• Willie Nelson—After penning numerous country and crossover hits in the 1960s, Nelson be-came one of the fathers of the subgenre known as outlaw country. He is playing the Mondavi Center for the first time: 7 p.m. Jan. 11, Jackson Hall.

• Blue Note Records 70th Anniversary Tour—Virtually all the jazz greats performed on this label from its founding in 1939 to the 1960s. Now, an all-star septet is celebrating the Blue Note legacy. The musicians: Bill Charlap, piano; Nicholas Payton, trumpet; Peter Bernstein, guitar; Ravi Coltrane, tenor and soprano saxophone; Steve Wilson, alto sax; Peter Washington, bass; and Lewis Nash, drums. 8 p.m. Jan. 13, Jackson Hall. Preceded the same day by a free Forum@MC: “History in Blue: The Life and Times of Blue Note Records,” 5 p.m., Studio Theatre, with Coltrane, from the Blue Note anniversary tour; Peter Williams, artistic director of Yoshi’s Jazz Club; and Gary Vercelli, jazz music director at Sacramento radio station KXJZ.

Tickets for all Mondavi Center events: (530) 754-2787 or (866) 754-2787, or www.mondaviarts.org.