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

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

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

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.