Our guide to pop and rock shows and the best of live jazz.
Pop
BIG FREEDIA at Brooklyn Bowl (Dec. 15, 11:59 p.m.). A performance by the Beyoncé-approved New Orleans musician Big Freedia is a boisterous, kinetic event: Bodies move, beats knock, spirits lift. In times as dreary as these, such celebrations are welcome. It’s a good thing that Freedia is in town for this midnight show (rescheduled from a planned October date). Go forth and bounce.
718-963-3369, brooklynbowl.com
KEVIN DEVINE at Music Hall of Williamsburg (Dec. 16, 8:30 p.m.). A gifted power-pop artist with melodic instincts that recall Elliott Smith and a political bent that’s closer to Phil Ochs, Kevin Devine has built a devoted cult of fans since his days fronting the emo-leaning early-2000s band Miracle of 86. His 2016 album, “Instigator,” showcased his versatility and depth, and this hometown show is a good bet for those who appreciate thoughtful, catchy songcraft.
888-929-7849, musichallofwilliamsburg.com
SAMANTHA FISH at the Cutting Room (Dec. 16, 9:30 p.m.). This rigorously retro-minded blues/soul singer and guitarist has won impressive plaudits for her work in recent years, including a spot on the New York Times critic Jon Caramanica’s list of the best albums of 2017 for her “Chills & Fever.” Lively and deeply felt, it’s the kind of recording that suggests an even more fun time in concert.
212-691-1900, thecuttingroomnyc.com
HOLIDAY CHEER FOR FUV at Beacon Theater (Dec. 15, 8 p.m.). Like many public radio stations, Fordham University’s WFUV-FM depends largely on its listeners’ generosity to fund its continued operation. The latest installment of the station’s yearly fund-raising concert, coming to the Upper West Side on Friday night, will feature an impressive roster of singer-songwriters with subtle senses of humor — Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, Aimee Mann and Randy Newman — as well as the Los Angeles indie-pop group Lo Moon.
800-745-3000, beacontheatre.com
LIL UZI VERT at Terminal 5 (Dec. 17-18, 7 p.m.). If you’re still among those who don’t quite get Lil Uzi Vert, it’s past time to admit defeat. This has been a breakthrough year for the stylish 23-year-old rapper, whose alienated anthem “XO Tour Llif3” has been streamed nearly 150 million times. Once an underground legend, he is now a certified pop star, able to fill a large venue like Terminal 5 in Midtown for two nights in a row without breaking a sweat. With Playboi Carti. (Tickets for the Dec. 17 show are sold out, but some remain for Dec. 18.)
888-929-7849, terminal5nyc.com
LITTLE STEVEN AND THE DISCIPLES OF SOUL at Brooklyn Bowl (Dec. 20, 8 p.m.). When he’s not touring the world as part of the E Street Band, playing a mobster on TV or hosting his satellite radio show, Steven Van Zandt fronts this old-school rock ’n’ roll group, which has existed in various incarnations on and off since the early 1980s. Mr. Van Zandt, who released a very good solo album (“Soulfire”) last spring, will bring the 2017 edition of the Disciples of Soul to Brooklyn on Wednesday.
718-963-3369, brooklynbowl.com
ODESZA at Barclays Center (Dec. 15, 7:30 p.m.). The latest in a longish succession of arena-level dance-music acts who think like pop songwriters — think a more relaxed Avicii, or a smoother Moby — this duo was recently nominated for a pair of Grammy Awards. Fans will have to wait until next month to see if the group wins either trophy, but in the meantime, they can enjoy the pyrotechnic-laden Odesza live experience at this Brooklyn show.
917-618-6700, barclayscenter.com
SIMON VOZICK-LEVINSON
Jazz
KENNY BARRON at the Village Vanguard (through Dec. 24, 8:30 and 10:30 p.m.). Mr. Barron, a pianist and National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master, this weekend finishes a six-night run at the Vanguard with his quintet. He then takes a break on Monday before moving into another week of shows, this time with his trio. Molten and bluesy, Mr. Barron is equally indebted to the tweaked angularity of Thelonious Monk and the graceful parlance of Hank Jones; he’s one of jazz’s unassailable piano gurus. His trio includes Kiyoshi Kitagawa on bass and Johnathan Blake on drums.
