THURSDAY
ROCK
THE BUTTERTONES
The Buttertones, an L.A.-based cult rock band, are playing their first self-titled album in its entirety to celebrate its 10th anniversary. The album established the moody-surfy sound that took them to Coachella and on a European tour, bringing a refreshing combo of upbeat ’60s guitar and post-punk flexibility. With rich reverb and propulsive percussion, they draw from a complex emotional palette to paint a dark picture with cheerful colors. – SONYA BENNETT-BRANDT
INFO: Thu, 8pm, Cornerstone, 2367 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. $22/adv, $25/door. 510.214.8600.
THURSDAY
PUNK
OFF WITH THEIR HEADS
Since 2002, Minnesotan punks Off With Their Heads have kept their punk-rock credentials close to their heart. By mixing melodies with gang vocal harmonies and sticking to the genre’s “short, fast and loud” ethos, they’ve created a mature sound that has aged well over the years. The frequently changing lineup keeps the band’s music hot and fresh, with singer/guitarist Ryan Young as the one constant member. In 2022, they released Calm/Collected, an acoustic album combining two previous full-lengths, Won’t Be Missed and Character, with an Americana/western twist. Joining them are East Bay pop-punks Hammerbombs and Oakland’s heavier-than-a-Smith-&-Wesson cowboy metalheads, Jefe Machete. – MAT WEIR
INFO: Thu, 7pm, Gilman, 924 Gilman St., Berkeley. $20/adv, $25/door. 510.524.8180.
FRIDAY
HIP-HOP
LIL BEAN & ZAYBANG
Bay Aaaaaarrrreeeeeaaaaaaa! This Friday, get lit with two of the Bay’s biggest new rappers, Lil Bean & ZayBang, as they throw an all-night rager in the heart of Oaktown. Lil Bean was already making waves in 2019 with singles “Down 2 Ride” and “Side of Me,” but it wasn’t until the following year that he broke out with “Water”—featuring Bay legend E-40—and the collab joint The Label with ZayBang. The latter made it onto people’s radar in 2019 with his breakout track, “No Relations.” Lil Bean and ZayBang knew each other before either thought about spitting bars, having grown up together in the city streets. This is real Bay Area hip-hop for the people, by the people. – MW
INFO: Fri, 6pm, Crybaby, 1928 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. $20-$100. 510.255.1982.
FRIDAY
JAZZ
EYTAN & GABRIEL
The fascinating history of identical twins in jazz is getting a thrilling new chapter courtesy of San Francisco-reared Eytan and Gabriel Schillinger-Hyman on bass and piano, respectively. They’ve been earning respect on the New York scene while Eytan pursues a master’s at Juilliard and Gabriel stretches his wings after earning a master’s in Jazz Arts from the Manhattan School of Music. They don’t always perform together, but when they do, the siblings reveal an intense bandstand connection. Keeping company with some of the Big Apple’s best young players, they return to the Bay Area for a string of gigs joined by drummer Mike Mitchell and alto saxophonist Langston Hughes II, a D.C. native studying for his master’s at Juilliard. – ANDREW GILBERT
INFO: Fri, 7:30pm, Sound Room, 3022 Broadway, Oakland. $25. 510.708.9691.
FRIDAY
EXPERIMENTAL
STINKFOOT ORCHESTRA
Covering any beloved musician’s songs can be intimidating, but taking on Frank Zappa’s catalog is downright scary. The prolific virtuoso, who created more than 60 albums before his untimely death in 1993, was a genre-defying genius, mixing avant-garde, comedy rock, jazz, psychedelia, blues and doo-wop to create a zany style as unique as a fingerprint. Inspired by what would have been Zappa’s 80th birthday several years back, Bay Area keyboardist Nick Chargin took on the challenge of starting a tribute band. The result is the Stinkfoot Orchestra, a 14-piece ensemble of Zappa zealots and even a few veterans who toured with the legend. – ADDIE MAHMASSANI
INFO: Fri, 7pm, The New Parish, 1743 San Pablo Ave., Oakland. $25. 510.227.8177.
