Lyfe Jennings

Singer Lyfe Jennings has cemented his status as an R&B heavyweight and then some. His debut album, “Lyfe 268-192,” released in 2004, introduced listeners to his sensually raspy voice through songs that covered love from many angles. “Must Be Nice,” one of his most enduring songs, is about a jealousy most people understand and never want to experience. “Having someone who sticks around, when the tough times get thick,” he sings — his voice dripping with regret as he lists why having a partner matters. His discography of R&B deep cuts continues with his 2006 album, “The Phoenix,” which includes one of his biggest songs: “S.E.X.” featuring LaLa Brown. It’s a song preaching abstinence — something you don’t hear often in this genre — and Jennings’s soulful voice sounds almost gravelly as he begs a young woman to wait. This year, he’s back with a new song, “Till You Gone,” his vivid storytelling still evident in his lyrics. He contemplates life after death, when glory comes too late. “Mama said they’ll never love you till you gone,” he sings sadly. Dec. 30 at 7 and 10:30 p.m. and Dec. 31 at 7 and 11 p.m. at City Winery, 1350 Okie St. NE. citywinery.com. $50-$85.

George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic

It only makes sense to celebrate a new year bearing witness to George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic, who have always looked to the future with their music. (Parliament and Funkadelic used to be two bands that Clinton played with and are now a single collective.) But Parliament isn’t just from another time. Its crucial 1975 funk album, “Mothership Connection,” defined the group as from another universe, too. Long before Afrofuturism was identified as a cultural aesthetic about the intersection of Blackness, sci-fi and futuristic storytelling, “Mothership Connection” and its “P-Funk,” or pure funk, were imagining another alien world where the band, and other Black people, were the protagonists. This was felt in its music, through electric tracks like “Unfunky UFO,” which depicts an alien invasion with effervescent horns. And it was magnificently illustrated with the massive triangle-shaped spaceship known as the P-Funk Mothership. This iconic stage prop was used in the band’s tours, a life-size reminder of its putative alien musical origins, and now sits in the National Museum of African American History and Culture for all to gawk and marvel at. Funkadelic’s 1978 album, “One Nation Under a Groove,” is another genre-defining project. On “Groovallegiance,” the group sings, “Pledge a groovallegiance to the funk, the United Funk of Funkadelica,” calling for unity under music — despite, or maybe because of, all the ways the country’s issues were bursting at the seams at the time. Well, political and social unrest is back (or never left?), and a better year may seem possible only in the Parliament Funkadelic universe. Dec. 31 at 9 p.m. (doors open) at 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW. 930club.com. $100.

Canadian DJ Deadmau5 performs in a signature light-up mouse helmet and has a discography that spans eight albums and even more compilation projects. He popped out in the early aughts just as electronic dance music was ready to have its moment, and has ascended to one of the genre’s biggest players. By the time his eighth album, “W:/2016ALBUM/,” came out in 2016, Deadmau5 was deep into his own electronic groove. He resists some of the poppier iterations of EDM that have since gained traction, as can be heard on the song “Whelk Then.” It’s a trippy yet soothing track that has otherworldly synths and what sounds like a woman cooing from afar. Its percussions pull listeners in, too, with a surprise gong that bangs, or a triangle-like sound that shimmers in the background. While “Whelk Then” is a calm surprise, the song “No Problem” is a boisterous hello from typical Deadmau5 territory. This one feels intergalactic, like it’s transmitting a message from another world while also glitching. Deadmau5 moves from end to end smoothly. Jan. 1 at 9 p.m. at Echostage, 2135 Queens Chapel Rd. NE. echostage.com. $60-$70.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7uK3SoaCnn6Sku7G70q1lnKedZLq2v8icZmtoYmd8cn6Oa2hom5%2BjsKa%2B06xknZtf