THURSDAY
ROCK
ATERCIOPELADOS
Aterciopelados is a beloved rock band from Colombia. Led by Andrea Echeverri and Héctor Buitrago, the group is known for its socially conscious ethos and innovative fusion of South and Central American musical traditions. With four Latin Grammy Awards to their name and four Grammy Award nominations to boot, the band has even more to be proud of: In the early aughts, the United Nations presented them with a gift of decommissioned machine guns in recognition of their work against gun violence in Colombia. Naturally, they turned those guns into guitars for their “Cancion Protesta” music video. – ADDIE MAHMASSANI
INFO: 8pm, UC Theatre, 2036 University Ave., Berkeley. $32.50. 510.356.4000.
HIP-HOP
THE DELINQUENTS
When it comes to West Coast G-funk gangsta rap, nobody in the Bay does it better than Oakland’s hip-hop gods, the Delinquents. Glen Jones (a.k.a. G-Stack) and Vidal Prevost (a.k.a. V-White), along with producer Gregory Turner (a.k.a. Lord Gregory, a.k.a. G-Black), have been pillars of the rap community since 1991. As part of the Thizz Nation, they’ve collaborated with contemporaries like Snoop Dogg, Too $hort, Mack 10, C-Loc, Keak Da Sneak and stacks on stacks of other legendary names. Earlier this year, they dropped their fourth studio project, Authenticity. This Thursday, they’re joined by a live backing band for an extra level of unforgettable live artistry. – MAT WEIR
INFO: 8pm and 10pm, Yoshi’s, 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland. $50/adv, $65/door. 510.238.9200.
FRIDAY
SOUL
MACY GRAY
Macy Gray’s unmistakable voice instantly evokes a simpler time at the end of the 20th century when her single, “I Try,” off her debut album, On How Life Is, made her a star. But Gray is no one-hit wonder. After winning a Grammy for “I Try” in 2001, she released 10 more albums, opened her own music academy and appeared in scores of popular films and TV shows. The Reset, her latest album, maintains her signature introspection and vulnerability while reflecting on the ways the world changed during the pandemic. – AM
INFO: 8pm, Cornerstone, 2367 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. $55/adv, $60/door. 510.214.8600.
INDIE-PUNK
JOHN-ALLISON WEISS
One of the greatest—and most misunderstood—things about punk is that it isn’t a musical style. It’s a mindset that believes that people are individualists who will fight to be who they want, say what they want, and question the dominant cultural standards and discourse. John-Allison Weiss understands this in the core of their soul, evidenced by their ridiculously catchy—and authentically intimate—songs. Anyone who wants to argue Weiss isn’t punk needs to try saying that to people like Laura Jane Grace, Tim Barry, Chuck Reagan and the ghost of Lou Reed—all acts Weiss has supported in their 16-year career. – MW
INFO: 7:30pm, Gilman, 924 Gilman St., Berkeley. $15. 510.524.8180.
DANCE
URBAN BUSH WOMEN
Hair & Other Stories, the evening-length work inspired by UBW founder Jawole Willa Jo Zollar’s HairStories (2001), is an opportunity to move, bear witness and explore race and identity. Active participation isn’t reserved for the cast’s stellar, revelatory performers—audiences are invited to gaze through the lens of Black women’s hair and see truth, respond to beauty beyond the surface, activate new paradigms and witness a soulfulness that generated the stories upon which the show was created. Choreographed and directed by artistic directors Chanon Judson and Mame Diarra Speis, Hair & Other Stories draws from a series of “Hair Party” sessions the company held with women nationwide. – LOU FANCHER
INFO: 8pm, Zellerbach Playhouse, 2413 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, $72-$82. 510.612.4495.
SATURDAY
SKA
THE SLACKERS
The Slackers bring three decades of ska, reggae and soul mastery to the stage. A demonstration of their endurance: After 30 years, 15 albums and thousands of live performances worldwide, the Slackers became a Billboard “top new artist” when their 2022 release, Don’t Let The Sunlight Fool Ya, claimed the No. 1 reggae album spot, marking their first charting success. The band’s unique blend of traditional ’60s ska and rocksteady includes influences from jazz to country. They deliver an energetic, ecstatic live experience, keeping it fresh by changing and improvising their set every night. – SONYA BENNETT-BRANDT
INFO: 7:30pm, Cornerstone, 2367 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. $25/adv, $28/door. 510.214.8600.
SUNDAY
INDIE-POP
JENNIFER GREER TRIO & EGGCORN
Award-winning singer-songwriter and pianist Jennifer Greer, a Berkeley resident since 2019, writes sophisticated art-pop contoured to a flexible, often arrestingly beautiful voice that sometimes brings Kate Bush to mind. A relatively late-blooming performer, she’s released four acclaimed albums over the past two decades, starting with 2002’s Jewel Machine, and she has a new one ready to drop. Sharing the double bill is Bay Area singer-songwriter Lara Hoffman’s Eggcorn, who released a promising, synth-textured debut album last year, Your Own True Love. She recalibrated the music for her chamber-pop band with bassist Kyle Stringer, violinist Ali Gummess, violist Karen Moran and drummer Peter Craft. – ANDREW GILBERT
INFO: 7:30pm, Back Room, 1984 Bonita Ave., Berkeley. $20. 510.654.3808.
MONDAY
COMEDY
TREVOR NOAH
South African stand-up comedian Trevor Noah has taken the world by storm with whirlwind global tours that sell out arenas, as well as hosting The Daily Show for seven years, hosting the Grammy Show for three years and creating award-laden podcasts and comedy albums. He’s a megaplex of yuk-yuks, slinging satirical, political commentary from an international perspective, offering relief from hot-tempered American myopia with a cool intellect and contemporary references. – LF
INFO: 8pm, Paramount Theatre, 2025 Broadway, Oakland. $49.50-$129. 510.893.2300.
TUESDAY
PUNK
THE MENZINGERS
Beloved Scranton punk rockers the Menzingers have unveiled their eighth studio album, Some Of It Was True. The record is street poetry with a dose of Americana, blending punk rock with echoes of Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen. After 16 years of hits, cheeky music videos and relentless touring, the quartet of firm friends still delivers vivid emotion and relatable angst. Their latest album is full of heartache and euphoria—that feeling of knowing less and less the older you get. – SB
INFO: 7:30pm, The UC Theater, 2036 University Ave., Berkeley. $33. 510.356.4000.
