favorite performers in town, including Zippy Laske, who I'm obsessed with.

— Leslie Vincent

Voiceover actor Rebecca Brokaw-Sands is excited to see Rochester Repertory Theatre’s production of “Little Women: The Musical” this weekend.

Based on the classic story by Louisa May Alcott, the musical follows the four March sisters from childhood to adulthood. The remaining performances are tonight through Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 14 at 2 p.m.

Rebecca says: “Little Women” itself is a fantastic, heartwarming story that focuses on family and dreams and hope and following your own path, even when it's not the one that others would have chosen for you or the one that seems traditionally laid out by society.

The music is fantastic and supported very well by the voices in this cast. Amber Feind as Jo knocks it out of the park.

— Rebecca Brokaw-Sands

Stacy Bach is a band director at East Grand Forks High School, and she suggests coming back to her school’s auditorium this Sunday at 2:30 p.m. for the Greater Grand Forks Symphony Orchestra’s Yuletide Concert.

Expect holiday favorites, including Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker Suite,” plus classic carols that invite the audience to sing along. The winner of the Young Artist Concerto Competition will also be featured.

From MPR News, Art Hounds are members of the Minnesota arts community who look beyond their own work to highlight what’s exciting in local art. Their recommendations are lightly edited from the audio heard in the player above.

Want to be an Art Hound? Submit here.

Heidi Dybing of Lanesboro loves the arts scene in her community. She’s seen the Commonweal Theatre’s production of “A Sherlock Carol” twice and plans to go back for more.

The story, she says, is equal parts Sherlock Holmes mystery and Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” with recognizable lines from each woven into the script. The show runs through Dec. 21.

Heidi says: This show is absolutely fantastic. It's eye candy because of the amazing sets with the amazing vintage props all over the stage and the walls and the ceilings. It is very Victorian, with authentic Victorian costumes and music.

— Heidi Dybing

Joe Haus, former president of the Minnesota Guitar Society, recommends seeing the vibraphone and guitar team of Vincent Hyman and Robert Ekstrand in concert at Lynnhurst Congregational UCC in Minneapolis.

The duo will perform music spanning three centuries, including classical, jazz, and tango. The Lynnhurst choir will join them to perform Oscar Peterson’s “Hymn to Freedom,” a civil rights anthem. The concert is 7 p.m. Friday. Admission is free, with donations accepted for the Sabathani Food Shelf.

Joe says: Vince Hyman is one of the best vibe players in town. Bob Ekstrand has been playing guitar forever: playing in rock bands, playing as a solo blues artist, jazz ensembles studying classical guitar. I can't recommend them enough.

— Joe Haus

Megan McDonough is a high school theater director who celebrates the season by seeing “Letters to Santa... With a Twist,” a one-woman show by Janelle Ranek.

Each year, Ranek co-writes and performs 10 new and returning characters who update Santa on their year and share their holiday wishes. This year’s run is at Bryant Lake Bowl in Minneapolis, Dec. 5–22, with all shows at 7 p.m.

Megan says: This show is hilarious! It is, it is essentially an individual sketch comedy... the likes of a “Saturday Night Live,” or like a Smosh comedy, where she creates a character, runs with it for a few minutes, and then we change characters, and we get to meet somebody new right afterwards.

My favorite is Marjorie. She's a motivational speaker, and there's usually a prop that the audience gets when Marjorie comes up to talk to you.

— Megan McDonough

From MPR News, Art Hounds are members of the Minnesota arts community who look beyond their own work to highlight what’s exciting in local art. Their recommendations are lightly edited from the audio heard in the player above.

Want to be an Art Hound? Submit here.

Singer and voiceover actor Jen Maren always enjoys seeing the Twin Cities Women’s Choir perform. Their fall concert, whose theme is “Ignite!,” takes place 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 23 at South High School in Minneapolis.

Maren says: This is an incredible group that is 140 voices, all non-auditioned, but incredibly professionally sounding. There's percussion, there's a string quartet happening.

There's some great jazz arrangements that are happening. There's all six-part harmony of all these women's voices raised in song. And I don't know about you, but we're living in a rather divided time right now, so a little bit of harmony would actually be soothing to my soul.

— Jen Maren

Filmmaker Maxie Rockymore is looking forward to the inaugural Serpentina Arts Film Festival at 6 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 25. at The Parkway Theater in Minneapolis.

The free event promises a range of styles of short films, all created by Minnesota-based Latin filmmakers. The theme is “Celebrating Latinidad Through Short Films.”

Rockymore explains why this film festival is important to her: When people share stories, and share other people's stories, that's when we connect and realize that we are all one. That's what filmmaking, I think, does for people.

— Maxie Rockymore

Aaron Lohmeyer is an associate professor of music education and jazz band director at Winona State University, and he wants people to know about the holiday album release of a Winona band that’s also a family affair.

