Pop and Rock Listings for Jan. 7-13

Prices may not include ticketing service charges. Full reviews of recent concerts: nytimes.com/music.

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy (Monday) In the late 1990s the success of the independent film “Swingers” facilitated an odd pop renaissance for the big band music of the 1930s and ’40s. Although the resurrection proved (mercifully) fleeting, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy keeps on tooting, bedecked in fedora and sharp slacks. At 8 p.m., B. B. King Blues Club & Grill, 237 West 42nd Street, Manhattan , (212) 997-4144, bbkingblues.com; $25 in advance, $30 at the door. (Amanda Petrusich)20110106

The English Beat (Sunday) Although it recently celebrated its 30th anniversary, the British ska band the English Beat hasn’t released a new record since “Special Beat Service” (Two Tone) in 1982, and its current incarnation — or at least the version touring the United States — includes only one original member, the vocalist Dave Wakeling. With Brooklyn Rundfunk Orkestrata, Toubab Krewe and the Lost Fingers. At 8 p.m., Highline Ballroom, 431 West 16th Street, Chelsea , (212) 414-5994, highlineballroom.com; $25 in advance, $30 at the door. (Petrusich)20110106

Export Nola: Experience New Orleans Music (Friday and Sunday) This festival’s eclectic lineup — which nods to folk, jazz, blues, R&B, soul, zydeco — reflects the diversity and muscle of New Orleans’s famed music scene. Unfolding at three locations (Sullivan Hall, Brooklyn Bowl and the Bitter End) on two nonconsecutive days (save that night in between to recover), highlights include Rosie Ledet and the Zydeco Playboys, Khris Royal’s Crescent Jam, the Honey Island Swamp Band, the Iguanas, the Joe Krown Trio, Grayson Capps and more. See backbeatfoundation.org for information on tickets, schedules and locations. (Petrusich)20110106

Globalfest (Sunday) Now in its eighth year, Globalfest — a co-production of the World Music Institute, Joe’s Pub and Acidophilus: Live and Active Cultures — is a stellar showcase for emerging and established world-music acts. The diversity of its roster always speaks well to the eclecticism of that genre, and this year’s lineup is varied and compelling. It includes Chamber Music: Ballaké Sissoko & Vincent Segal (making its United States debut), Creole Choir of Cuba, Diblo Dibala, Kaumakaiwa Kanaka’ole, La-33, Novalima and Orquestra Contemporânea de Olinda. For the full lineup and set times, see globalfest-ny.org. At 7 p.m., Webster Hall, 125 East 11th Street, East Village , (212) 545-7536, globalfest-ny.org; $40; $35 for World Music Institute members. (Petrusich)20110106

★ Lil B (Thursday) As one-fourth of the Pack, a hip-hop ensemble from Berkeley, Calif., the rapper Lil B pontificates about skateboarding (the group first earned accolades for a self-released track about Vans, a popular skate sneaker) and getting with girls. The vibe is laconic in a California way, and Lil B — forever unruffled — can be a compelling vocalist. At 9 p.m., Highline Ballroom, 431 West 16th Street, Chelsea , (212) 414-5994, highlineballroom.com; $13 in advance, $15 at the door. (Petrusich)20110106

Edwin McCain (Saturday) Mr. McCain, from South Carolina, enjoyed a bit of chart success in 1998 with the schmaltzy ballad “I’ll Be” (“I’ll be better when I’m older, I’ll be the greatest fan of your life,” he howled), but his less commercial work is far scruffier. Mr. McCain is something of a romantic, and even when his songs veer toward sentimentality, as they often do, they still feel genuinely rendered. With Mieka Pauley and Caleb Hawley. At 6:45 p.m., Highline Ballroom, 431 West 16th Street, Chelsea , (212) 414-5994, highlineballroom.com; $25 in advance, $29 at the door. (Petrusich)20110106

Sarah McLachlan (Wednesday and Thursday) Following a fraught reboot of Lilith Fair, the tour for women artists and women-led bands she founded and ran from 1997 to ’99, this Canadian singer and songwriter is back out on her own. Last fall Ms. McLachlan released “Laws of Illusion” (Arista), her first LP of new material in seven years; she is a master of melancholy and yearning (it’s no wonder the ASPCA commercials to her songs induce sobs), and she knows how to manipulate her voice to interesting (and emotional) ends. With Butterfly Boucher and Melissa McClelland. At 8 p.m., Beacon Theater, 2124 Broadway, at 74th Street , (800) 745-3000, beacontheatrenyc.com; $34.50 to $85. (Petrusich)20110106

Anais Mitchell (Monday) An emergent folk singer from Vermont, Ms. Mitchell produced her latest LP, “Hadestown” (Righteous Babe), with help from Ani DiFranco, Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, and the folk stalwart Greg Brown. It’s a folk opera that retells the Orpheus myth, now set in a postapocalyptic world of poverty, and it showcases both Ms. Mitchell’s ambition and her considerable skill. At 8 and 10 p.m., Rockwood Music Hall, 196 Allen Street, between Stanton and Houston Streets, Lower East Side , (800) 594-8499, rockwoodmusichall.com; $15 ($25 for both performances). (Petrusich)20110106

Eli (Paperboy) Reed (Wednesday) Mr. Reed, a shrieking, guitar-toting rhythm-and-blues singer from Massachusetts, is known for his raucous, riveting live act. At 8 p.m., Brooklyn Bowl, 61 Wythe Avenue, Williamsburg, Brooklyn , (718) 963-3369, brooklynbowl.com; $10. (Petrusich)20110106

The Rural Alberta Advantage (Wednesday) A trio from Ontario, the Rural Alberta Advantage plays whimsical, keyboard-filled indie-folk: there are declarations of love, twittering percussive bits and just the right amount of earnestness. With Soft Landing. At 7:30 p.m., Mercury Lounge, 217 East Houston Street, at Ludlow Street, Lower East Side , (800) 745-3000, mercuryloungenyc.com; $12 in advance, $15 at the door. (Petrusich)20110106

Ricky Skaggs (Sunday) Mr. Skaggs is a bluegrass virtuoso — his fingers pick faster than the eye can follow — who plays both traditional and neo-traditional strains. With the Nashville vocalist Abigail Washburn (a member of Uncle Earl), a gifted banjoist who sings with a loose, mesmerizing drawl. At 8 p.m., B. B. King Blues Club & Grill, 237 West 42nd Street, Manhattan , (212) 997-4144, bbkingblues.com; $35 in advance, $40 at the door. (Petrusich)20110106

Suzanne Vega (Saturday) Ms. Vega’s steady, uncomplicated vocals are heavy with melancholy, despite a lack of theatrics. Whether she’s tackling the fallout from child abuse (1987’s “Luka,” a hit single) or the quiet grief of urban alienation (the horn-addled “New York Is a Woman,” from her LP “Beauty and Crime”), Ms. Vega sings with passion but without ornament. With the singer and songwriter Marc Cohn (“Walking in Memphis”). At 7:30 p.m., Town Hall, 123 West 43rd Street, Manhattan , (212) 840-2824, the-townhall-nyc.org; $37.50 and $57.50. (Petrusich)