THU 7/16
REGGAE
PATO BANTON
Born Patrick Murray in Birmingham, U.K., Pato Banton was likely destined to be a toaster from the start, when his stepfather named him “Pato,” from the Jamaican owl a.k.a “patoo.” Later, he adopted the DJ slang for storyteller, “banton.” As a reggae singer, he hit No. 1 in the U.K. in 1994 with a cover of “Baby, Come Back,” which also featured two members of UB40. His gig here is a chance to see a real music changemaker—someone whose place in the lineage of vocal toasting, speaking over an instrumental track, led to today’s hip-hop and rap. Ya mon! – JANIS HASHE
INFO: Thu, 8pm, Ivy Room, 860 San Pablo Ave., Albany. $30. 510.526.5888.
FRI 7/17
NEW WAVE
JOSIE COTTON
Those not going to Mosswood Meltdown can still see the official afterparty with the one, the only, Josie Cotton. What better way to experience the spirit of Mosswood than with the bubblegum sounds of “Johnny, Are You Queer?” and “He Could Be the One” and “School Is In?” Plus she’s joined by Oakland’s own Heather and the Hot Guys playing a mix of ’80s pop, rock and disco. Heather and the Hot Guys is the new-ish project from the one and only Chunx of Gravy Train!!!! So bust out the Aquanet, slap on the spandex and get ready for a night of bad taste, bad decisions and the best people. – MAT WEIR
INFO: Fri, 10pm, Eli’s Mile High Club, 3629 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland. $15. 510.808.7565.
FRI 7/17
ELECTRONIC
RJD2
RJD2 has stayed busy for two decades, balancing acclaimed instrumental records with production work for artists like Mos Def, MF DOOM and Phonte—and also producing the song that became Mad Men’s iconic theme. The 2024 album Visions Out of Limelight is full of unlikely inspirations—vintage television themes, funky basslines, the dusty crackle of classic sample-based production. Their newest album, According To …, a collab with rapper Supastition, is inflected with the sonic vocabulary of traditional boom-bap and vintage video games, another innovative entry in a consistently refreshing catalog. – SONYA BENNETT-BRANDT
INFO: Fri, 9pm, Cornerstone, 2367 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. $35. 510.214.8600.
FRI 7/17
JAZZ
GEORGE BROOKS 70th BIRTHDAY & SUMMIT REUNION
No American jazz musician has forged deeper or more extensive relationships with the greatest artists in Indian classical music than Berkeley saxophonist and composer George Brooks. He recently remixed his breakthrough 2002 album, Summit, in Dolby Atmos, for release on Six Degrees Records. It featured the first encounter between Journey drummer Steve Smith and the late tabla maestro Zakir Hussain, who also co-produced the project. In celebrating his milestone birthday, Brooks decided to reunite the band, with the sensational Carnatic percussionist Selvaganesh Vinayakram taking over Hussain’s sadly empty chair. Berkeley electric-bass great Kai Eckhardt and Chicago guitarist Fareed Haque, who were also bandmates in Garaj Mahal, round out the Summit reunion. – ANDREW GILBERT
INFO: Fri, 8pm, The Freight, 2020 Addison St., Berkeley. $39-$44. 510.644.2020.
SAT 7/18
JAZZ
LUTHER ALLISON TRIO
The thing about a Luther Allison gig is that one needs to look closely at the personnel to know what to expect. Since he’s playing one of the Bay Area’s premier piano stores, it’s a safe bet he’ll be holding forth on the glorious Fazioli, which retails for a cool $260,000. But Allison is also a top-shelf drummer, and when he gets a call for a gig he’s got to confirm which axe he’ll be wielding. For his Piedmont Piano debut he’s focusing on original compositions that draw on his deep well of influences: soul, gospel, hard bop and blues, with the stellar Bay Area rhythm section tandem of bassist Giulio Cetto and drummer Malachi Whitson. – AG
INFO: Sat, 5:30pm, Piedmont Piano Company, 1728 San Pablo Ave., Oakland. $25-$30. 510.547.8188.