H3O Jazz Trio is the work of Eric Heukeshoven and his sons, Max and Hans, with wife Janet Heukeshoven as a frequent musical guest. They celebrate the release of their second album, “Combo Carols,” at the Steele County Historical Society in Owatonna at 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 22. The songs are mash-ups of holiday carols and jazz standards.

The trio also holds jam sessions at Two Fathoms Brewing in Winona on the third Sunday of every month.

Aaron says: One neat thing about the H3O trio is that their jam sessions also function as a fundraiser for area nonprofits. So it's not only a family band, but it's a band with a mission, and their commitment to give back to the community through music is really unique.

— Aaron Lohmeyer

From MPR News, Art Hounds are members of the Minnesota arts community who look beyond their own work to highlight what’s exciting in local art. Their recommendations are lightly edited from the audio heard in the player above.

Want to be an Art Hound? Submit here.

Mankwe Ndosi is a community-engaged artist at Pillsbury House + Theatre in Minneapolis. She admires the work of zAmya Theater, whose original plays focus on housing and homelessness, drawing from the lived experience of the communities in which they perform.

Their show, “Living in America: The Waiting List is Full,” takes place in conjunction with Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. The hour-long performances are today through Friday, Nov. 21, at venues across the Twin Cities, including Minneapolis Central Library, Westminster Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis and 825 Arts in St. Paul.

Mankwe says: I think this group is really important, because a lot of times when we talk about making change, often things are happening from the top down, from large institutions or academics or policy makers, and we really seldomly actually are listening to folks who are in some of the hardest challenges situations, but they actually have the most information about what works and what doesn't work.

And so I think in this time, when there is room for change and transformation, it's helpful to be able to see people who are living it, who are the experts, who are also the visionaries of how to transform what can be some of the toughest situations that people can experience.

— Mankwe Ndosi

Sara Rothholz Weiner is an architect and potter living in Minneapolis, and she recommends a visit to the Snakpak Gallery in the Longfellow Neighborhood, where a sidewalk community makers event is also happening this weekend. The gallery features the work of Jim Ockuly.

Sara says: Jim Ockluly’s witty and evocative art explores the relationship of image and language. It's quirky, it's fun, it's thought-provoking, and it's accessible to all audiences. He explores our world with a sense of irony and a big dose of wonder that's very relevant to our times.

This [weekend] event, importantly, includes several local artists and craftspeople from the Longfellow neighborhood on a sidewalk art show and yes, bundles of local firewood [will be] for sale with proceeds going to Soup For You Cafe, a local soup kitchen that's free for all.

— Sara Rothholz Weiner

Meghan Kreidler is a musician and actor in Minneapolis, and she’s shining a light on fellow musician Leslie Vincent, whose new album “Little Black Book” has its Twin Cities premiere on Sunday, Nov. 16 at the Parkway Theater in Minneapolis.

The jazz album of original songs explores the ups and downs of dating and marriage. Leslie and her band will be joined on Sunday by guest musician Jeremy Messersmith.

Meghan says: It's really hard not to fall in love with [Leslie] the minute she steps on stage. She just creates a really warm and fun atmosphere.

I remember the first time I ever saw Leslie perform, and it just felt really accessible and fun and kind of new, and it broke my kind of preconceived notions about what jazz can be and how it can feel from an audience perspective.

— Meghan Kreidler

From MPR News, Art Hounds are members of the Minnesota arts community who look beyond their own work to highlight what’s exciting in local art. Their recommendations are lightly edited from the audio heard in the player above.

Want to be an Art Hound? Submit here.

Singer-songwriter Molly Dean of Minneapolis sees the musical group Bizhiki perform as often as she can, and she plans to drive to Grand Marais to see their concert on Saturday, Nov. 8, at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts at 7 p.m.

Bizhiki consists of Dylan Bizhikiins Jennings (Bad River Ojibwe), Joe Rainey Sr. (Red Lake Ojibwe), and S. Carey (who is also drummer for Bon Iver). It's a multimedia performance, including video from filmmaker Finn Ryan.

The concert is presented by the North Shore Music Association, which Molly says curates “an excellent calendar of music throughout the year.”

Molly adds: I can recall the first time that I saw them. I was blown away by their performance, with the drumming and the vocal soundscapes. And I said, “I'm going to see them wherever I can.”

It's very multi-sensory. They have a vast array of instrumentation that they use, and then there's a beautiful visual backdrop. It's a film that they created to really support and amplify the storytelling aspect of it.

The first time that I saw them, it became pretty clear that the intention really is to engage the listener on many levels, and with a purpose of [creating] human connection.

— Molly Dean

Actor Natalie Rae Wass of Minneapolis recently saw “Apartment 2B” at Red Eye Theater. There are no words in this masked show, which brings the characters in an apartment building together with a dash of magical realism.

There are three more chances to catch the show: Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

Natalie says: It is a beautiful show that is created without spoken word. So it uses, of course, body language and scenery and lighting, music, sound effects to tell the story; but that makes it really universal and allows all of us to really see ourselves in every character.

