Downtown Tucson is our weekend entertainment destination

You know, someone to guide us in the right direction.

Not on the big issues of life; we’re going to muddle through those on our own.

We need a little shove when it comes to penciling in our weekend.

We like to have a plan so we can avoid the morning-after FOMO.

We think we have one here that will bring us downtown every night this weekend; we’re not including Sunday because, well, that’s a school/work night. We need our eight hours-plus.

But we’re shutting off the alarm the rest of the weekend.

Here’s our plan:

Thursday, Feb. 6

Yes, we have work on Friday, but our boss won’t mind if we’re a little groggy after checking out Dallas-based, St. Louis-born rapper Ian‘s “Ian Part 2” tour at Rialto Theatre.

Apparently the first leg of his tour didn’t hit enough cities so he’s back on the road getting to places like Tucson and Denver and Lincoln, Nebraska, that he missed the first time out. The tour runs through mid-March.

The rapper and producer, whose music features “dreamy synths, autotuned vocals and sharp punchlines,” according to press materials, started his career in the late 2010s but it wasn’t until last year that he hit paydirt with his viral mixtape “Valedictorian.”

It was the latest release by the artist, who started producing beats for Lil Xelly and Izaya Tiji several years ago. In 2022, he dropped his first tracks as a rapper with the self-produced “G63,” which led to a series of singles and EPs including his 2023 release “Empty Suit.”

In October, he released “Goodbye Horses,” featuring collaborations with Lil Yachty, Chief Keef and others.

Tickets for Thursday’s 8 p.m. show at the Rialto, 318 E. Congress St., are $25-$45 through ticketmaster.com.

Friday, Feb. 7

We’re crossing the street to Hotel Congress, 311 E. Congress St., for a good cause.

The historic hotel is collaborating with Arizona Arts Live to present “Tucson Loves LA — A Fire Relief Benefit for the Los Angeles Music Community.”

Tucson musicians, led by co-organizer and Tucson music legend Howe Gelb, will perform on the Hotel Congress Plaza stage from 6-9:30 p.m. with proceeds from the $20 admission ($25 day of) benefitting the nonprofit MusiCares. The organization dedicated to the wellbeing of recording artists and performers is assisting those displaced by the recent Los Angeles wildfires that destroyed more than 16,000 homes, chewed through more than 40,000 acres and decimated the Pacific Palisades community.

Friday’s confirmed lineup includes Gelb and Friends; Jason Lytle of California indie rockers Grandaddy; Brian Lopez; P.D. Ronstadt; indie rockers Orchadia; Gabriel Sullivan; Beth Goodfellow performing solo and with Thøger Lund and Naim Amor; Gabrielle Pietrangelo; Salvador Duran; and rockers Birds and Arrows.

MusiCares’ Fire Relief efforts include providing affected musicians with $1,500 in financial assistance and a $500 grocery card for near-term needs such as necessities and evacuation costs, with additional and more substantial support to those who lost or had their equipment damaged, or require medical or rental assistance.

Tickets are available at hotelcongress.com.

Saturday, Feb. 8

We’re capping off our weekend with some laughs from a roaring redhead comedian who recently made her late-night TV debut on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”

During that show, Tina Friml made it a point to tell her audience that no, she doesn’t suffer from cerebral palsy, “I have cerebral palsy. I suffer from people.”

Friml’s comedy is rooted in her disability in a way that is not demeaning, she is quick to stress. Instead, her jokes are meant to disarm her audience and invite them into her world so that they can see it’s not much different than theirs.

She often ends jokes with the quip, “I’m disabled. Don’t worry, you’re gonna be OK.”

In a recent interview with comedian Mindie Lind, Friml said she doesn’t like to be referred to as a “disabled comedian” even if her comedy revolves around that disability.

“I’ve been noticing that as my life progresses, the things that enrage me change,” she told Lind. “When I was younger, it was about people asking me for help. Lately, it’s when people think I am drunk. I used to think it was funny, but now it enrages me. I think it’s mostly because I am no longer drinking.”

Saturday’s 21-and-older show at 191 Toole, 191 E. Toole Ave., starts at 8 p.m.; Jeff Leach opens. Tickets are $25-$30 through rialtotheatre.com.

FYI: Friml also performs at 191 Toole at 8 p.m. Friday.