Slow Magic Wednesday, Dec. 18 8 p.m. Will’s Pub, 1042 N. Mills Ave. willspub.org $10 A juicy mystery can be difficult to resist. In the business – and art – of marketing musicians, framing an artist as a cagey, riddle-shaped entity can make for a clever and gratifying strategy. Over the years, the esoteric, right-out-of- reach approach has paid off for Daft Punk, MF Doom, Jandek, David Bowie, Odd Future and heaps of others. Since its 2011 formation, Slow Magic has crept up into that club, too. – Reyan Ali
Niko Is Wednesday, Dec. 18 with Andrew Floyd, Brezee, Clip 2.7.5, Goose 8 p.m. Backbooth, 37 W. Pine St. 407-999-2570 backbooth.com $10 With his beach-hippie look and indie appeal, this Brazilian-Argentinean MC is emerging as one of the more unconventional and intriguing personalities in Orlando hip-hop. He’s not only uninterested in rap stereotype, the Dr. Phillips High School alum openly embraces a chameleonic aesthetic that’s frequently informed by non-rap sources like his tropical heritage. And though relatively new and obscure, he’s been quietly racking up some impressively weighty guests in his portfolio, like Action Bronson on last year’s Chill Cosby LP and Talib Kweli on his upcoming Brutus LP. He was even featured in Vibe magazine this past summer. So it’s probably time you caught up with the kid at this headlining show. And you can start by doing your homework and copping his entire catalog for free (nikoismusic.com). – Bao Le-Huu
What Happened to Orlando? Book Release Party Thursday, Dec. 19 6 p.m. 1300 Brookhaven Drive facebook.com/page15orlando free Some days, Orlando feels plenty dystopic without the aid of fiction. It’s 99 degrees and 99 percent humidity at midnight; there are fire ants, cottonmouth snakes and hungry gators in the back yard; your job is to stand outside wearing an 8-foot-tall furry animal suit and try not to let sugar-jacked tweens knock you down. But Orlando high-schoolers in the Page 15 after-school creative writing program manage to turn up the volume on the natural pitfalls of Orlando in What Happened to Orlando?, their second annual anthology published by Burrow Press. “Mutant gators overrun the Shingle Creek Golf Resort, drunk robots tend to a long-abandoned Magic Kingdom, and swarms of vicious lovebugs escape from a lab at the University of Central Florida,” reads Page 15’s description of this year’s book, adding that when they put out the call for dystopian tales set in our fair city, they received more than 300 submissions, “proving that teens are more than happy to destroy the world and see their names in print.” Well … yeah. Show up to this party and buy a copy of the book, because we need to support kids who are willing to tear it all down in order to make it better. – Jessica Bryce Young
Yule of Fools Thursday, Dec. 19 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. through Dec. 30 SAK Comedy Lab, 29 S. Orange Ave. 407-648-0001 sak.com $15 The holidays are sometimes difficult: The stress of family dinners and shopping for presents can throw anyone into a Grinchy mood. Luckily, you can embrace the unpredictability of the season and get back some of that holiday cheer at SAK Comedy Lab’s annual Yule of Fools. The Christmas-themed improv show is based on SAK’s resident Duel of Fools, featuring two teams of improvisers competing against one another for your entertainment and the best score from the judges in the audience. The specialty show runs on select dates through Dec. 30, so you’ll have plenty of time to catch one amid the busy holiday rush. – James Austin
Naughty Is Nice: A Christmas Cabaret Thursday-Sunday, Dec. 19-22 8 p.m. Thursday-Friday, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Sunday The Abbey, 100 S. Eola Drive 407-704-6261 abbeyorlando.com $25-$50 Christmas comes early for the hysterical histrionics set when some of Orlando’s most revered (and irreverent) theater types converge downtown for what’s being billed as “a festive and slightly off-color Christmas cabaret.” We’re assuming the “off-color” distinction is coming from those responsible for crafting the “saucy” songs, including lyrical absurdist Michael Wanzie and songwriter Rich Charron, fresh from their reboot of the musical Lizzie Borden. John B. DeHaas of Halloween! The Musical will likewise kick in some hopped-up holiday fare. But it wouldn’t be a true cabaret without voices that are more than willing to go slightly over the top for the applause, like those of Andrea Canny, Rebecca Fisher, David Kelley, David Dorman, Anitra Pritchard and Kennedy Joy Foristall. Expect festive filth, but don’t expect to bring the kids along. This is a night for babysitters and booze. – Billy Manes