We laugh at our shared annoyances and insecurities but also celebrate our shared triumphs, and you know the possibility of humanity coming together.

— Natalie Rae Wass

Doris Rubenstein of Richfield recommends exploring the art of letterpress printmaking at the “Just Letters” exhibit at the Olson Gallery at Bethel University in St. Paul.

There’s a reception and letterpress demonstration with David Wolske Thursday from 6–8 p.m. in the gallery. The show runs through Dec. 19.

The exhibit includes nine artists based in Minnesota and around the world. Rubenstein is a particular fan of Detroit-based Lynne Avadenka.

Doris says: Her resume is about as long as my left arm. I've seen her work, and I only wish I had room on my walls for some of it.

— Doris Rubenstein

From MPR News, Art Hounds are members of the Minnesota arts community who look beyond their own work to highlight what’s exciting in local art. Their recommendations are lightly edited from the audio heard in the player above.

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Musician Greg Herriges of Minneapolis recommends a date night or family trip to see Z Puppets Rosenschnoz’s performance of “Cellula.”

The show combines blacklight puppetry and live a capella music by improv vocalists Mankwe Ndosi and Libby Turner, zooming in on a story that takes place at the cellular level.

Performances take place at Sabathani Community Center in Minneapolis. Showtimes are Thursday at 5:30 p.m., Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. The show is recommended for ages 5 and up.

Microscope activity stations will be available 30 minutes before each show.

Greg says: It takes the world that you might see in a microscope and brings it to glow-in-the-dark life. It is educational, mesmerizing, funny.

The live music by Mankwe and Libby is somewhat improv-based, I believe, but it also includes intertwined melodies and sound effects to create just beautiful soundscape to this great fusion of art and science.

— Greg Herriges

Writer and playwright Kathleen Kenney Peterson of Winona plans to get into the Halloween spirit by attending “Mallory’s Ghost,” an original ghost story and murder mystery set in a haunted theater.

The play involves three heiresses and a ghost with something to say.

It’s written and produced by Margaret Shaw Johnson of Winona, who has written several plays and a book inspired by local hauntings. The show runs Friday, Oct. 24, through Sunday, Nov. 2. Tickets are available through the Great River Shakespeare Festival.

Kenney Peterson is also excited about the venue.

Kathleen says: The Historic Masonic Theatre here in Winona has been closed for two years for renovations, and this play will be the first opportunity the public has to be in the building for over two years!

— Kathleen Kenney Peterson

Folk musician Sarah Larsson of Minneapolis plans to see the Upper Midwest Folk Fiddlers perform at Tapestry Folkdance Center in Minneapolis, Thursday at 7 p.m.

Expect to hear — and dance to, if you choose — polkas, schottisches, waltzes and other traditional tunes.

Sarah says: I think maybe a lot of people know about folk music from Appalachia or from the American South. But turns out, of course, here in the Upper Midwest — Minnesota, Wisconsin, the Dakotas — there's folk music, too, that comes from the early 20th century and the middle of the 19th century.

What this group considers folk music from this region is all the music of different immigrants from Europe during that era, as well as Indigenous communities.

— Sarah Larsson

From MPR News, Art Hounds are members of the Minnesota arts community who look beyond their own work to highlight what’s exciting in local art. Their recommendations are lightly edited from the audio heard in the player above.

Want to be an Art Hound? Submit here.

Missy Polster, a former healthcare worker connected to the 210 Gallery in Sandstone, is passionate about art that intersects with social justice.

She highlights “Waiting for Beds,” a powerful exhibition featuring artists Moira Villiard and Carla Hamilton, alongside submissions from community members. It’s on view at the Morrison Gallery at the University of Minnesota Morris through Nov. 25.

Missy says: It's beautiful, it's moving and it does make you think, which is how I hope everybody wants art to be.

— Missy Polster

Chris Vondracek, a journalist for the Star Tribune currently based in Washington, D.C., recommends “Greater Minnesota: Exploring the Land of Sky-Blue Waters” by author Patrick Hicks.

Hicks, who teaches at Augustana University, takes readers across the state in a travelogue rich with regional nuance.

Hicks will speak and read from his book at St. John’s University in Collegeville Thursday at 7 p.m.

Chris says: I came away from it feeling just this absolute sense of how large and how boisterous and how impossibly contradictory sometimes Minnesota can be.

— Chris Vondracek

Olivia Norquist is the marketing and programming coordinator at the Grand Center for Arts and Culture in New Ulm. She recommends “Letters to the Void,” a solo exhibition by Eric Twait at the Paramount Center for the Arts in St. Cloud, running through November.

Twait will be present at an artist reception on Friday, Oct. 17, from 4 to 6 p.m. in Gallery C.

The show is a deeply personal exploration of grief following the loss of Twait’s' wife, Maria.

Olivia says: At our gallery, we actually had someone who left in tears after seeing the paintings.

— Olivia Norquist