FRIDAY: American R&B/soul artist Queen Naija plays Fortune Sound Club.

FRIDAY: Bill Mays and the Toronto Chamber Jazz Septet give holiday classics a jazzy edge at West Van's Kay Meek Arts Centre.

FRIDAY: Swing Night at the Vancouver Alpen Club features performance by the Impressions Big Band and friends.

FRIDAY: American rapper Childish Gambino (a.k.a. actor Donald Glover) plays Rogers Arena, with guest Rae Sremmurd.

SATURDAY: CapU alumnus Gord Grdina teams up with his quartet of New York City-based performers at the BlueShore Financial Centre for the Performing Arts.

SATURDAY: Nashville-based singer-songwriter Conner Youngblood performs tunes from his debut album Cheyenne at the Fox Cabaret.

SATURDAY: experimental electronic musician the Soft Moon plays the Fortune Sound Club, with guests Hide and Vive Le Void.

SATURDAY: the Big Easy Funk Ensemble performs New Orleans funk and holiday classics at the Fairview Pub.

SATURDAY: Bill Mays & The Toronto Chamber Jazz Septet perform a jazzy version of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite at Maple Ridge's ACT Arts Centre.

SATURDAY: Martina Griffiths performs jazzed-up selection of holiday themed songs at XY.

SATURDAY: tributes to Elvis, Roy Orbsion, Connie Francis, Patsy Cline, and Brenda Lee are performed at the Royal Canadian Legion, Crescent Branch.

SUNDAY: local blues act the Steve Kozak Band, featuring singer-guitarist Kozak, plays Blue Martini Jazz Cafe.

SUNDAY: acoustic guitarist and composer Jacob Seyer performs new music at St. James Hall.

SUNDAY: alternative electronic act from Europe, VNV Nation, plays the Imperial, with guests Holygram and the Rain Within.

SUNDAY: the Saxalamode Quartet plays jazz tunes, movie themes, and tangos at the Vancouver Public Library.

SUNDAY: Jazz Vespers features music by the Mark Glanville Jazz Quintet, interwoven with Christian liturgy, at Grandview Calvary Baptist Church.

SUNDAY: Three Queens--jazz vocalists Jennifer Scott, Karin Plato, and Kate Hammett-Vaughn, with trumpeter Brad Turner--play Surrey's Northwood United Church.