THURSDAY, JAN. 8
INDIE
RAINBOW GIRLS
The Southern California indie band, Rainbow Girls, unspools well-crafted songs featuring simple acoustic sounds that flow like rivers, boil as would any water if heat were applied or ride along a surfrider’s dream wave. Their 2024 album, Haunting, captures it all in songs like “SMS to the Void,” “Spread Me Thin” and “Loser.” Placing Sabine McCalla on the same Freight stage with the Rainbow Girls sends this show into lofty territory. McCalla’s debut album, Don’t Call Me Baby, sports the full package: gospel, folk, soul, blues, R&B, classic rock and afro-beat. It might be the year’s finest combo of female voices. – LOU FANCHER
INFO: Thu, 8pm, The Freight, 2020 Addison St., Berkeley. $39. 510.644.2020.
FRIDAY, JAN. 9
JAZZ
SINNE EEG & JOSH NELSON: MUSIC AT THE MOVIES
Danish jazz vocalist Sinne Eeg plays a two-night run at the Sound Room with L.A. pianist Josh Nelson. Possessing a rich, burnished tone, she’s a powerhouse who combines effortless swing with a capacious improvisational imagination. The first night focuses on songs from films, with particular attention to tunes gleaned from the James Bond franchise. The second night features originals Eeg and Nelson have collaborated on. He’s a brilliant accompanist and composer best known for his six-year stint touring with Natalie Cole. Avidly sought out by vocalists, he can also be seen with Gaby Moreno, Freda Payne, Alicia Olatuja, Sara Gazarek and Oakland’s Kenny Washington. – ANDREW GILBERT
INFO: Fri, 7:30pm, The Sound Room, 3022 Broadway, Oakland. $28.52. 510.708.9691
FRIDAY, JAN. 9
BRAZILIAN
CARLOS OLIVEIRA WITH THE BERKELEY CHORO ENSEMBLE
Dedicated to the spritely, virtuosic Brazilian instrumental tradition known as choro, the Berkeley Choro Ensemble has forged deep relationships with some of Brazil’s most celebrated choro artists. Featuring Rio-reared Oakland guitarist Ricardo Peixoto, percussionist Brian Rice, flutist Jane Lenoir and clarinetist Harvey Wainapel, the BCO gets a rare opportunity to revisit a program with the group’s original guitarist, Carlos Oliveira. A creative force during his Bay Area years who worked closely with Wainapel, including the Ambrosia project featuring piano great and NEA Jazz Master Kenny Barron, Oliveira returned to Recife in 2012. – AG
INFO: Fri, 7pm, Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St., Berkeley. $20. 510.213.4292.
FRIDAY, JAN. 9
JAZZ
ETHAN OSTROW AND REMEE ASHLEY
The celebrated Berkeley High Jazz program gets a shoutout when pianist Ethan Ostrow and trombonist Remee Ashley come back home for a special performance alongside bassist Owen Storey and drummer Elliott Martens. Minneapolis-based Ostrow is fluent in R&B, funk, soul and jazz. Berkeley-native Ashley is also a composer and arranger who’s played the Apollo and Birdland, among many other venues. Ostrow’s playing and vocals range from a wistful rendering of the Carole King classic “So Far Away,” to seriously funked-up originals. Listen up and get down. – JANIS HASHE
INFO: Fri, 8pm, The Back Room, 1984 Bonita Ave., Berkeley. $25. 510.654.3808.
SATURDAY, JAN. 10
METAL
CARTILAGE
Warning: Cartilage is not for the weak of heart. After all, they describe themselves as a “gore-soaked death grind from San Francisco,” and it’s 100% true. Their songs are only out-brutalized by their album art and live shows, both featuring plenty of blood. This year they celebrated their 10-year anniversary as a band, releasing the five-song EP, Tales From The Entrails: A Necrology. Vestige, Beheader and Frolic will join this repulsive party. So be ready for blast beats, guttural screams and plenty of headbanging. – MAT WEIR
INFO: Sat, 8pm, Cornerstone, 2367 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. $23. 510.214.8600.
