THURSDAY, MAY 22
REGGAE
STEEL PULSE
For five decades, the members of Steel Pulse have fought the good fight the best way they know how: with a flood of reggae. The legendary band is on its 50th Anniversary Tour, celebrating its Grammy-nominated 12th studio album, Mass Manipulation. Ever aware of the forces that pit people against each other, lead guitarist David Hinds brings his humanitarian impulse and respect for the African diaspora to the music. In songs like “Black and White Oppressors,” “Thank the Rebels,” and “Human Trafficking,” the musicians of Steel Pulse gallantly uphold their reputation as reggae revolutionaries. – ADDIE MAHMASSANI
INFO: Thu, 8pm, UC Theatre, 2036 University Ave., Berkeley. $40. 510.356.4000.
THURSDAY, MAY 22
CUMBIA
SON ROMPE PERA
Welcome to the marimba mosh pit. The Gama brothers, born on the outskirts of Mexico City, grew up hammering out marimba melodies at weddings and street parties before diving headfirst into the chaos of punk as teens. In the wisdom of young adulthood, they fused those roots into their own rowdy hybrid, “cumbia punk.” Their albums, Batuco and Chimborazo, channel this wild energy, turning marimba into a riotous, bone-rattling lead, blended with surf guitar, big percussion and a little dub weirdness. – SONYA BENNETT-BRANDT
INFO: Thu, 8pm, Cornerstone, 2367 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. $40. 510.214.8600.
FRIDAY, MAY 23
R&B
GOAPELE
Ever since her 2001 self-released debut, Closer, Goapele has been a force to be reckoned with. This Oakland native graduated from the Berklee College of Music and used her gifts in soul music to illuminate civil rights and social-justice issues. Her sultry voice is beloved throughout the Bay Area, and she has collaborated with a “who’s who” of local artists like E-40, Hieroglyphics, Mac Mall and Zion-I. But her influence and voice extend far beyond just the Bay, as her music has appeared on national television shows and she’s shared the stage with legends like the late Prince and Stevie Wonder. She performs until May 24. – MAT WEIR
INFO: Fri, 8pm, Yoshi’s, 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland. $74-$99. 510.238.9200.
FRIDAY, MAY 23
THEATER
‘THE SOUND OF MUSIC’
Ask 20 people how they feel about the iconic musical, and the world divides into lovers and loathers. Choosing to side with the lovers, the music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II transports audiences to 1938 Austria. Riding on the wings of “Climb Every Mountain,” “My Favorite Things,” “Edelweiss” and “Do-Re-Mi,” the Von Trapp family and beloved governess Maria stare down Nazi forces and fight to preserve the country’s humanitarian roots. The story, based on the book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, will be well played at the always-reliable Berkeley Playhouse. Performances go until June 29. – LOU FANCHER
INFO: Fri, 7pm, Berkeley Playhouse, 2640 College Ave., Berkeley. $45-$55. 510.845.8542.
SATURDAY, MAY 24
FILM
‘LOUIS’
SFJAZZ presents trumpet-great Wynton Marsalis as featured soloist with an 11-piece jazz ensemble and Manila-born virtuoso classical pianist Cecile Licad providing live accompaniment to the silent film, Louis. Marsalis wrote the score for Dan Pritzker’s 2010 Louis Armstrong biopic, which follows the future icon at 6 years old roaming the streets of New Orleans in 1907. Jazz, the idiom that Armstrong radically advanced and turned into the foundation of American popular music, had yet to be named or fully born, and the film evokes the various settings and situations from which the music emerged. The film seeks to emulate silent film-era conventions, with big emotions and close observation of expressions. – ANDREW GILBERT
INFO: Sat, 8pm, Paramount Theatre, 2025 Broadway, Oakland. $85-161. 510.465.6400.
SATURDAY, MAY 24
EMO
DIVA BLEACH
Phoenix-based Diva Bleach, fronted by Sydney Roten and Brie Ritter, blends pop-punk energy with diaristic lyrics to make infectious anthems with the heart-on-sleeve energy of the emo revival. They’re on tour with Tacoma’s Alex Vile, a four-piece band led by formidable singer/guitarist Alexandra Vilenius. They’ve got that same modern emo edge, channeled through ’90s grunge and raw, melodic soundscapes. With fervent emotion and undeniable hooks, the two bands are capturing the pulse of a new generation. – SBB
INFO: Sat, 6:30pm, Crybaby, 1928 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. $23.
SUNDAY, MAY 25
JAZZ
4 PIANISTS
Though the billing for this concert merely indicates the number of players and instrumentation, the contents of the program contain a talented array of musicians. Mary Watkins is best known as a prolific composer with three operas, film scores, chamber works and jazz pieces to her credit. Barbara Higbie is a multi-instrumental force and genre-defying composer who helped put Windham Hill on the map. Tammy Hall has raised her profile as a commanding leader of a jazz trio after years as the accompanist of choice for powerhouse vocalists from Barbara Dane and Holly Near to Kim Nalley and Denise Perrier. And Adrienne Torf is another prolific composer who has toured and recorded with Holly Near, Linda Tillery, Ferron, Meg Christian and June Jordan. – AG
INFO: Sun, 7pm, The Freight, 2020 Addison St., Berkeley. $49-$54. 510.644.2020.
SUNDAY, MAY 25
LITERATURE
JOHN DINGES
Dinges, the award-winning investigative journalist who covered Latin America for The Washington Post and NPR, launches his new book, Chile in Their Hearts: The Untold Story of Two Americans Who Went Missing after the Coup. A conversation with the audience will revolve around the book’s core: the 1973 U.S.-backed coup in Chile and the true-life stories of Charles Horman and Frank Teruggi, two Americans who believed in Allende’s democratic revolution and were eventually executed. Romance, intrigue, cover-ups, false identities and accusations make Dinges’ book a thriller mystery nestled in the real facts, research and interviews that constitute trademark boots-on-the-road investigative journalism. – LF
INFO: Sun, 6pm, La Peña, 3105 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. Free. 510.849.2568.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 28
POP
DEATHBYROMY
Let’s get one thing straight: DeathByRomy isn’t your average pop star. While singers like Sabrina Carpenter, Adele, Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande cultivate a clean-cut image, DeathbyRomy wades in the dark waters of the abyss, like a cross between Lady Gaga and Marilyn Manson. This Los Angeles native has released several singles, but last month she dropped her debut full-length, Hollywood Forever, playing off the double meaning of wanting to be in Hollywood forever, and being buried in the Hollywood Forever cemetery next to the likes of Johnny and Dee Dee Ramone, David Lynch, Vampira (Maila Nurmi) and others. – MW
INFO: Wed, 7:30pm, Cornerstone, 2367 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. $33. 510.214.8600.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 28
ROCK
TROPA MAGICA
Who’s in the mood for some psychedelic cumbia? It’s the tried-and-true style of Tropa Magica, and it’s about as fun to dance to as it is to listen to. The delightful band evolved organically from brothers David and Rene Pacheco’s lifelong love of playing music together in East L.A. Like their contemporaries, Los Lobos and Chicano Batman, they bring the traditional rhythms of Latinx music boldly into a mix of ’90s grunge and psych-punk stylings with wondrous results. Their latest album, Para Bailar y Tripiar, features cosmic imagery, joyful melodies and zany meditations on love in tracks that include “Limerencia” and “Y3K.” – AM
INFO: Wed, 8pm, Thee Stork Club, 2330 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. $20/adv, $25 door. 510.859.8709.
