The Top 10 Things to Do Through Early January

Bid farewell to Fly Moon Royalty, support The Globalist, see Henry Rollins’ spoken word and more.

December 22, Thursday

How the Light Gets In

The loss of songwriter Leonard Cohen on the heels of the election was poetic, the roughhewn balladeer’s dark, delicate realism more relevant than ever. Lyrics were quoted in social media tributes, but tonight the man who wrote “I’m Your Man,” “Bird on a Wire,” and of course “Hallelujah” will receive a proper send-off from local musicians, including Benjamin Gibbard, Kimya Dawson, and organizer Tomo Nakayama. Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave., 652-4255. $10 (sold out, but tickets may be available at the door). All ages. 7 p.m. MARK BAUMGARTEN

December 23, Friday

The Royal Room’s Fifth Anniversary The Royal Room in Columbia City has been showcasing edgy, avant-garde jazz—and most everything else—seven nights a week for five years exactly, and invites you to come celebrate. There’ll be birthday cake; $1 off wine, beer, and wells; and a stunning lineup of local talent, including Jessica Lurie, The Royal We, Paint the Town Red doing Billie Holiday, and the Royal Room’s weekly jazz jam, The Salute Sessions, doing Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk. There’s no cover, but donating to the musicians is highly encouraged. The Royal Room, 5000 Rainier Ave. S., 906-9920, theroyalroomseattle.com. Free. All ages. 7:30 p.m. SARA BERNARD

Fly Moon Royalty’s Last Dance Adra Boo has the kind of awe-inducing singing voice that makes audiences do that thing where they cup their hands over their mouths and go “OW OW OWWWWW!” One of Seattle’s truest treasures and realest divas, Boo will close out 2016 by also closing out her stint in her electro-funk/soul duo with producer Mike Illvester, the beloved Fly Moon Royalty. Catch the band’s final show before they fly away for good. With Paris Alexa, Toya B. Neumos, 925 E. Pike St., neumos.com. $15 adv./$18 DOS. 21 and over. 8 p.m. KELTON SEARS

December 28, Wednesday

Tyree Scott Winter Freedom School The first Seattle Freedom School, a multiday antiracism workshop for young people, was launched in 2001. Fifteen years later, the biannual gathering is still providing youth ages 15 to 23 with the tools necessary to begin grappling with systemic racism. The workshop explores parts of history that aren’t taught in school, and leads provocative conversations that don’t happen in school—from why the U.S. jails so many people of color to the very concept of “race.” Seattle Young People’s Project headquarters, 6218 Beacon Ave. S., facebook.com/YUIRSeattle. Free. All ages. 9:30 a.m. Through Dec. 30. SB

December 29, Thursday

#PowerYourMedia Film Festival & Party Our friends over at The Globalist, UW’s community news lab, will show dozens of films from their contributors as part of their #PowerYourMedia campaign to remain solvent despite funding cuts. Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave., seattleglobalist.com/events, 685-7177. Free. All ages. 6:30–9:30 p.m. CASEY JAYWORK

Shannon and the Clams Present: Fuck This Year Titling their DJ night the exact thing everyone has been thinking for months and months and months now, Oakland/Seattle doo-wop punks Shannon and the Clams will be spinning lots of oldies and attempting to dance toward 2017 as fast as possible. “This has been a nasty fudged-up year,” the band writes. “Help us kiss this year goodbye.” LoFi, 429 Eastlake Ave. E., thelofi.net. $7. 21 and over. 8 p.m. KS

Bad Luck I know, I know—people are always going on about “how stacked this bill is,” but, sweet baby Jesus, this is a very stacked bill. Seattle’s transcendent noise-jazz duo Bad Luck headlines with support from the squalling, blackened cyberdelics of Newaxeyes, followed by former Seattle Weekly columnist/current cosmic R&B queen Sassyblack and the avant-industrial excellence of Zen Mother. Neumos, 925 E. Pike St., neumos.com. $12. 8 p.m. 21 and over. KS

December 30, Friday

Quannum MCs An outgrowth of the legendary hip-hop collective Quannum Projects, Quannum MCs features some of the brightest stars of the West Coast’s underground hip-hop scene. Blackalicious, Gift of Gab, Lyrics Born, and Lateef are among the MCs sharing this bill—a veritable all-star lineup for certain late-’90s/early-’00s fans. They’ll be joined by local MCs Draze & The Ancient Robotz and DJ Indica Jones. Nectar Lounge, 412 N. 36th St., 632-2020. $22. 21 and over. 8 p.m. DANIEL PERSON

January 1, Sunday

Third Place Books Used Book Sale This has become a Seattle New Year’s tradition: Every branch of Third Place Books—including this year’s new edition, the Seward Park store—kicks off the new year with a giant 20-percent-off sale of every used book on their shelves. Go stock up for the winter ahead. thirdplacebooks.com. Free. 10 a.m. PAUL CONSTANT

January 2, Monday

Henry Rollins Spoken Word With all due respect to Marshall McLuhan, Henry Rollins proves that the medium is not nearly as important as the message. Whether fronting his legendary punk band Black Flag, penning a column for LA Weekly, or performing a spoken-word show, Rollins has transmitted largely the same idea: Society is lying to you, and you don’t have to take it. Rollins will be performing in this last medium—spoken word, that is—here in Seattle just in time for the inauguration of you-know-who. The Neptune, 1303 N.E. 45th St., stgpresents.org. $27. All ages. 7 p.m. DP