THU 8/6
SOUL
JILL SCOTT
One of the top performers when it comes to telling stories in word and sound, Scott knocks out her sixth album, To Whom This May Concern. Each show on the tour is designed with location in mind and includes a live band. But the real magnet is Scott, whose voice can slink, surge, sizzle and soar; sometimes all in one song. This is a phone-free event, so spin the gadgets off and get in the analog groove. — LOU FANCHER
INFO: Thu, 7:30pm, Paramount Theatre, 2025 Broadway, Oakland. $86-$408. 510.465.6400.
FRI 8/7
AFRO CUBAN
ORQUESTA AKOKÁN
Old-school Cuban grooves get a brilliant 21st century renovation with Orquesta Akokán, a powerhouse ensemble brimming with top-flight Cuban musicians. Created by the American tandem of pianist/arranger Michael Eckroth and Chulo Records producer and multi-instrumentalist Jacob Plasse, both influential figures on the New York Latin music scene, Akokán’s eponymous 2018 debut album embraced the pre-revolutionary mambo sound with a surging chorus of brass and percussion. Recorded in Havanaʼs Egrem Studios, the road-tested group’s 2021 release, 16 Rayos, expanded the mambo palette with a panoply of propulsive ideas. Steeped in the traditions of the great dance orchestras, Akokán doesn’t always play for dancers, but it’s right at home when it does. — ANDREW GILBERT
INFO: Fri, 8pm, The Freight, 2020 Addison St., Berkeley. $44-$49. 510.644.2020.
FRI 8/7
THEATER
‘ORPHEUS DESCENDING’
Southern gothic meets Greek mythology and collides with an American fever dream about freedom in OTP’s fearless new production. In this play, American playwright Tennessee Williams’ Orpheus and Eurydice are an itinerant musician and a love-starved shop-owner. Imprisoned by conformity, their heated passion draws the ire of the community. What goes up, must come down—or will freedom rule and break the downward spiral? Count on the cast led by director Will Detlefsen to disregard danger and march without hesitation into the fire to find out. Runs until Aug. 23. — LF
INFO: Fri, 7pm, Oakland Theater Project, 1501 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland. $10-$70. 510.646.1126.
FRI 8/7
HIP-HOP
SEIJI ODA
Friday Nights at OMCA have become one of Oakland’s liveliest weekly rituals, where gallery chats and live music spill across the museum’s indoor and outdoor spaces. This edition spotlights Oakland rapper and producer Seiji Oda, whose hazy, self-described “lofi-hyphy” sound filters the Bay’s rap lineage through ambient textures and understated beats. Then, Oakland Roots and Soul Soccer Club, hands-on bookmark making and DJ Benet round out an evening constructed out of the many forms of Oakland arts and culture. — SONYA BENNETT-BRANDT
INFO: Fri, 5pm, Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak St., Oakland. Free. 510.318.8400
SAT 8/8
SKA
THE HELLAS
Here’s a strong piece of advice: Go see the Hellas. This six-piece punk and ska act perfectly blends the two genres for a familiar sound with an updated twist. Its energy alone is magnetic, but combined with the talent this band broadcasts it’s a recipe for one hella good time. Plus, this weekend it’s playing with L.A. Latino ska act Matamoska!, Philthy Dronez and DJ Lizzy al Toque guaranteeing a night of dancing, moshing and good times. —MAT WEIR
INFO: Sat, 9pm, Eli’s Mile High Club, 3629 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland. $20. 510.655-6661.
SAT 8/8
LATIN SOUL
JASON JOSHUA
Jason Joshua is a big man with a big voice. In fact, both he and one of his albums are called La Voz De Oro (The Golden Voice). His music blends Latin soul, pop, funk and classic rock. He produced a worldwide hit with “La Vida Es Fría” (“Life Is Cold”), a slow, soulful ballad. One commenter said, “Every single time I listen to this song, my soul leaves my body and goes to Mars.” The Miami-born Joshua, also a DJ, producer and founder of Mango Hill Records, goes by the nickname “El Principe Del Swing.” But as he says, “I let my music do the talking.” — JANIS HASHE
INFO: Sat, 9pm, Cornerstone, 2367 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. $29. 510.214.8600.
SUN 8/9
POP-PUNK
2MORROWS JUNE
Catchy hooks, infectious melodies and lots of clean, harmonizing vocals. For anyone who loves pop-punk, 2morrows June is a must-see. Hailing from the Bay Area’s Richmond, this group delights audiences throughout the state. This Sunday Santa Cruz’s Outpatient X, New Jersey’s Free the Witness, NorCal emo act Knoxey and cross-Atlantic duo Subtitles join them for a mix of dance, emo, and street- and pop-punk. Basically, get those moshing boots on and get ready for a great night. Who says punk rock is dead? — MW
INFO: Sun, 7pm, 924 Gilman St., Berkeley. $17-$20. 510.525-9926.
SUN 8/9
JAZZ
GLEN PEARSON
Oakland pianist Glen Pearson is a Bay Area jazz mainstay, a dependably brilliant accompanist and an improviser sought out by leading artists on tour and at home. The head of musical studies at the College of Alameda, he won a Grammy Award during his five-year stint with the storied Count Basie Orchestra, a fact he tended to keep on the down low among his students. They probably don’t know that he spent more than a decade as musical director of the Boys Choir of Harlem. He brings a top-shelf trio to the library as part of the Jazz On Sunday series, which runs through the end of August. — AG
INFO: Sun, 2:30pm, Golden Gate Branch, 5606 San Pablo Ave., Oakland. Free. 510.597.5023.
SUN 8/9
ALT-ROCK
SPARTA
Put together from the wreckage of post-hardcore touchstone At the Drive-In, Sparta set sail for their own brand of taut precision and passion in 2001. Across six albums, the El Paso trio sharpened into something leaner and more melodic, balancing tightly wound riffs and interlocking guitars with Jim Ward’s emotionally weathered songwriting. Their latest record, Cut a Silhouette, recorded live in just seven days, strips away any lingering arena-rock gloss in favor of a communal and collaborative urgency. More than 20 years after Wiretap Scars, Sparta isn’t interested in living off nostalgia. — SBB
INFO: Sun, 7:30pm, Ivy Room, 860 San Pablo Ave., Albany. $25. 510.526.5888.
WED 8/12
ROOTS
TEDESCHI TRUCKS BAND
Derek Trucks’ uncle was Butch Trucks, Allman Brothers Band percussionist, and in 1999 Derek, by then a world-class guitarist, joined the band. In 2010, he and singer/guitarist Susan Tedeschi formed the Tedeschi Trucks Band and have been on the road ever since. “They rock” doesn’t begin to do them justice. In 2024 TTB played the Kennedy Center Honors in a tribute to Bonnie Raitt, and in 2025 the band released, with the late Leon Russell, Mad Dogs & Englishmen Revisited (LIVE AT LOCKN’)—the audio release of their iconic tribute performance. Nothing beats hearing them live. Get thee to the Greek. —JH
INFO: Wed, 6pm, Greek Theatre, 2001 Gayley Ave., Berkeley. $64-$101. 510.871.9225.
