THURSDAY
STRINGS
FIDDLE SUMMIT
Founded 40 years ago, Valley of the Moon Scottish Fiddle School might sound like a niche affair, but in the hands of Scottish fiddle master Alasdair Fraser, the summer program in the Santa Cruz redwoods has provided creative fuel for generations of brilliant acoustic music explorers. The theme for the annual season-ending concert, “Scotland-Spain-Sweden-Continental Europe,” makes Fraser’s ecumenical vision clear, as does his roster of featured guests: cellist Natalie Haas, fiddle stars Lena Jonsson, Laura Cortese and the San Miguel Fraser project, and the remarkable dancer Nic Gareiss. As both parties and culminations, Fiddle Summits are famously jubilant affairs marked by bravura musicianship and impromptu collaborations. – ANDREW GILBERT
INFO: Thu, 8pm, Freight & Salvage, 2020 Addison St., Berkeley. $39/adv, $44/door. 510.644.2020.
FRIDAY
HIP-HOP
HALL OF JUSTICE RUN
The summer variety show lights up Thee Stork Club with local musicians like high-visibility hip-hop artists Z-Man, Foreign Legion, Vocab Slick and Justin’s Case to rising moonbeams like Lil Flower Nasti and—apropos—Moonbeams. Orbiting in from Kentucky is special guest RMLLW2LZ with DJ DS. The 51st birthday of Bay Area DJ True Justice sparked the mini-reunion. Collectively, they’re untamed, bewitching, bending the frame and unbeaten by the mighty tide of disinvestment in civic and personal rights in 2024. Bear witness to hip-hop’s past, present and future in the Hall of Justice Run. – LOU FANCHER
INFO: Fri, 8pm, Thee Stork Club, 2330 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. $10/adv, $15/door. 510.859.8709.
FRIDAY
THEATER
‘180 Days …’
Stephanie Wiesman’s play 180 Days. To Die. To Live. contrasts two people’s different end-of-life odysseys after both are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Presented as part of the In Front of Your Eyes Performance Festival featuring developing works from women and nonbinary performers and playwrights, the play teaches life-and-death lessons while simultaneously inviting tears and laughter. The messages unpack the mysteries of health-care options, healing practices and California’s end-of-life assisted suicide option, legalized in 2016. Not everything about cancer and grief and dying is funny, but some of it is. And remarkably, Wiesman finds the comic amid the confounding vortex of illness, agency and the mortality we all must face. – LF
INFO: Fri, 7:30pm, Marsh Theater, 2120 Allston Way, Berkeley. $15-$100. 510.282.3055.
SATURDAY
ALTERNATIVE
MT. JOY
Mt. Joy, the indie-rock quintet named after a hill in Valley Forge National Park, started as a cross-country song idea exchange between high school pals Matt Quinn and Sam Cooper. They both ended up in L.A. and flash forward: Their 2018 debut album launched them with the platinum hit “Silver Lining,” a sunburst of a track that shot to No. 1 on AAA radio and racked up millions of streams. Their sound has grown bolder with each release, from the critically acclaimed Rearrange Us to their pandemic-forged Orange Blood, an album that thrums with energy and crescendos into dancey wildness. – SONYA BENNETT-BRANDT
INFO: Sat, 7:30pm, Greek Theatre, 2001 Gayley Rd., Berkeley. $78. 510.871.9225.
SATURDAY
POP
THIRSTBUSTERS
For one night only, the Thirstbusters are back, 15 years after their debut album made waves. Formed in 2008 straight out of Berkeley High, the band fused pop-rock with jazz to create their breakout hit “So There,” with a music video filmed in the classrooms and hallways of BHS. The song rocketed them onto Disney Channel and the CW’s 90210. After years under the radar, they’re reuniting. They may be a little older, and their website may now advertise a bartending service, but they can still deliver an epic night of high-energy performance and first-rate nostalgia. – SBB
INFO: Sat, 7:30pm, Ivy Room, 860 San Pablo Ave., Albany. $12/adv, $20/door. 510.526.5888.
SUNDAY
PUNK
RIXE
Oi! punk first hit the scene as a working-class reaction to art school bands taking punk away from its roots. But what began as a movement in England spread throughout Europe and across the pond to the rest of the world. Now, almost 50 years later, bands like Rixe continue to carry the Oi! torch with their own special brand of lighter fluid. With synths and drum-machine beats, this French act has caused quite the controversy, nay, infamy, for themselves. Despite being together for a decade Rixe hasn’t released much music, but dropped Tir Groupé last July. – MAT WEIR
INFO: Sun, 7pm, Gilman, 924 Gilman St., Berkeley. $15/adv, $20/door. 510.524.8180.
SUNDAY
FOLK
DAWN ELLERBECK
Alameda bassist Dawn Ellerbeck celebrates the release of her first solo album, Gone Again, and reintroduces herself to Bay Area audiences as a rootsy singer/songwriter accompanying herself on guitar. Inspired by bluegrass matriarchs Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard, she’s honed a body of folky songs marked by sweet vocal harmonies and inviting melodies. With violinist Madeline Roorda, mandolinist Amanda Malachesky and bassist Travis Hanna, Ellerbeck is in fine company. Roorda’s new duo project with guitarist Adeline Chaney, Little Manzanita, plays an opening set inspired by the American folk music they absorbed growing up at old-time music festivals. – AG
INFO: Sun, 2pm, Back Room, 1984 Bonita Ave., Berkeley. $20. 510.654.3808.
MONDAY
HIP-HOP
SEXYY RED
Sexyy Red wants your vote. The rapper’s 2024 Sexyy Red 4 President Tour in support of her third mixtape, In Sexyy We Trust, almost looks too fun to be true. Hailing from St. Louis, the artist’s rise to fame has been meteoric. Her 2023 single, “Pound Town,” made it to the Billboard Hot 100, inspiring a whole body of remixes and even a “Pound Town 2.” From her current red, white and blue optics to the tour promo videos featuring the rapper behind a podium, Sexyy Red brings a subversive, Southern rap spirit to election season. It might just make the coming months bearable. – ADDIE MAHMASSANI
INFO: Mon, 7pm, Oakland Arena, 7000 Coliseum Way, Oakland. $46-$194. 510.569.2121.
TUESDAY
HIP-HOP
EPIK HIGH
The South Korean trio, Epik High, has been in the game for over two decades, blazing a trail for many socially conscious artists. Tablo, Mithra Jin and DJ Tukutz burst onto the scene with 2003’s Map of the Human Soul and its follow-up, High Society. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism censored these albums for their themes involving war and religion, but the group never stopped and, in 2016, became the first central South Korean band to play Coachella. In 2023, they released an EP called Strawberry to celebrate their 20th anniversary with a “sweet and fresh” sound, as Tablo described it. – AM
INFO: Tue, 8pm, Fox Theater, 1807 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. $88-$308. 510.302.2250.
WEDNESDAY
METAL
POLARIS
After the tragic death of their guitar player Ryan Siew last year, Australian metalcore band Polaris didn’t know if their future was certain or if they even wanted to go on at all. Yet, after a deep conversation with Siew’s family, they decided to release their Fatalism album, the last collection of songs written with the guitar player. That album ended up debuting on the Australian charts at No. 1, marking the band’s first in their decade-long career. Now, the Aussies kick off their 25-date U.S. tour in Berkeley, traveling with friends Blessthefall, Thousand Below and Nerv. – MW
INFO: Wed, 7pm, UC Theatre, 2036 University Ave., Berkeley. $44.75. 510.356.4000.
