Ballet Folklorico Noche Huasteca at Winchester Cultural Center
It’ll be a night of lively music, traditional dancing and those amazing, colorful dresses that fan out like butterfly wings. Las Vegas nonprofit organization Ballet Folklorico Sol Huasteco presents a “night of nostalgia” through folk dance honoring Mexican culture.
Created in 2012, the organization offers dance classes, performances and a sense of community. This event will spotlight the unique La Huasteca region, which is in the Gulf of Mexico and includes the states of Veracruz, Tamaulipas, Puebla, San Luis Potosí, and Hidalgo. Their distinctive style of music and dance originates with the Pre-Columbian Huastec people, thought to be descended from the Mayans. But you don’t need to know all that the history to enjoy the entertaining performance. January 27, 6 p.m., $11-$13. –C. Moon Reed
Bell Biv Devde at Mandalay Bay Events Center
Add up all the output from the six members of ’80s and ’90s group New Edition and you’ve got a lot of memorable pop and R&B hits. But the single most enduring track has to be BBD’s 1990 New Jack Swing smash “Poison,” still getting mixed into DJ sets and covered by modern artists in concert. With SWV, Whodini, EPMD, Biz Markie, Dana Dane; January 27, 8 p.m., $39-$150. –Brock Radke
Documentary Doubleheader at Eclipse Theatres
The Las Vegas Jewish Film Festival, together with the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, Black Mountain Institute and Believer magazine, presents two documentaries about inspirational women who have devoted their lives to various progressive and political movements.
Wanderlust: Lesley Hazleton tells the story of the British-American author behind accidentaltheologist.com, which aims to dissect “the vast and volatile arena in which politics and religion intersect.” Heather Booth: Changing the World, focuses on the activist’s career, from her work within the Freedom Summer Project—a 1964 campaign that attempted to register black voters in Mississippi—to founding the Jane Collective, an underground organization that helped Chicago women find access to safe abortions when they were illegal from 1969 to 1973. January 28, 1 p.m., $10. –Leslie Ventura
Nick Thune, Brendon Walsh & Sam Tallent at Bunkhouse Saloon
We’re kinda surprised to see Nick Thune back in Las Vegas, a city he once described as “the most nightmarish landscape possible.” His routine about nearly getting busted for weed (pre-legalization) in a Strip nightclub is a harrowing tale. (Google “saved by a fart” if you want the details.) His return to Vegas can likely be attributed to two things: One, he’s eager to show off new material in the company of his cohorts Brendon Walsh and Sam Tallent, both as funny and bearded as he is. And two: We legalized. With Jason Harris, January 30, 9 p.m., $18, 702-982-1764. –Geoff Carter
Rent at Smith Center
Hamilton, you’re nothing without Rent. Jonathan Larson’s socially conscious, Pulitzer-winning rock opera struck box office gold in 1996 largely by speaking directly to Generation X and introducing youth to Broadway. Millennials (and younger) ought to find it equally resonant—and relevant—during its 20th anniversary tour, which stops at Reynolds Hall. $36-$127. –Mike Prevatt
3 Shows to catch this week
TOUGH AGE On their Bandcamp page, the Canadian indie rockers of Tough Age insist their jangly, lo-fi sound is “not punk at all,” but we beg to differ. Noisy ’90s vibes melt into early-’80s post-punk melodies, chunky guitar riffs and a blunt and bratty vocal delivery that warrants more than a casual listen. Give October LP Shame a spin (standout tracks: “Piquant Frieze” and “Me in Glue”) before heading to Starboard Tack, where the Mint Records three-piece will be joined by Vegas locals Luna Flore and The Plastic Brains. January 30, 10 p.m., free.
SQUIDHAT 6 YEAR ANNIVERSARY It feels like it was only yesterday that Vegas punk imprint SquidHat Records jumped onto the Vegas scene, which goes to show how quickly six loud and busy years can fly by. The label celebrates its birthday with a two-night Double Down Saloon rager, with performances by The Negative Nancys, The People’s Whiskey, False Cause, The Damnit Jims, Hit Me Baby and many more. January 26 & 27, 10 p.m., free.
KRS-ONE Everyone will be chanting “Woop woop! That’s the sound of da police,” when Lawrence “Kris” Parker, aka hip-hop icon KRS-One, unleashes the boom bap at Beauty Bar—and “Sound of da Police” couldn’t be more relevant today. More than 30 years after he co-founded legendary NYC group Boogie Down Productions, KRS-One remains one of the genre’s most controversial and political-minded emcees. Given the state of the world today, we expect he’ll have a lot to say. With Nat & CoCo, Art Saen; January 25, 8 p.m., $18-$20. –Leslie Ventura
