THURSDAY
FOLK
LYLA JUNE
The Thursday After Hours at OMCA event will pair its current special exhibition, “Born of the Bear Dance: Dugan Aguilar’s Photographs of Native California,” with the multi-genre sound of Lyla June, a poet, musician, author and activist of Diné (Navajo) and Tsétsêhéstâhese (Cheyenne) lineages. Lyla June’s poetry and songwriting are unflinchingly direct, laying bare truths about colonization, environmental destruction and resilience. Her music feels like a natural accompaniment to her other work: Indigenous rights activism, community organizing and doctoral research on the food systems of precolonial Indigenous nations. – SONYA BENNETT-BRANDT
INFO: Thu, 5:45pm, Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak St., Oakland. $19. 510.318.8400.
FRIDAY
THEATER
‘THE THING ABOUT JELLYFISH’
A 12-year-old girl grappling with the vicissitudes of middle school is the premise for an ageless theatrical production honoring curiosity and the natural world. Ali Benjamin’s award-winning book—adapted for the stage by playwright Keith Bunin—spins a rich, visual journey from the ocean depths to outer space as the brave protagonist seeks to solve a profound encounter with a gigantic mystery. Jellyfish jumps to sophistication without ever compromising the innocence of youth; the human urge to understand the universe and one’s place in it has no age or other demographic limit. The resulting invitation is a dare to dream of and believe in love. – LOU FANCHER
INFO: Fri, 8pm, Berkeley Rep, Roda Theatre, 2015 Addison St., Berkeley. $47-$81. 510.647.2949.
FRIDAY
FLAMENCO
MELISSA CRUZ AND KALIFEÑA
Fire, passion, seduction, command: All are required to pull off a flamenco performance successfully, and Melissa Cruz possesses these qualities. After training under acclaimed flamenco master Rosa Montoya, Cruz made a name for herself by performing robust, originally composed material partnered with traditional styles. This Friday, she performs “Flamenco a las 8” with Kalifeña, the music and dance ensemble inspired by the idea of gathering a diverse group of women with the common thread of flamenco between them. – MAT WEIR
INFO: Fri, 8pm, Rhythmix Cultural Works, 2513 Blanding Ave., Alameda. $32-$44. 510.865.5060.
SATURDAY
SKA
MC LARS
MC Lars isn’t ska in the traditional sense. For over two decades, he’s been one of the pillars of nerdcore, or what he calls post-punk laptop rap, dropping tracks about video games, downloading free music and riffing on how Hot Topic isn’t punk rock. His true-to-himself and often humorous songs have connected with audiences and artists, leading MC Lars to open for acts like Snoop Dogg, Lupe Fiasco and T-Pain. Despite not being ska, he is in the ska Venn diagram of DIY, antiracist, pro-queer and uniting the people through music, leading him to headline “Ska Night” at Gilman with fellow Bay Area acts like rap duo dubldragon and ska bands Jokes for Feelings and Day Labor. – MW
INFO: Sat, 7pm, Gilman, 924 Gilman St., Berkeley. $18/adv, $20/door. 510.524.8180.
SATURDAY
JAZZ
JOHN SANTOS SEXTET & FRIENDS
Percussionist, bandleader, activist, educator and producer John Santos has played an essential role in defining the region’s Latin jazz scene, incorporating folkloric rhythms and idioms from Puerto Rico, South America and the Caribbean. Marking 40 years running his label, Machete Records, he celebrates the release of a new album, Horizontes, with his sextet featuring pianist Marco Diaz, bassist Saúl Sierra, drummer David Flores, flutist/percussionist John Callaway and saxophonist Charlie Gurke. They’ll be joined by 80-year-old Cuban timbales legend Orestes Vilató, violinist Anthony Blea, Pedro Pastrana on Puerto Rican cuatro and multilingual vocalist Christelle Durandy, among others. – ANDREW GILBERT
INFO: Sat, 8pm, Freight & Salvage, 2020 Addison St., Berkeley. $44/adv, $49/door. 510.644.2020.
