Tribute to Kamasi Washington and Guy Clark Among Houston’s Best Live Events

Here are six recommended events for the coming week.

Kamasi Washington had been recording his contemporary West Coast jazz sound for nearly a decade before enjoying his big break. He also made notable appearances on albums by Kendrick Lamar, Thundercat and Snoop Dogg before truly announcing his arrival in 2015 with “The Epic”. True to its title, the album was a sprawling three-LP deluge of innovative, energetic music that brought deserved attention to a radiant talent. Last week, Washington released his latest “Fearless Movement,” a double album inspired, at least in part, by fatherhood.

Or: House of Blues, 1204 Caroline

Details: $35 to $60; hob.com

The nickname “Lady Louie” given to Doreen Ketchens is only valuable for context: like Louis Armstrong, she is a New Orleans native, a distinctive instrumentalist, an expressive singer, and a natural entertainer. But Ketchens doesn’t need to be compared to any other legend. She radiates her own energy on stage and on record. Ketchens is a stylist who fits most easily into jazz, but like others from New Orleans, her music naturally also exudes blues, gospel and soul. She is joined here by Hustler’s Brass Band.

Or: Green Discovery, 1500 McKinney

Details: Free; discoverygreen.com

We are now a decade into the Slowdive meeting. In keeping with the band’s name, the new music flowed rather than flowed: “Slowdive” was released in 2017 and “Everything Is Alive” last year. But the shoegaze legends have managed the rare feat of coming together and creating new music worthy of the band’s legendary status from the early ’90s and not just serving nostalgic purposes.

Or: White Oak Music Hall, 2915 N. Main

Details: $42.50; 713-237-0370, whiteoakmusichall.com

Famous songwriter Guy Clark was born in Monahans and spent much of his youth in Rockport. And for most of his life and career, he lived in Nashville. But Clark found his feet as a songwriter and performer in Houston’s clubs and coffeehouses. So after Clark’s death in 2016, Shawn Parks decided the city should honor an important figure in the city’s musical history. A Night for Guy draws heavily from Houston’s vast talent pool with a few guests like Shawn Camp and Verlon Thompson, who were Clark collaborators in Nashville.

Or: Rockefeller’s, 3620 Washington

Details: $85; anightforguy.com

It’s mid-May, so don’t count on José Feliciano performing his most famous original song. But the Puerto Rican singer, songwriter and guitarist has a career that stretches back more than 60 years, and “Feliz Navidad” is just a small part of it. Feliciano first came to prominence on the New York coffeehouse scene in the early 1960s and had a major breakthrough a few years later when he covered The Doors’ “Light My Fire.” He went on to record a few dozen albums, working in English and Spanish, although his singing and guitar playing convey the songs in such a way that language doesn’t matter. At 78, he remains a living legend.

Or: Leisure center, 800 Bagby

Details: $89; 713-315-2525, thehobbycenter.org

Washington Post columnist and host of CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS,” Fareed Zakaria examines in his latest book a handful of hotspots over the past 400 years that gave rise to the world we live in today. “The Age of Revolutions: Progress and Backlash from 1600 to the Present” does not only focus on revolutions that involve armed uprisings. His study also examines the effects of the industrial revolution and the more recent digital revolution, which sparked violent and ideological conflict. The Progressive Forum brings Zakaria to town to discuss these times of tumult and change.

Or: Congregation Emanu El, 1500 Sunset

Details: $45 to $150 (includes copy of book); 800-514-3849, progressforumhouston.org