A leading female rapper, a legendary Louisiana-born bluesman and an assortment of comics all pass through New Orleans this week.

NICKI MINAJ

MONDAY, SMOOTHIE KING CENTER

Eleven days after Drake wrapped up a two-night stand at the Smoothie King Center, Nicki Minaj, another rapper who rose to prominence thanks to Lil Wayne’s support, arrives at the same venue. Minaj, who like Drake signed to Lil Wayne’s Young Money Entertainment and Cash Money Records, is touring in support of her latest album, “Pink Friday 2.” The upcoming performance falls less than two years after her previous concert in New Orleans, when Minaj headlined the first night of the Essence Festival of Culture in the Caesars Superdome on July 1, 2022. Both Lil Wayne and Cash Money co-founder Bryan “Baby” Williams made surprise appearances that night. At the Smoothie King Center on Monday, the singer Monica is slated to open the show at 8 p.m. Tickets start at $56 plus fees.

BOBBY RUSH

FRIDAY, CHICKIE WAH WAH

Blues great Bobby Rush, still on the road at 90 years old, was born in Homer. As a young man, he moved to Chicago, which is where he built his career as a blues singer and harmonica player. It wasn’t until 1971 that he finally cracked the national R&B charts with “Chicken Heads”; 30 years later, the song enjoyed a resurgence via the “Black Snake Moan” soundtrack. Around 2000, he moved to Jackson, Mississippi, while he continued to tour globally and record. His 2017 album “Porcupine Meat” won Rush his first Grammy Award, for best traditional blues album. Two subsequent albums, “Rawer Than Raw” and “All My Love for You,” won the same Grammy, capping a remarkable late-career surge of recognition. Rush makes a rare New Orleans appearance Friday at Chickie Wah Wah. Doors open at 7 p.m.; showtime is 8. Tickets are $35 advance, $45 at the door, not including taxes and fees.

OTHER NOTEWORTHY SHOWS

THURSDAY

The nonstop good time that is trombonist “Big” Sam Williams’ Big Sam’s Funky Nation hits Tipitina’s, with the Zahria Sims Collective opening the show at 9 p.m. ($20).

Quiana Lynell sings at Chickie Wah Wah ($20 advance, $25 door).

Jazz guitarist Davy Mooney, who cut his teeth as a jazz guitarist in New Orleans and is now leads the jazz guitar program at the University of North Texas, returns for two shows at Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro, at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. ($25).

Leroy Thomas & the Zydeco Roadrunners are featured for the weekly Zydeco Night at Rock ‘N’ Bowl ($15),

FRIDAY

At Tipitina’s, Vermont-raised, New Orleans-based indie singer-songwriter Hans Williams will likely play “Skin,” “All Is Well,” “Checklist,” “Willows” and other songs that have added up to more than 65 million streams. Lyla George and Richard Rourke join him as special guests starting at 8 p.m. ($20).

Southern rap veteran Brad “Scarface” Jordan brings his “Behind the Desk Experience Tour” — inspired by his well-received NPR Tiny Desk concert — to the Joy Theater. Tickets start at $50.

Bluesman Little Freddie King returns to the Dew Drop Inn on LaSalle Street in Central City for the first time in decades, now that the historic music venue/hotel has reopened following a multimillion-dollar makeover.

The Jason Marsalis Vibes Quartet does two sets at Snug Harbor, at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. ($30).

Catch Boma Bango featuring saxophonist Aurora Nealand at d.b.a. on Frenchmen Street at 10 p.m. ($10).

The Maple Leaf Bar presents Funk Monkey featuring Arsene DeLay at 8 p.m. ($15 advance, $20 door), followed by local Rage Against the Machine tribute band Sage Against the Machine at 11 p.m. ($15 advance, $20 door).

A vintage mid-1970s picture of New Orleans singer Jean Knight, from the Stax Records web site.

SATURDAY

On Saturday afternoon from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., Tipitina’s hosts a musical tribute to Jean Knight, the New Orleans soul singer who hit No. 1 on the national R&B charts in 1971 with “Mr. Big Stuff.” Knight died in November at age 80. Saxophonist Khris Royal will lead the band for the tribute; admission is free.

On Saturday night, the Soul Rebels rock Tipitina’s with a blend of brass band instrumentation and hip-hop attitude. SaxKixAve, the duo consisting of rapper Alfred Banks and former Tank & the Bangas multi-instrumentalist Albert Allenback, opens the show at 9 p.m. ($25).

Legendary progressive jazz guitarist Pat Metheny brings his “Dream Box Tour” to the Orpheum Theater. Tickets start at $39 plus fees.

Percussive Haitian-born, New Orleans-based ensemble RAM fires up at Chickie Wah Wah ($20 advance, $25 door).

Drummer Gerald Watkins Jr. powers the NOJO 7 at Snug Harbor at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. ($30).

Tuba Skinny swings out for a free show at 6 p.m. at d.b.a., followed by trombonist Corey Henry & the Treme Funktet at 10 p.m. ($10).

The Jenn Howard Band is at the Maple Leaf at 8 p.m. ($10 advance, $15 door) followed by the New Orleans Suspects at 10 p.m. ($20 advance, $25 door).

SUNDAY

The roster of the We Them One’s comedy tour includes Mike Epps, Deray Davis, DC Young Fly, Lil Duval, Mojo Brookzz and Tip Harris, not all of whom are necessarily at every show. The Smoothie King Center will be arrayed more like a theater, with only the floor and the sides of the lower bowl open. Tickets start at $99 plus fees.

Local jazz singer Phillip Manuel stages a tribute to Nat King Cole at Snug Harbor at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. ($30).

The Creole String Beans play a free show outside starting at 2 p.m. for the Broadside’s afternoon crawfish boil. Harmonica player Johnny Sansone and guitarist John Fohl then hit the indoor Broadside stage at 6 p.m. ($20).

MONDAY

Comedian Jim Gaffigan holds court at the Saenger Theatre as part of his “Barely Alive Tour.”

Wheatus, the New York rock band fronted by Brendan B. Brown, achieved a new level of notoriety when One Direction covered the Wheatus song “Teenage Dirtbag.” Brown and company are on the road for the acoustic “Dirtbags Across America Tour,” which stops at Chickie Wah Wah on Monday ($20 advance, $30 door).

Moroccan-born, New Orleans-based stringed instrument master Mahmoud Chouki does two sets with a trio at Snug Harbor, starting at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. ($25).

TUESDAY

Laura Jane Grace, the former singer of punk band Against Me! who wrote the acclaimed memoir “Tranny: Confessions of Punk Rock’s Most Infamous Anarchist” about transitioning genders, headlines Tipitina’s. Thelma & the Sleaze and Dikembe open the show at 7:30 p.m. ($29.50).

Drummer Peter Varnado anchors a quartet at Snug Harbor at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. ($25).

WEDNESDAY

Little Freddie King plugs in at Chickie Wah Wah for an 8:30 p.m. set ($15 advance, $20 door).

Trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis & the Uptown Jazz Orchestra swing out at Snug Harbor at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. ($35).