SATURDAY, JAN. 10
PUNK
SWINGIN’ UTTERS
For more than three decades, the Swingin’ Utters have treated punk not as a phase, but as a long-term practice, one shaped by Bay Area streets, stubborn independence and a refusal to soften with age. Now they’re revered enough to inspire tribute albums and peer devotion. Their recent work sharpens the point: politically direct, musically restless and emotionally aware, moving from breakneck street-punk to moments of surprising melody and reflection. Backed by a reinvigorated rhythm section, the Utters still argue with the world and mean every word. – SONYA BENNETT-BRANDT
INFO: Sat, 8pm, Ivy Room, 860 San Pablo Ave., Albany. $29. 510.526.5888.
SATURDAY, JAN. 10
SYNTH-POP
LOS MICROWAVES BY MICROWAVE BUDDHA
A show stoked with Los Microwaves by Microwave Buddha, Winston Tong & Lx Rudis, Nasty World and Tropisphere is likely incendiary. The Los Microwaves light up audiences with synthesizer-driven pop, techno-punk mischief. Load on the sonic gymnastics of Baby Buddha—a new-wave duo with Charles Hornaday on vocals, guitar, electronics and drums; and David Javelosa on vocals, electronics and clarinet—and things at Thee Stork get downright fiery. Next comes Winston Tong, contributing a counterpoint cool, electropop element, piling on former Untis member Lx Rudi, Oakland’s Nasty World and Troposphere, and the sounds of the Bay Area. – LF
INFO: Sat, 8pm, Thee Stork Club, 2330 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. $15-18. 510.859.8709.
SUNDAY, JAN. 11
ROCK
BI-2
Formed in 1988, the Belarusian alt-rock group Bi-2 was voted the Best Rock Act at the 2007 MTV Russian Music Awards. But it’s their story that’s truly captivating. Two of the founding members originally moved to Israel in the 1990s and then to Russia in an attempt to relaunch the band. Their opposition to the country’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine left Bi-2 blacklisted, and they immigrated to the U.S. The band got caught up in Thailand in 2023 on expired work visas, causing an international crisis as to where they should go, as several members had multiple citizenships. Thankfully, they were let go. They released a brand-new album this past October. – MW
INFO: Sun, 8pm, UC Theatre, 2036 University Ave., Berkeley. $80-$125. 510.356.4000.
TUESDAY, JAN. 13
JAZZ
RANZEL MERRITT
Yoshi’s is playing host to the Bay Area New Jazz Era Series 1: “The Birth of a New Breed,” and on Jan. 13 presents Oakland-born saxophonist, composer and vocalist Ranzel Merritt, described as “where vintage jazz fusion meets modern swagger.” In any case, listening to him swing on the tenor sax reveals he’s the real deal, honoring some of the greats like Kenny Garrett, with whom he studied, while honing his own unique brilliance. He takes inspiration from his drummer father, he’s said, which shows that when jazz is in one’s blood it can’t be denied. – JH
INFO: Tue, 7:30pm, Yoshi’s, 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland. $25/adv, $30/door. 510.238.9200.
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 14 *CANCELLED*
LATIN
NIDIA GÓNGORA
Nidia Góngora’s voice carries the tides of Colombia’s Pacific Coast. A Latin Grammy–nominated singer, composer and cultural researcher from Timbiquí, Góngora has spent more than two decades bringing the region’s marimba- and drum-rooted traditions into conversation with the wider world. Her recent project, Pacífica Maravilla, moves fluidly between ceremony and songcraft, building on collaborations with artists as varied as reggaetón artist Feid and poet Shirley Campbell Barr. This is music meant to be felt in the body—dance floor open. – SBB
INFO: Wed, 8pm, The Freight, 2020 Addison St., Berkeley. $39-$44. 510.644.2020.
Unfortunately Nidia Góngora canceled her show at The Freight 🙁