3 hot Bay Area concerts: Jazzmeia Horn, Bruce Cockburn, Courtney Barnett

Three compelling but very different live concerts await Bay Area music fans this weekend. Here’s a rundown.

Jazzmeia Horn

The New York-based singer became a star in the jazz world after winning the 2013 Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition and the 2015 Thelonious Monk Institute International Jazz Competition. Her delivery of socially conscious originals and jazz/pop classics have earned her comparisons to such legends as Sarah Vaughan and Nancy Wilson. She comes to UC Berkeley on Dec. 10 to perform a set curated during the pandemic that features songs about overcoming adversity.

Details: Presented by Cal Performances; 8 p.m.; Zellerbach Playhouse; UC Berkeley; $63-$68; calperformances.org.

Bruce Cockburn

The Canadian singer-songwriter-guitarist is a bonafide folk legend, although he’s known to embrace pop, jazz and world music among his staggeringly rich catalogue. He’s probably best known for the satirical protest song “Wondering Where the Lions Are,” but he’s written more than 350 songs — often dealing with politics, environmentalism and spirituality — and released some 35 albums. He’s also a tremendous guitarist. Cockburn brings his 50th anniversary tour to Berkeley’s Freight & Salvage this week for two concerts.

Details: 8 p.m. Dec. 9-10; $21-$42; thefreight.org.

Courtney Barnett

The gritty, literate Australian singer-songwriter-guitarist emerged as a critics’ darling of the alt-rock world after the 2015 release of the low-fi gem “Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit,” cited by many as one of the finest albums of that year. She dropped her fourth album, “Things Take Time, Take Time,” earlier this year and is touring the U.S. for the first time in three years. The trek includes a stop at the Fox Theater in Oakland on Dec. 12.

Details: 7:30 p.m.; $40.50; apeconcerts.com.