Steve Cole Super Band: Since the Chicago saxophonist has been living in the Twin Cities, he connected with the Petersons. So the presence of keyboardist Ricky Peterson and vocalist Patty Peterson guarantee that this will be a funky good time. (7 & 9 p.m. Fri. Dakota, $20, dakotacooks.com)

Somi: Her seductively gauzy music reflects both her African and American roots. On her latest album, "The Lagos Music Salon," the Illinois-born singer of Rwandan and Ugandan heritage is joined by world-music queen Angelique Kidjo, rapper Common and jazz trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire. The New York singer, who composed this album while living in Nigeria, is a sophisticate who mixes jazz fusion, Afro pop, earnest R&B and delicate pop. She doesn't shy away from causes, singing about everything from environmental issues to the plight of domestic workers to the trial and tribulations of love. (7:30 p.m. Fri. Ordway, St. Paul, $27-$37, ordway.org.)

The Current's 12th Birthday: With a new album in the can for mid-year release, Jeremy Messersmith tops out the Friday lineup over Portland's "White Flag"-singing sister trio Joseph, dramatic Philly rockers Strand of Oaks and Afrobeat groovers Black Market Brass Band. Haley Bonar rides fresh acclaim for her latest record, "Impossible Dream," to headline Saturday with New York's hotly hyped psychedelic pop teens the Lemon Twigs, Montreal tunesmith Sam Roberts and local newbies ZuluZuluu and Monica LaPante. (8 p.m. Fri. & Sat. 1/27-28, First Avenue, Mpls., $20/night, eTix.com.)

Rachel Platten: "The Fight Song" hitmaker is trying to prove she's not a one-hit wonder. She's certainly trying to be a careerist, what with doing the National Anthem at the 2016 World Series and singing at the New Year's Rockin' Eve in New York City. Hailey Knox opens. (8 p.m. Fri. Mystic Lake, $39-$54., mysticlake.com)

Winter Jazz Festival: This year's annual celebration will feature some fascinating history and terrific live music. The history comes from the late DJ Leigh Kamman, whose interviews with Oscar Peterson, Art Tatum and others have been edited into a 35-minute video. The Saturday program will include jazz films from the Bob DeFlores collection. The hot music comes from ace New Orleans trumpeter Nicholas Payton with his Afro-Caribbean Mixtape ensemble, Chicago pianist Jon Weber, Patty Peterson's Jazz Women All-Stars and others. (Sat.-Sun. Various venues in St. Paul, prices vary, twincitiesjazzfestival.com/winter

50 Cent: Fourteen years since he got rich off the Dr. Dre-anchored hit single "In da Club," the real-life Curtis Jackson is more prone to get into a Twitter war with Emmy voters than a gunfight with gangstas. He stars in and produces the Starz TV series "Power" but hasn't had a hit single in a decade. So is 50 really worth $50-plus tickets? We'll see. He has been working on a long-delayed album, "Street King Immortal," for going on five years and has hinted it will be his last. Tech N9ne cohort Riitz opens. (7 p.m. Sat., Myth, Maplewood, all ages, $50-$175, eTix.com.)

Catie Curtis: The Boston singer-songwriter is calling it quits after more than 25 years on the road. A longtime voice in the world of women's music, she's about to drop another album, "While We're Here," on Friday. Various songs have references about moving on — both from a relationship and from life. She's ready for a change but hasn't announced plans beyond this final tour, which she bills as "The Last Outing." (7:30 p.m. Sun. Cedar Cultural Center, Mpls. $20-$25, thecedar.org)

Charlie Parr: The singular folk/blues troubadour has been earning especially strong raves for his monthlong Sunday night residency, which wraps this weekend with fellow Duluthians Feeding Leroy for openers. (8 p.m. Sun., Turf Club, $10-$12.)

Dashboard Confessional: Chris Carraba's emo-pop outfit had devoted fans before "Screaming Infidelities," and 15 years after the big hit they're still there, although the band's new EP of covers by Justin Bieber and the 1975 might have a few of them on the fence. (7:30 p.m. Sun., First Avenue, $27.50.)

Nellie McKay: The New York cabaret darling is bringing her one-woman show "A Girl Named Bill," about longtime jazz piano man Billy Tipton, who performed for several decades before his 1989 autopsy revealed that he was really a woman. Read an interview with McKay in Sunday's Star Tribune. (7 p.m. Mon.-Wed. Dakota, $35-$50, dakotacooks.)

AFI: Goth-punk hero Davey Havok and his cult-loved band just dropped their first album in four years last week, "AFI (The Blood Album)," offering a noticeable balance of their more hardcore earlier records alongside the more polished sound of late. They're hitting smaller-than-normal rooms to hype its release with new wavy electro-rock band Chain Gang of 1974 opening. (8 p.m. Mon., First Avenue, Mpls., $28, eTix.com.)

Danny B. Harvey and Annie Marie Lewis: Rockabilly/punk vet Harvey fronted the Rockats and played in the short-lived HeadCat with Lemmy from Motörhead and Slim Jim from the Stray Cats. Lewis is the niece of one Jerry Lee Lewis. (9 p.m., Hook & Ladder Theatre, Mpls. $7-$10.)