Yes, it is supposed to warm up considerably by the end of the week. But folks at the George Latimer Central Library in downtown St. Paul want to crank it up a few degrees warmer still.

Hot Music for Cold Nights, a free series to chase the winter blues away with music and dance from warmer climates, hits the downtown library on Sunday, Jan. 18, with a performance by the Tropics Steel Drum Band. The 2 p.m. show will be in the Magazine Room.

Steel drum style comes from Trinidad and Tobago. Steel bands play on instruments that began as oil drums -- refined over the last 60 years.

The Tropics Steel band draws from Caribbean styles such as Calypso, Reggae, SKA, Soca, pop and others. The leader is Jahbee, a former player with Shangoya, a popular Twin Cities Reggae group.

For more information on this and other Hot Nights performances, go to: http://www.sppl.org/hotmusic