Davey von Bohlen Saturday, Dec. 21 with Teen Agers, Alexander and the Grapes, the Pauses 7 p.m. Backbooth, 37 W. Pine St. 407-999-2570 backbooth.com $7-$10 If you don’t recognize the name Davey von Bohlen, try some of these on for size – Cap’n Jazz, the Promise Ring, Maritime. Do we have your attention now? Thought so. His unique voice makes him memorable on his own, as those who caught him the last time he was in town know and treasure him for. This rare show was a specific mission for Norsekorea show promoter Kyle Raker, who has also put the enigmatically charming vocalist in touch with area musicians who will fill out his band to do four Maritime songs as well as four Promise Ring songs. While von Bohlen’s music career and personal life have been packed with as many tragic circumstances as beloved releases – from car wrecks to platinum records – his human heart belongs onstage, coursing out through lyrics he himself proves wrong, like “You can’t get sick or get sick of it, can’t get back or get back to it.” – Ashley Belanger
The Falcon Presents: C-Note Collection Saturday, Dec. 21 9 p.m. The Falcon, 819 E. Washington St. 407-423-3060 facebook.com/thefalconbar free The Falcon’s showing some leg again and proving that it’s one of the sexiest art venues in O-town with their upcoming C-Note Collection show. On Saturday, the Falcon team packs the walls with amazing art deals and steals. All of the pieces are priced under $100, which means you can throw out that old Walmart Banksy print and get something a little more “meaty” to hang over your IKEA couch this holiday season. They’re letting people snag the art as soon as it’s purchased, so grab a seat at the bar and a fancy-pants craft beer, kick back, and keep your eyes peeled for a cheap piece from peeps like Rebecca Rose, Cake Marques and DRES13. – Brendan O’Connor
Leaders of the True School 2.0 Saturday, Dec. 21 6 p.m. Firestone Live, 578 N. Orange Ave. 407-872-0066 firestonelive.net $25-$50 Future Sound of Breaks and DogEatDog Records return to Firestone for Leaders of the True School 2.0, a bass-heavy event with an all-star lineup combining many of Florida’s hottest artists with beloved names from the history of dance music. Main stage headliners include hip-hop inspired nu-skool breaks pioneer FreQ Nasty, electro breaks and live performance legends Dynamix II, original Late Nite Firestone resident D-Xtreme and production heavyweights Merlyn & Supernaut of Kuad Sound. Supporting acts on the lineup include familiar names like Stylus, Security, Rob-E and Si-Dog, who have headlined plenty of shows on their own, while pushing the sound of the underground through the last two decades. If you’re new to dance music and still haven’t dug through the mainstream stuff, stop by Firestone this weekend for a true schooling of music that blazed a trail for today’s young crop of electronic fans and musicians. – Ed Chapkowski
The 10th Annual Lennon Tribute Christmas Party Fundraiser Sunday, Dec. 22 2 p.m. The Veranda at Thornton Park, 111 N. Summerlin Ave. 407-701-6821 verandathornton.com $10 Another year over, and what have you done? The year’s end is a perfect time for retrospection, and for a broad community, the memories go back as far as 1980 to recall the life and work of musician John Lennon. So this is Christmas partying done right – Heart Strings Music faithfully puts on an annual tribute show for the legendary songwriter in honor of the day he died, but now, in its 10th year, the event has been blown up like never before with contributions from more than 20 local musicians to piece together a proper concert. The party lasts all day, from 2 p.m. until 2 a.m. and, in addition to covers of Lennon’s best and most-loved songs, it also features tribute artwork from Jim Jackson, Carl Knickerbocker and Andrew Spear. And with any luck, it will be an extra happy Xmas for local musician Steve Garron, as the show doubles as a benefit concert to help him fight a complex kidney disease. – Ashley Belanger
Christmas Eve Open House Tuesday, Dec. 24 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art, 445 N. Park Ave., Winter Park 407-645-5311 morsemuseum.org free As lovely as Christmastime is, let’s be honest – sitting around the house eating, drinking and trying to keep everybody entertained can be draining. If you start to get a little cabin-feverish on Christmas Eve, a great place to take the family for some holiday decompression is the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art’s Christmas Eve open house. Admission is free to the museum all day. You can wander the wings and take in the splendor of objects rescued from Louis Comfort Tiffany’s Long Island Home, Laurelton Hall, or sit and meditate in the gorgeous Tiffany Chapel. Between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., the Raintree Chamber Players fill the halls with intimate instrumentals that’ll help you transcend the holiday madness. Now that we think about it, maybe leave the family home and go to the Morse by yourself on Christmas Eve. It’ll help you keep an even keel the next morning, after Santa arrives and all the old holiday rivalries make their annual appearances. – Erin Sullivan