Few songwriters have built a world as vivid as Tom Waits. Over five decades he has given us drunken piano poetry, junkyard percussion, carnival barkers, and some of the most tender love songs ever written. This December he turns 77, and Blue Jay is throwing him a party.

Patrick Hagerman and his cast of Blue Jay all-stars take on the full sweep of the Waits songbook. They’ll start with the late-night saloon songs of the ’70s, move through the beautiful clatter of Swordfishtrombones and Rain Dogs, and finish with the weathered, roots-soaked records that came after. Every voice on stage brings its own take, so the night will be as unpredictable as the man himself.