SAT 7/18
ROOTS
DAVE ALVIN & JIMMIE DALE GILMORE
These two dudes have been pals for more than 30 years, when they made the musical connection between Alvin’s rock/R&B and Gilmore’s folk/country. They perform together as the Almost Acoustic Duo, combining tunes from their albums with stories from decades on the road. They make jokes about tuning and their combined ages and generally have a great time, in which the audience joins. “If you’ve never had trouble, you’ve never been alive,” Jimmie sings on “We’re Still Here.” Ain’t that the truth, brother? They’ll be joined by Lenny Kaye, longtime Patti Smith guitarist and collaborator. – JH
INFO: Sat, 8pm, The Freight, 2020 Addison St., Berkeley. $49-$54. 510.644.2020.
SAT 7/18
ZYDECO
ANDRE THIERRY
Few musicians have done more to carry zydeco into the present than Grammy-nominated accordionist Andre Thierry, whose sound is rooted in the Creole traditions of southwest Louisiana, then branches and flowers into blues, funk, R&B, jazz and rock. Rhythmix in the Parks is bringing him to a free concert in Franklin Park, which will open with Michele’s Soul Line Dance for dancers of every experience level. Then, Thierry and his band will take over with an infectious, accordion-driven set for a parkful of dancers, picnickers and summer celebrants. – SBB
INFO: Sat, Noon, Rhythmix in the Parks at Franklin Park, 1432 San Antonio Ave., Alameda. Free. 510.865.5060.
SUN 7/19
PUNK
LENNY KAYE
This is a double bill whose musicians really need no introduction. Lenny Kaye was one of the original New York punks back when “punk” was a word that would get someone beat up for being one. When New Yorkers saw bands like Ramones, New York Dolls, Television and the Patti Smith Group—of which Kaye was a longtime member. Oh, and he also curated one of the greatest—if not the greatest—collections of garage rock still sought after today: Nuggets. Now, Kaye has released his first solo record and will perform with the Bay Area’s own punk path creator, Penelope Houston of the Avengers, and the Jailbirds. – MW
INFO: Sun, 6pm, Ivy Room, 860 San Pablo Ave., Albany. $22. 510.526.5888.
SUN 7/19
ART
MILDRED HOWARD
Joined by longtime friend and artist Nashormeh Lindo in a conversation moderated by Essence Harden, senior curator of Art at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Howard will speak about her decades-long art-making in the Bay Area. The dialog’s centerpiece is OMCA’s spectacular, not-to-miss retrospective exhibition, “Mildred Howard: Poetics of Memory” [see our 6/9 EBX feature here.] The Oakland-based artist is finally receiving a long-deserved showcase on her home turf. A renowned figure in the industry, she is highly recognized and acclaimed for magnificent collages, found-object sculptures and immersive installations that investigate home, family, memory, ancestral identity and the African-American experience in the United States. The exhibition runs through Oct. 18. – LOU FANCHER
INFO: Sun, 1pm, OMCA, 1000 Oak St., Oakland. $10. 510.318.8400.
TUE 7/21
FILM
‘HANDS OFF CUBA’
Catherine Murphy’s 2012 documentary film begins with 250,000 volunteers. Over half of them were young women, who taught 700,000 people to read and write in one year. Preserved in film taken of the island, nine women’s personal testimonies and oral histories told by host families and feminist activists, the 1961 Cuban Literacy Campaign transformed the lives of more than 1 million people. The 33-minute film, written in English and Spanish by Eve Goldberg, continues its legacy as it ripples through the generations. The screening includes interactive discussions and conversations with filmmakers and organizers involved in liberation and social justice movements locally and around the globe. – LF
INFO: Tue, 7:30pm, La Peña, 3105 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. $5-$25. 510.849.2568.
