THURSDAY, JUNE 5
GARAGE
THE FREAK ACCIDENT
The Freak Accident is a sonic sideshow led by Ralph Spight of Victims Family fame, with a new line-up of bassist Henry Austin Lannan and drummer Stark Raving Brad. Bending punk, funk, surf and satire, the group serves up weirdness with a wink—think weird kid meets mad scientist in a haunted garage. Their latest album, Outer Space Is Boring, is another clever, misfit-friendly hodgepodge. Their website says it best: The band is “riding through Psychedelic Punk, Power Pop, Sludge Core, weird time signatures, butt rock, Caribbean improv and any other textures they can get their slimy little mitts on.” – SONYA BENNETT-BRANDT
INFO: Thu, 8pm, Thee Stork Club, 2330 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. $12-$15. 510.859.8709.
FRIDAY, JUNE 6
LECTURE
NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON
Few astrophysicists have rockstar celebrity recognition. In fact, Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson might be the only one. Sorry to Michio Kaku, who is, in fact, a theoretical physicist anyway. Tyson has written books, been interviewed on the world’s most famous podcasts, and has been quoted and memed more times than there are stars in the Milky Way with planets revolving around them—which is 3,200 at last count, by the way. This Friday, Tyson will discuss science’s ongoing search for habitable planets, what we’ve discovered on Mars, and the continued search for intelligent life on other planets and whether or not it’s already on Earth. Cue Giorgio Tsoukalos’ famous line, “aliens!” – MAT WEIR
INFO: Fri, 8pm, Paramount Theatre, 2025 Broadway, Oakland. $70-$254. 510.893.2300.
FRIDAY, JUNE 6
JAZZ
TAKUYA KURODA
Born in Kobe, Japan, and based in Brooklyn since the early aughts, trumpeter Takuya Kuroda has forged a potent sound steeped in jazz but deeply inflected by soul and hip-hop. Since his formative experiences performing with DJ Premier’s Badder Band, José James and Akoya Afrobeat, he’s worked doggedly to develop his own sound and repertoire, releasing widely heralded albums for Blue Note and Concord. Released in February, his latest album Everyday brings to mind several directions of 1970s jazz/rock fusion filtered through 21st-century production. Oakland indie-soul singer/songwriter August Lee Stevens, a luminous presence who’s on the cusp of breaking through to a wider audience, plays an opening set. – ANDREW GILBERT
INFO: Fri, 9pm, The New Parish, 1743 San Pablo Ave., Oakland. $35. 510.227.8177.
SATURDAY, JUNE 7
FESTIVAL
LA PEÑA 50TH ANNIVERSARY
For 50 years, La Peña has served as a cultural center for Latin, Caribbean and Indigenous communities in the heart of Berkeley. Modeled after the Chilean peñas that grew as a direct response to the U.S.-backed military coup that overthrew the democratically elected Dr. Salvador Allende on Sept. 11, 1973, Berkeley’s La Peña is a hub for grassroots cultural, artistic and social justice movements. To celebrate its golden jubilee, the center is throwing an all-day festival for the community. From 5:30-8:30pm there will be a ticketed concert featuring Holly Near, DiaPason and Francisco Herrera, with proceeds benefiting the center. – MW
INFO: Sat, 11:30am, La Peña Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. $50. 510.849.2568.
SATURDAY, JUNE 7
COUNTRY
CHARLEY CROCKETT
There’s nothing more American than the tall tale, and there’s no tale-teller taller than Davy Crockett. A folk hero in fringe, Davy spun wild stories of bears and backwoods bravado—part myth, part man. Well, Texas-born Charley Crockett is his distant descendant—or so he says—and he channels that same rugged, rebellious spirit into country ballads inflected by soul and hip-hop. His larger-than-life backstory is shaped by troubles and trailer parks, hitched rides and hopped trains, and he weaves that grit of lived experience with the swagger of Americana lore. – SBB
INFO: Sat, 8pm, Greek Theatre, 2001 Gayley Rd., Berkeley. $74. 510.871.9225.