SATURDAY
ELECTRONIC
SAKA
Up-and-coming experimental producer Saka will premiere a new chapter of unreleased music on the “Moonfall” tour, a three-stop celebration of the Lunar New Year. Saka’s sound is an alloy of eclectic influences: the Blade Runner neons of his hometown, Hong Kong; sharp, bass-heavy industrial grit; ancient Eastern myth; cinematic strings; and ethereal vocal overlays. His music, ever chaotic and envelope-pushing, is always recognizable as Saka’s, and each track has a core, body-twitching appeal: Gritty, glitch-infused bass lines and choppy beat patterns that snare like a fishhook. – SBB
INFO: Sat, 9pm, Cornerstone, 2367 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. $24-$37. 510.214.8600.
SUNDAY
INDIE
JILL SOBULE
Who can name the first-ever openly queer Billboard Top 20 record? Long before Katy Perry sang, “I kissed a girl/and I liked it,” Jill Sobule found massive success with her version. “I Kissed a Girl” came off the Denver-born musician’s 1995 self-titled second album and was a surprise radio hit, catapulting Sobule to the upper echelon of ’90s women writing personal, narrative-driven and socially conscious songs. A sharp wordsmith, Sobule has continued churning out work that merges comedy and political mindfulness to take on everything from the death penalty and anorexia to LGBTQ+ issues. She spent the last few years performing her autobiographical musical, Fuck 7th Grade. – ADDIE MAHMASSANI
INFO: Sun, 7pm, Ivy Room, 860 San Pablo Ave., Albany. $25/adv, $30/door. 510.526.5888.
SUNDAY
FOLK
CHERYL WHEELER
Laugh during Wheeler’s comic storytelling, cry at her sweet ballads, and muscle up rounds of applause when her lyrical poetry and intelligence inspire awe. The show is sure to veer from biting social commentary to ridiculous fun. Fingers crossed that someone will request “Potato,” a marvelous song set to the tune of “The Mexican Hat Dance.” Also performing is longtime collaborator and singer-songwriter Kenny White, whose smoky vocal tones lay a lush bed from which Wheeler’s dynamic sound springs and cartwheels into the atmosphere with the buoyancy of a young deer. Craving an evening that’s lively, lovely, lithesome and life-affirming? This night has it all. – LF
INFO: Sun, 7pm, Freight & Salvage, 2020 Addison St., Berkeley. $44/adv, $49/door. 510.644.2020.
TUESDAY
INDIE
L’IMPÉRATRICE
It’s the perfect time of the year for some French nu disco, courtesy of L’Impératrice. A bit space-age, a bit ’70s glamour and a lot Français, the six-piece band began as the solo project of keyboardist Charles de Boisseguin and flourished for a decade, with two albums—Matahari and Tako Tsubo—landing on Earth to much acclaim. The band had an eventful 2024; lead vocalist Flore Benguigui left and pop singer Louvre took her place. Despite the dramatic change, they released a stellar new album called Pulsar, which features Maggie Rogers on “Any Way.” – AM
INFO: Tue, 8pm, Fox Theater, 1807 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. $56-$74. 510.302.2250.
WEDNESDAY
JAZZ
SAMARA JOY
Samara Joy is figuring out everything she can do with her glorious voice and capacious musical imagination. Since catapulting to fame with a Best New Artist Grammy, she’s gone from playing nightclubs to concert halls while availing herself of the resources for a larger ensemble. Exploring an array of standards and jazz tunes, including arrangements featuring her lyrics for classic instrumental recordings, Joy returns to the Bay Area with a septet packed with young talent, including pianist Connor Rohrer, a finalist in the highly competitive 2023 Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz International Piano Competition. Joy seems to have grown by jubilant bounds each time she comes back through the Bay, marshaling her preternatural talent with increasing authority. – AG
INFO: Wed, 7:30pm, Zellerbach Hall, 101 Zellerbach Hall, Berkeley. $55. 510.642.9988.
