Going back to their Welcome to Minnesota tours of the early 2010s, hip-hop veterans Slug and Ant have made it a tradition to hit the road with Atmosphere in the dead of winter to fire up Middle America fans. They usually bring along some hot, young talent for the cold rides as opening acts. Marking their 30th year of making music, though, they’re bringing out some other veteran acts this time, including one of their heroes, Kool Keith, the Bronx rap giant known from Ultramagnetic MCs and his Dr. Octagon alter-ego. Longtime firebrand cohort Sage Francis also is out with them, along with R.A. the Rugged Man and Mr. Dibbs. (6:30 p.m. Feb. 1, First Avenue, 701 1st Av. N., Mpls., resale tickets only, axs.com)

CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER

Calling themselves the “gremlins of the bluegrass world,” this all-women quartet from Colorado has a reputation for its bawdy stage presence but the 2025 debut studio album, “Girl Dinner,” is mostly mild-mannered and delectable. However, Big Richard’s pickers aren’t shy about kicking out the jams as evidenced on the fiddle-fueled instrumental “Beards Brushing in the Night” and the barn-burner “Deal Me In.” At last summer’s Blue Ox fest in Eau Claire, Big Richard showed its sense of adventure with interpretations of hits by Chris Isaak and Pink Floyd. (8 p.m. Jan. 28, Turf Club, 1601 University Ave. W., St. Paul, axs.com)

JON BREAM

After three elegant folk-rock LPs for the venerable Verve record label — one a Grammy nominee for best Americana album — the Kenyan singer/songwriter who moved to Minnesota out of love for Bob Dylan is going electric. Ondara (aka J.S. Ondara) is touring for the first time with a full band, dubbed the Jet Stone Conspiracy, featuring a collective of musicians he’s met in his widespread travels to various cities. They already toured the Western states and are now headed east and then to Europe, playing “reimagined” versions of Ondara’s album tracks, including all-too-relevant songs inspired by his immigrant past, such as “American Dream” and “An Alien in Minneapolis.” (8 p.m. Jan. 30, Cedar Cultural Center, 416 Cedar Av. S., Mpls., $23, all ages, thecedar.org)

C.R.

Sort of England’s answer to Pink, the powerhouse, “Bang Bang” singer has had major life challenges in recent years: She was diagnosed with Ménière’s disease, suffered a miscarriage, had breast cancer surgery and welcomed her first child. Last year, Jessie J dropped her sixth album, “Don’t Tease Me with a Good Time,” her first full-length LP in eight years. It’s an introspective, 16-song collection filled with R&B and pop ballads and danceable bops, with her strong, soulful voice being the through line. (8:30 p.m. Jan. 31, First Avenue, 701 1st Av. N., Mpls., axs.com)

This veteran jazz ensemble gained attention recently for backing out of a New Year’s Eve gig at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., because of how the institution is being run under a new board of directors. But the Cookers should be garnering attention for their splendid hard-bop musicianship. The players have more than 250 years of experience in jazz and have been heard on more than 1,000 recordings, by a who’s who including Sonny Rollins, Charles Lloyd and Dexter Gordon. The two younger Cookers, 60-something trumpeter David Weiss and saxophonist Donald Harrison, have played with Herbie Hancock, Freddie Hubbard and Art Blakey, among others. (7 p.m. Feb. 1, the Dakota, 1010 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., $52.25 and up, dakotacooks.com)

J.B.

If you’re not familiar with composer Florence Price, that’s unsurprising, for it was extremely difficult for an African American woman to get her work noticed in the 1930s and ‘40s. Nevertheless, she had both a symphony and piano concerto performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and had her songs championed by opera star Marian Anderson. Minnesota Opera is making a major contribution to the music world’s rediscovery of Price with an opera it commissioned from composer B.E. Boykin and St. Paul-based librettist Harrison David Rivers. (7:30 p.m. Jan. 31, Feb. 5 & 7, 2 p.m. Feb. 8, Ordway Music Theater, 345 Washington St., St. Paul, $7-$275, 612-333-6669 or mnopera.org)

ROB HUBBARD

They’re killers with killer moves and even more dangerous looks. Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart, murderesses of the Jazz Age, return to Minneapolis for a spell in winter. Claire Marshall stars as Velma and Ellie Roddy is Roxie in the national tour of “Chicago,” the longest-running show currently on Broadway. The John Kander and Fred Ebb musical offers an entertaining escape from news and weather. (7:30 p.m. Jan. 27-30, 2 & 7:30 p.m. Jan. 31, 1 & 6:30 p.m. Feb. 1, Orpheum Theatre, 910 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls., $59 and up, hennepinarts.org)

Travel back in time to the late 1920s through the early 1940s, when America dealt with the Great Depression, social unrest and the rise of industrial manufacturing. Painters and photographers of that era explored life during this difficult time. In this exhibition, see photographs by Walker Evans and Dorothea Lange, paintings by Harry Gottlieb and Edmund Lewandowski, and more. Everything in this show is from the personal collection of Mia supporters Dan Shogren and Susan Meyer. Ends June 14. (10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue., Thu., Fri.-Sun., 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Thu., 2400 3rd Av. S., Mpls., free, new.artsmia.org or 612-870-3000)

ALICIA ELER

Visitors can explore ideas of community, the urban environment and natural landscape in this long-term exhibition at the Walker Art Center. The section “Kith and Kin” focuses on friends and family, while the city section considers public spaces. The show is grounded in “home,” and runs for three more years. Visitors will recognize some Walker favorites, such as Edward Hopper’s iconic painting “Office at Night.” Ends April 29, 2029. (10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wed., Fri.-Sun., 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Thu., 725 Vineland Place, Mpls., $9-$18, free for EBT cardholders, ages 18 & under, citizens and members of Tribal Nations, Walker members, walkerart.org or 612-375-7600)

A.E.

“The Coolest Celebration on Earth” may be turning 140 this year, but old and stodgy it is not. Of course there are the standard favorites of walking tours, Rice Park Ice Bar, Vulcan Victory Torchlight Parade, Klondike Kate, snow and ice sculptures and other activities. New attractions this year include “Snow Queen’s Gambit,” an interactive Winter Carnival Mystery, a women in hockey display and Winter Carnival kites on ice. (Event times and locations vary through Feb. 1, see website for details, wintercarnival.com)