SATURDAY, JUNE 7
COMEDY
ADAM STRAUSS
With comic cred including having ingested shrooms and winning an Eddy Award for Best Solo Show in the Bay Area, Strauss deserves an Oakland city key. A versatile performer/playwright, he drops onto the Marsh stage in June with “Before I Forget.” The 70-minute solo show has Strauss throwing on his OCD backpack to venture into a true tale of forgetting and remembering. Trying to outpace his genetic and personal destiny, he searches for answers and the means to control the winds blowing through his brain in AI, relationships, existentialism, hope and, inevitably, mushrooms. Performances go until June 21. – LOU FANCHER
INFO: Sat, 8pm, The Marsh, 2120 Allston Way, Berkeley, $20-100. 415.282.3055.
SATURDAY, JUNE 7
COMEDY
PUB CHOIR
Want to sing in a choir, but fear your yodel isn’t adequate for public consumption? Led by choir director Astrid Jorgensen, Pub Choir is a spontaneous comedy music lesson and performance. By the end of the roughly 90-minute session, you and a room full of strangers will be belting out one song in three-part harmony. No need to read sheet music or audition. No judgement, even if you only whisper or yell—in rhythm, please. The absolute point is to celebrate being with people eager to sing and focused on blending their voices with others without discord. Attendance grants consent to be filmed and photographed during the event. – LF
INFO: Sat, 8pm, The UC Theatre, 2036 University Ave., Berkeley. $30. 510.356.4000.
MONDAY, JUNE 9
ACOUSTIC
PIERRE BENSUSAN
Marking half a century since the launch of his career, French-Algerian fingerstyle guitar master Pierre Bensusan hits Berkeley for two nights amid a world tour. It’s difficult to know what to say about him at this point. He continues to write new tunes, but the essential elements of his sound, drawing on jazz, European classical music and Mediterranean pop, have been in place since the late 1970s. Hailed by fellow guitar stars—Michael Hedges famously dedicated a tune to him—Bensusan fans range from Leo Kottke, Larry Coryell and Tuck Andress to Tommy Emmanuel, Mark Knopfler, Andrew York and Steve Vai, who released three Bensusan albums on his Favored Nations label. – AG
INFO: Mon, 7pm, The Back Room, 1984 Bonita Ave., Berkeley. $25-$30. 510.654.3808.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11
BLUEGRASS
THE GIBSON BROTHERS
The Gibson Brothers are not pompous guys, but maybe their life can be explained by a pompous phrase: “Nominative determinism,” the theory that a person’s name influences their identity. From their first music lessons in middle school in northern New York, the brothers seemed destined to become Gibson-wielding Americana experts—despite having no relation to the guitar brand! They also play a whole smattering of banjos, fiddles and mandolins at a level that aligns them with country greats like Hank Williams, Ricky Skaggs and Levon Helm. The secret sauce is their ability to harmonize the way only brothers can. – ADDIE MAHMASSANI
INFO: Wed, 8pm, The Freight, 2020 Addison St., Berkeley. $34/adv, $39/door. 510.644.2020.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11
SOUL
DAME DRUMMER
Dame Drummer has Oakland in his soul. He’s worked with Zion-I, Los Rakas, Fantastic Negrito, Raheem DeVaughn and Mistah FAB. Since becoming a West Coaster, Dame Drummer has written and released three self-produced solo albums, with his third, Aye Yai Yai, released in 2020 as an analysis of critical race theory only weeks after the murder of George Floyd at the hands of the police. In 2023 he released Black Daddy: The Movie, a “docu-musical” that takes a deep dive into the triumphs, heartache and beauty of being a Black father in modern America. This midweek show is a celebration of Dame Drummer’s fifth album, Our Love. – MW
INFO: Wed, 7:30pm, Yoshi’s, 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland. $35-$75. 510.238.9200.