212-255-4037, villagevanguard.com
DICK HYMAN at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola (Dec. 18-19, 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.). The pianist Mr. Hyman, 90, is perhaps jazz’s foremost practitioner of classic ragtime and stride technique. His remarkable precision and playful articulation will be on full display at this two-note run, when he performs solo.
212-258-9595, jazz.org/dizzys
SHOKO NAGAI and SATOSHI TAKEISHI’S VORTEX with BRIAN DRYE QUINTET at iBeam Brooklyn (Dec. 16, 8:30 p.m.). One could say that Ms. Nagai, a pianist and accordionist, is defined by her dynamics. She can play clusters of dissonant or oddly harmonized notes with a rolling momentum and a tonal sensitivity that become their own comforting logic. That’s especially the case when she’s working with the percussionist Satoshi Taeishi. Here the duo appears on a bill with the accomplished trombonist Brian Drye, whose quintet features Charlotte Greve on alto saxophone, Jonathan Goldberger on guitar, Matt Pavolka on bass and Jeff Davis on drums.
ibeambrooklyn.com
ERIC REVIS at the Jazz Gallery (Dec. 20-21, 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.). A bassist of bracing power and relentless solidity, Mr. Revis this year released a powerful album, “Sing Me Some Cry.” Central to its appeal was his rugged, protean tug-of-war with the pianist Kris Davis and the drummer Chad Taylor. That rhythm section appears at these shows — along with the alto saxophonist Darius Jones and the tenor saxophonist Bill McHenry — where Mr. Revis will debut a set of new compositions commissioned by the Jazz Gallery.
646-494-3625, jazzgallery.nyc
SARA SERPA AND CITY FRAGMENTS at the Cornelia Street Cafe (Dec. 15, 8:30 and 10 p.m.). Ms. Serpa, a Portuguese vocalist with a crisp, round tone, typically sings without words; she knows how to cut an unexpected melodic path while still conveying confidence and comfort. City Fragments is an ambitious project featuring two other vocalists, Sofía Rei and Aubrey Johnson, as well as the guitarist André Matos, the cellist Erik Friedlander and the drummer Tyshawn Sorey. Here they will perform original material Ms. Serpa composed in response to the work of Luce Irigaray, a feminist linguist and philosopher.
212-989-9319, corneliastreetcafe.com
STONEFEST at the New School’s Tishman Auditorium (Dec. 17-19, 7 p.m.). The Stone, the beloved avant-garde performance space on the Lower East Side, is transitioning into new digs at the New School, where it will move permanently at the end of February. In anticipation, the university is hosting a three-day festival, featuring a potent lineup of improvisers, at its Tishman Auditorium. On Sunday, the headliners include the guitarist Mary Halvorson’s quartet and the pianist Craig Taborn. The following night, the Kris Davis Trio will play, along with a large band performing John Zorn’s “Cobra,” an improvisation-driven composition. On Tuesday, the drummer Milford Graves leads a trio and the inventive trumpeter Peter Evans gives a solo set.
thestonenyc.com
‘STORYVILLE STOMP: THE LAST NIGHT IN STORYVILLE’ at Symphony Space (Dec. 16, 7:30 and 10 pm.). As part of this year’s New York Hot Jazz Festival, Symphony Space presents a night of New Orleans music meant to evoke the sound and atmosphere of the famous red light district where much of jazz’s earliest history took place. Appearing across multiple stages on the venue’s downstairs level, performers will include Aurora Nealand and the Royal Roses, Jon-Erik Kellso’s Mahogany Hall Pleasure Society Jazz Band with Mara Kaye, Dennis Lichtman’s Hottet, and the blues singer Blind Boy Paxton.
212-864-5400, symphonyspace.org
GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO
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