In connection with local bands, Flavor World helps sponsor house concerts at The Chop Shop, a DIY venue in Southeast Como. Flavor World started as a clothing brand but has since grown into a record label set on exploring all types of artistic media.

“[Flavor World] started as an outlet for my creative endeavors, and as it’s grown, it’s kind of become an outlet for other people’s creative endeavors,” said Drew Kinkade, the founder of Flavor World.

This collaboration comes after years of Como house shows.

“Como has a really rich culture of house shows,” said Elijah Awada, co-founder of The Chop Shop.

There have long been DIY house venues around the area. But, because most of the houses are rented, they last for one or two years, gain a kind of a legendary status and then go away, according to Awada.

Awada cited The Aquarium as one specific inspiration. The Aquarium was another DIY venue in a house in Como, active until the hosts’ lease ended in August.

“I like the idea that we are a part of this culture,” Awada said.

Como’s population of mainly University students and young adults creates a high demand for the types of concerts The Chop Shop hosts: providing cheap tickets, rowdy crowds and an easily accessible location. This was evident at their show on March 18, with an attendance of about 250 people.

The night included performances by Nothing to Do, The Culture, Rawtwhylah and ZippoMan, all met by a lively crowd.

“You’re really just feeding off the energy of your own community,” said Charmaine Douglas, the leader and manager of The Culture, an alternative neo-soul rock band.

The Culture is currently working on an album called “Morning Glory,” which they hope to adapt into a short film this summer.

The Chop Shop co-founders want to host a diverse collection of bands, whether that’s rock, punk, jazz, R&B or anything else, according to Awada.

“It’s really cool to not be in a bar,” said Mike Green, who played for the third time at The Chop Shop on March 18, this time with drummer Rawtwhylah. “It’s kind of nice to have just more like a community of people.”

The Chop Shop, with support from Flavor World, hopes to help grow the music scene in the Twin Cities, according to Chop Shop co-founder Beck Schacht. By creating space for emerging artists to play and be heard, they continue to work toward this goal.

The Chop Shop’s most recent show was on March 25, with performances by Big Delicious, Lunar Moth, Scam Likely and Dial Tone.

The Chop Shop’s next show is scheduled for April 15 with the lineup yet to be announced.

National and local comics are performing at The Market at Malcolm Yards’ Pay Gap Comedy Series, a show designed to highlight women and nonbinary people, every Wednesday during Women’s History Month.

The food hall in Prospect Park hosts the series with about four performers each night. The shows are free of charge with donations encouraged.

The comedy series is arranged by Rock What You Got, a St. Paul-based organization that amplifies the voices of women and nonbinary people through education and entertainment.

Carolyn Pool, an event specialist with Rock What You Got, said they came up with the idea several years ago after a national comedy tour failed to include women comedians. In response, Pool and others partnered with Twin Cities venues to host female comics, selling out their shows.

“That told us something. That one, women are funny, and two, people want to see women be funny,” Pool said.

At the show on March 1, performances by Ashli Henderson, Wendy Maybury and more were met by a lively crowd.

“When you can say something that gets a crowd of people laughing, there’s no other high,” Henderson said.

With more than 97,000 Instagram followers, Henderson uses comedy to discuss her experiences as a mother, a Black woman and a member of the LGBTQ+ community. The Pay Gap series’ focus on women excited Henderson.

“I live in this body everyday — you know what I’m saying — and I have so many different experiences on so many different levels as a woman,” Henderson said.

Aspen Hoppie, an audience member at the March 1 performance, found the comedians’ subject matter refreshing.

“We don’t get to talk about this stuff in everyday life,” she said, referring to the comedians’ discussions of sex and womanhood. “It’s fun to be in an environment where people are just fully out there.”

“My whole life I’ve just paid attention to what makes people laugh,” said Cianna Violet, a comedian who performed with the Pay Gap Comedy Series on March 15. Violet has been pursuing comedy for about two years and also produces a show called Ladies Night at The Terminal Bar in Northeast Minneapolis.

Violet said there are a lot of women in comedy in the Twin Cities, but she still sometimes feels her perspective is misunderstood. She is burdened by the thought that her performance will impact the way audiences treat other female comedians in the future, she said.

The biggest thing Pool has learned organizing the series is the Twin Cities comedy scene is highly diverse and very funny. In addition to being woman-focused, Rock What You Got aims to include a racially diverse group of people.

“All art is going to die if we just keep pandering to one group of people,” Pool said.

Gallery|3 Photos

Photo courtesy of Vy Nguyen.

Students, faculty and staff at the University of Minnesota Department of Theatre Arts and Dance will perform their spring concert, “MOVES!” at the Barbara Barker Center for Dance on Saturday and Sunday.

“MOVES!” features contemporary dance excerpts and pieces based on the performers’ lived experiences. Several students will also show their pieces at the American College Dance Association regional conference in Lincoln, Nebraska, in March.

Hina Sasaki is a dance major at the University who will present a piece titled “16-22,” a coming-of-age piece about her struggles growing up and leaving home.

“I really wanted to move away from my family when I was younger, but I just realized that they are supporting me a lot,” Sasaki said.

Sasaki, who grew up dancing as a toddler in Japan, said her piece is influenced by Japanese, Black and Western cultures.

University dance student Vy Nguyen will present a three-part contemporary piece she said will tackle the ways we move through life. Nguyen’s contemporary dance explores control – when we have it, when we don’t and when we surrender the idea of having it.

Nguyen started dancing ballet for the tutus. However, her dedication persisted, and she decided to pursue dance further when she chose to come to the University.

“Seeing the way that the staff and the performers that we got to work with handle themselves and go through life with a dance career, it was just super intriguing to me and made me really want to dive in,” Nguyen said.

One dance performer and guest lecturer, Elayna Waxse, will be showcasing her choreography in an excerpt from a longer piece titled “Swan Song,” which features student dancers at the University. It focuses on how people take care of each other during life transitions, she said.

Waxse created the piece last semester as a visiting artist working with students. Although the piece is autobiographical, Waxse said conversations and journals from students informed the movement.

Dancing ballet as a child into her early career, Waxse has now shifted her focus to contemporary dance, the style of most pieces in the spring concert.

Waxse said she finds it difficult to describe the genre in specific terms.

“Modern dance was in reaction to ballet, contemporary was in reaction to modern,” Waxse said. “There’s no right answer, and it’s not about finding the hidden meaning.”

Nguyen has her own explanation.

“It’s more than just a dance form,” Nguyen said. “It has the basics of ballet techniques and stuff like that, but I like the freedom to break that at any moment.”

Tickets for “MOVE!” are for $8 students and $18 for the general public and are available at the University’s Tickets and Events page. Due to weather, the Friday night performance was canceled, but as of Thursday, the Saturday and Sunday shows will run as planned. Shows will run at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday.