Comedy

The Just For Laughs Road Show pulls into Meridian’s Centrepointe Theatre on Tuesday, showcasing some of the best stand-up performers from the annual comedy fest. This year’s crop includes California’s Mo Mandel, irreverent Brooklynite Tom Thakkar, Toronto’s Courtney Gilmour, who’s also an advocate for the disabled, and Finnish funnyman Ismo. Tickets are $48, available at meridiancentrepointe.com. The fun starts at 8 p.m.

Art

Works by Ottawa artist Dominic Laporte are featured in a solo exhibition at the Ottawa Art Gallery that begins this week. Titled Pranayam, the show is based on his travels in India, including colourful, stylized portraits and some sculptures. The show opens Thursday, with a vernissage scheduled for 5:30 p.m. April 11. The exhibit is in the Galerie Annexe of the OAG, 50 Mackenzie King Bridge, until May 12. Admission is free.

Blues

It’s a big weekend for out-of-town blues artists. On Friday, Vancouver’s Harpdog Brown joins forces with the Uptown Blues Band to serve some of his Chicago-meets-New Orleans style at Irene’s Pub, 885 Bank St. ($20 admission, 9 p.m. start). The next night, four Chicago originals cook up a Saturday-night special at the Rainbow Bistro, 76 Murray St. They are: singer-multi-instrumentalist Maurice John Vaughn, Freddie Dixon (Willie’s son), Joseph Morganfield (Muddy Waters’ son) and Aretha Franklin’s opening act, Shirley Johnson. Tickets are $30, available at ticketweb.ca. The music starts at 8:30 p.m.

Folk

Newfoundland and Labrador’s country-folk-pop sister act, The Ennis Sisters, are touring behind their latest album, Keeping Time, a collection of songs dedicated to their late father, who suffered from dementia in his final years. Karen, Maureen and Teresa explore themes of aging and living in the moment with their lilting melodies, poignant lyrics and sisterly harmonies. They play the National Arts Centre’s Azrieli Theatre on Sunday. Tickets start at $35.75, available at nac-cna.ca and ticketmaster.ca. Showtime is 8 p.m.

Jazz

Jazz musicians from Herbie Hancock on down have found wellsprings of inspiration in the music of Joni Mitchell. On Saturday, at their GigSpace concert, the duo of Ottawa vocalist Christine Fagan and Ottawa guitarist Garry Elliott apply themselves to some of Mitchell’s early work, as well as to some of her subsequent material that itself is indebted to jazz. At the intimate 46-seat venue at 953 Gladstone Ave., the music begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $25, available at gigspaceottawa.com or by calling 613-729-0693.