From 'Open Road' to the NorShor

Martin Sexton's "Mixtape of the Open Road" is a 12-song collection that ranges from clean cut, aw-shucks and winky to straight forward and bluesy to, well, pretty. The 2015 release is the most recent for Sexton, a hard-touring singer-songwriter who has always made Duluth a regular stop. Also playing: Chris Trapper, who claims John Prine and Kris Kristofferson as early influences.

Sexton and Trapper play at 8 p.m. Jan. 12 at the NorShor Theatre, 211 E. Superior St. Tickets: $33.50 at www.jadepresents.com or cash only at the NorShor box office.

Get 'Ruthless'

Tina, age 8, really wants to be Pippi Longstocking in the school play. Like, really. So the child thespian, miscast as the understudy, takes matters into her own hands and voila! Murder. And so it goes with "Ruthless!: The Musical," an all-female campy cult comedy about the theater - the ambitions, the hidden identities, the momagers - opening today at The Underground. This one has satirical shades of "All About Eve," "Gypsy" and "The Bad Seed."

"Ruthless!: The Musical" is at 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday through Jan. 26 at The Underground, 506 W. Michigan St. Tickets: $20 at www.duluthplayhouse.org.

Homegrown lite

Get a fever for the flavor of the fest: The Homegrown Winter Fiasco is a small-scale take on Homegrown Music Festival. There will be 17 bands at seven venues in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. There will be a free shuttle between the shows

The lineup includes artists like Aurora Baer, Jacob Mahon and the Salty Dogs, Zenith City Groove Collection and MRS. & The Sordid Affairs.

Homegrown Winter Fiasco is Jan. 11 in Lincoln Park. Free, open to the public.

SCHEDULE

Lake Superior Brewing, all ages

6:15 p.m.: Hannah Rey

7:15 p.m.: Zakk & Bella

Duluth Folk School, all ages

6:45 p.m.: Aurora Baer

7:45 p.m.: NorShore Summit

8:45 p.m.: The Slamming Doors

Ursa Minor Brewing, all ages

7 p.m.: Jacob Mahon & the Salty Dogs

8 p.m.: Prone

Duluth Cider, all ages

7:30 p.m.: Mint Vintage

8:30 p.m.: JamesG

Bent Paddle, all ages

8 p.m.: JayGee

9 p.m.: Zenith City Groove Collective

10 p.m.: Mallards

Caddy Shack, 21+

9:15 p.m.: Big Into

10:15 p.m.: The Great Unwilling

11:15 p.m.: MRS. & The Sordid Affairs

To spill or not to spill

Next up for the NorShor Theatre's Classic Film Series: Marlon Brando could have been a contender. In "On The Waterfront" (1954), Brando plays Terry, a boxer-turned-dock worker with unwanted ties to the mob. Things get extra terrible when he witnesses a gang-related murder. "On The Waterfront," directed by Elia Kazan, won a bunch of Academy Awards - including Best Picture.

The theater's series includes a screening of an old film, followed by a discussion with local movie-heads like Jody Kujawa, Jason Scorich and Justin Peck, who stick around after the movie.

"On The Waterfront" plays as part of the Classic Films Series at 7 p.m. Jan. 13 at the NorShor Theatre, 211 E. Superior St. Tickets: $12.

Keno Evol to give spoken word performance at Prove

The Spirit Lake Poetry Series is hosting an award-winning spoken word artist, teacher and the founder of the non-profit Black Table Arts on Saturday at Prove Gallery.

Keno Evol won the 2017 Sonia Sanchez-Langston Hughes Poetry Contest with "on meeting a brother for the first time," a piece that opens with the titular brother not showing up. He's received multiple grants and fellowships, has been published in Split This rock, Radius Lit and Vinyl and has performed, taught and led workshops around the country. He was raised in Minneapolis.

Keno Evol will perform at 7 p.m. Jan. 12 at Prove Gallery, 21 N. Lake Ave. Tickets: Free, open to the public.