Kristen Arnett & Lisa Ko

In addition to many other literary feats, Black Mountain Institute at UNLV is known for its fellowship program. It invites accomplished authors from around the world to Las Vegas for a time. Here, the writers have a chance to work on their next book project and interact with the local community. This event is one such intermingling: two 2020 Shearing Fellows teaming up for an evening of reading and conversation.

Arnett is the author of Mostly Dead Things, a New York Times bestselling novel in which the protagonist runs the family taxidermy business. NPR calls it “darkly funny, both macabre and irreverent.” Ko is the author of The Leavers, a National Book Award finalist. It tells the story of a Chinese immigrant mother and her Americanized son. The New York Times calls it “thoroughly researched and ambitious in scope.” February 6, 7 p.m., free with RSVP at blackmountaininstitute.org. –C. Moon Reed

A Steady Rain at A Public Fit Theatre

In this drama, a pair of Chicago cops test their friendship and identities after an accidental interaction with a serial killer. “It’s a play about truth and struggling with the truth—how we play with it, how we manipulate it and how we deceive ourselves,” director Erik Amblad explains in a promotional video. February 7-23, Days & times vary, $25-$30, 100 S. Maryland Parkway. –C. Moon Reed

Between a Rock and a Cliff closing reception at Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art

Former Weekly photographer Mikayla Whitmore is “entranced by the desert, ritual magic and tropes of science fiction,” and she has brought those elements together with a series of images investigating “the emotional space of learning to navigate while willfully getting lost.” Bonus: The closing event will provide an opportunity for you to tie-dye T-shirts. February 8, 1-4 p.m., free. –Geoff Carter

Black Uhuru at Brooklyn Bowl

It’s not often we’re visited by a reggae dynasty, but it’s the only appropriate way to describe Black Uhuru, the 47-plus-year-old, Grammy-winning Jamaican group led by Derrick “Duckie” Simpson. And whether you know Black Uhuru from its Sly & Robbie days or its propulsive 1986 single “Great Train Robbery,” we’re sure you agree this occasion should be recognized. With Etana, Onesty. February 9, 6:30 p.m., $25. –Geoff Carter

Silversun Pickups at House of Blues

It’s hard to believe it’s been 14 years since we first heard “Lazy Eye.” Even wilder: The LA alt-rockers celebrate their 20th anniversary this year. They’ll kick it off with a 30-date tour stretching from their home state to the East Coast and sampling from their five LPs—all of which have reached the top five of Billboard’s Independent Albums chart. With Eliza & The Delusionals. February 10, 7 p.m., $25. –Spencer Patterson