National Book Awards

Thursday, Oct. 3

Winter storms spoiled Concordia College’s National Book Awards event last spring, and prompted the annual gathering of acclaimed authors to move to Thursday, Oct. 3. Fiction winner Sigrid Nunez will read from and discuss her exploration of friendship and grief, “The Friend,” a look at a writer who is distraught when a friend dies by suicide and leaves behind a dog in search of a new person. Similarly, Victoria Johnson will read excerpts and discuss the remarkable life of a botanist in the 1800s in the nonfiction finalist “American Eden: David Hosack, Botany, and Medicine in the Garden of the Early Republic.” Readings start at 7:30 p.m. in the Centrum, Knutson Campus Center. This event is free and open to the public.

‘Noises Off’

Thursday, Oct. 3, through Saturday, Oct. 5

Fargo-Moorhead is really kicking off the theater year tickling the funny bones. Just weeks after Fargo-Moorhead Community Theatre kicked off its season with “Noises Off,” the students at Minnesota State University Moorhead dust off the madcap classic. The theatrical farce kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday in the Hansen Theatre, MSUM. Tickets range from $10 to $20.

Dropkick Murphys & Clutch

Thursday, Oct. 3

Rocktober gets off to a rollicking start with a rambunctious double bill Thursday at Bluestem Amphitheater , 801 50th Ave. S., Moorhead. Dropkick Murphys return to Fargo-Moorhead for another night of Boston Irish-brewed punk and bagpipe blasts. Clutch brings the bottom end with its rumbling groove and boogie. Hatebreed and Amigo the Devil open the show at 6:15 p.m. Tickets range from $35 to $75.

The Doobie Brothers

Thursday, Oct. 3

In the 1970s, few bands could match the groove The Doobie Brothers were in. Spinning out hits like “Listen to the Music,” “Jesus is Just Alright,” “China Grove,” “Long Train Runnin,’” “Black Water,” “Takin’ it to the Streets” and “What a Fool Believes,” the group rolled out some monster hits. The Brothers are back on the road, pulling heavily from the 1973 album, “The Captain and Me.” The Doobies play the classics on Thursday at the Fargo Civic Center, 207 Fourth St. N. The music starts at 8 p.m. with tickets ranging from $59.50 to $135.

Friday, Oct. 4

Macabre metalheads Ghost return to town just in time for some pre-Halloween doom tunes. The haunting headbangers are touring behind their Grammy-nominated album, “Prequelle,” and fans for the Saturday show at Scheels Arena , 5225 31st Ave. S., Fargo, may want to dress up as the lead singer Tobias Forge in his Papa Emeritus outfits or in the newer Cardinal Copia, or as the unnamed demon musicians behind him. While costumes are welcomed, Scheels officials warned that attendees must have recognizable faces at the door and that masks and makeup may need to be removed. Nothing More opens the show at 7:30 p.m. Tickets range from $29.50 to $69.50.

Studio Crawl

Saturday, Oct. 5, & Sunday, Oct. 6

Get an up-close look at the creative process this weekend with the Fargo-Moorhead Visual Artists' Studio Crawl. From noon to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, area artists in all kinds of medium open up their shops and invite the public to see how and where they work. The tour is free and open to the public, with many artists selling works from their site. Go online to find a map to all of the participating locations; www.fmva.org/studio-crawl.

Family Concert: A Symphony Matinee

Sunday, Oct. 6

One week after the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra’s season opener, musicians are playing another first, the first family concert in recent years. The Fargo Theatre, 314 Broadway, will be filled with Disney tunes (“The Little Mermaid,” “Lion King,” “Toy Story” and more) as well as classical numbers kids may recognize from cartoons, like Rossini’s “Barber of Seville,” used by Bugs Bunny. Music starts at 3 p.m. Tickets range from $10 to $20.