SATURDAY
COUNTRY
THEO LAWRENCE
Theo Lawrence, of Bordeaux, fell in love with pure American country and western in the way only an outsider can. After spending 10 years reviving Europe’s interest in country music, he moved to Austin, Texas, to return to the source and charm new American listeners on his first U.S. tour. His classic love songs, gentle guitar and croony vocals—with a hint of twang—could be right out of the ’50s, until a second listen reveals subtle modern influence and freshness. – SBB
INFO: Sat, 8pm, Ivy Room, 860 San Pablo Ave., Albany. $18/adv, $20/door. 510.526.5888.
SATURDAY
AUTHOR EVENT
ALEX BROWN
Spooks and dark horror come out of the bag with the launch of The House Where Death Lives. Edited by award-winning YA author Alex Brown, the anthology includes eek-worthy stories about homes inhabited by sinister forces. It’s a mighty orchestra created by 16 contributors and a score rampaging from classic tales of love, greed, loss and heartache with gory, blood-sucking folkloric creatures to contemporary themes of immigration, vanity and identity. Brown is a queer, biracial Filipino-American writer and co-creator of The Bridge, a narrative fiction podcast with more than a million downloads. Share shivers as Brown constructs a house filled with marvelous, mesmerizing horror. – LOU FANCHER
INFO: Sat, 2:30pm, Books Inc., 1344 Park St., Alameda. Free. 510.522.2226.
SUNDAY
ROCK
JACK HABEGGER’S CELEBRITY TELETHON
Jack Habegger’s Celebrity Telethon embodies a particular kind of cool where the mundane, funneled through a sifter of irony and absurdity, becomes rock ’n’ roll gold. Based in Portland, Oregon, the band released its debut album, The Knockout Game, in 2023 and made a splash with their poetic take on cowpunk. They are funny, they are smart and they make a room feel like a honky-tonk, a desert highway and a dance floor about to transform into a mosh pit all at once. For those who are down and out but still want to dance, this is the call. – AM
INFO: Sun, 3pm, Golden Bull, 412 14th St., Oakland. $12. 510.224.5522.
MONDAY
JAZZ
DAVID BENOIT WITH BIG BAND
Not only a polished piano populist with a taste for Bill Evans chord voicings, David Benoit has also thrived as a composer for film and television, particularly in picking up the mantle of Vince Guaraldi as in-house composer for Peanuts specials. As a recording artist with dozens of albums to his credit, he’s created an impressive body of work and is often at his best collaborating with artists like guitarist Russ Freeman, bassist Brian Bromberg and vocalist Jane Monheit. A leading force in the rise of jazz-tinged instrumental pop—often marketed as smooth jazz—Benoit returns to Yoshi’s on the cusp of his 71st birthday to perform with a big band; a more muscular and dynamic context than usual. – AG
INFO: Mon, 8pm, Yoshi’s, 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland. $60-$108. 510.238.9200.
MONDAY
BLUES
TINARIWEN
With their ninth studio album, Amatssou, the Tuareg band’s campfire-style blend of North African and American Old West country music achieves new heights. Telling stories of struggle, valor, fear and fearlessness comes naturally; while living in a refugee camp, the group’s founding father learned to play music on a homemade guitar made of an oil can, a stick and a bicycle brake wire. Despite the disruptive cycle of war and rebellion in North Africa, the band’s existence improbably bears fruit as they claim global traveler status. While Grammy Awards, appearances on television and worldwide audiences accumulate, at their heart, Tinariwen remain dudes who wanna bust a tear while singing ’round the campfire at the end of a hot, dusty day. – LF
INFO: Mon, 8pm, UC Theatre, 2030 University Ave., Berkeley. $51. 510.536.4000.
