THU 7/2
BLUEGRASS
JACOB JOLLIFF BAND
There is just something really special about the mandolin. It’s a difficult instrument to master, requiring not only super-strong, callused fingers, but the agility to manipulate its high string tension and tightly spaced frets. But, oh, what gorgeous music results when someone like Jacob Jolliff plays it. In 2012, Jolliff won the U.S.A. National Mandolin Championship, and he’s just gotten better from there. He’s collaborated with many top bluegrass artists, but now focuses on his own Jacob Jolliff Band, described as “cutting-edge progressive bluegrass,” incorporating pop covers and improvisation. OK, one of his originals is titled, “The Perils of Macrame.” Say no more. – JANIS HASHE
INFO: Thu, 8pm, The Freight, 2020 Addison St., Berkeley. $44-$49. 510.644.2020.
FRI 7/3
ROCK
KELSY KARTER AND THE HEROINES
Kelsy Karter and the Heroines, fronted by Australian-born firebrand Kelsy Karter and backed by a trio of lifelong friends from Derby, England, pull their wild energy from glam-rock, punk, power-pop and arena-sized theatrics. Their latest album, Love Made Me Do It, turns heartbreak and self-destruction into a swaggering rock opera with a few showtune-y nods to Karter’s theater-kid origins. Onstage, Karter has the reckless charisma and unfiltered attitude of a true rockstar, leading a band with real chemistry and big personalities earned through years of friendship and touring. – SONYA BENNETT-BRANDT
INFO: Fri, 8:30pm, Cornerstone, 2367 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. $28. 510.214.8600.
FRI 7/3
JAZZ
BENNY AMÓN & THE NEW ORLEANS PEARLS
Benny Amón grew up in Davis, but his musical identity was forged in New Orleans, where he spent more than a decade soaking up musical knowledge on stages with some of the scene’s most prodigious players. Versed in more than a century of Crescent City idioms, the drummer brings a second-line powered combo to the Sound Room. Since moving to the Bay Area in 2021, he’s kept company with some of the finest musicians steeped in trad jazz, building on the region’s longstanding love of New Orleans culture. Working steadily with more than a half-dozen bandleaders, Amón is also a savvy leader in his own right. – ANDREW GILBERT
INFO: Fri, 7:30pm, The Sound Room, 3022 Broadway, Oakland. $32. 510.708.9691.
SAT 7/4
PUNK
GENERACIÓN SUICIDA
Despite what the powers-that-be want us to believe, America is a melting pot. It’s a brilliant, diverse mix of people, nationalities and cultures. So, this Independence Day, what’s more American than celebrating with some good ol’ fashioned Latin punk rock? Generación Suicida started as a side-project in a garage in 2010 but quickly became the main course as this L.A. punk group has earned the love and respect of the community over the last decade and a half. The music is catchy and authentic, with a dark twang that edges on post-punk with a big middle finger sticking from the center of its corazón. – MAT WEIR
INFO: Sat, 8pm, Thee Stork Club, 2330 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. $15-$20. 510.859.8709.
SUN 7/5
EDM
MORILLO
If one could capture the sounds of nature and turn them into a dance beat, it would probably sound like Morillo’s music. Since the age of 7 this producer and drummer has made infectious grooves and heavy beats combining an array of various genres of music like pop, rock, bass and dub. He’s taken his music around the world, playing live with acts like Childish Gambino and Groundation, playing festivals such as Haiti’s One Love Fest, Spain’s Rototom Sunsplash Reggae Fest and Ultra Music Fest in Miami. Last year this Los Angelino released two albums—and a remix of one of those. This night promises good vibes and mystical realities. – MW
INFO: Sun, 8pm, Cornerstone, 2367 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. $28. 510.214.8600.
SUN 7/5
FOLK
ORQO TAKI
A new folkloric duo brings together veteran Peruvian guitarist Héctor García with Kitan García (no relation), a Bay Area multi-instrumentalist specializing in the Andean end-blown bamboo flute (quena) and the diminutive, 10-string charango. As Orqo Taki (Mountain Songs), they explore a transnational array of Indigenous and mestizo idioms from the Andes Mountains. Héctor, a native of Cusco, is a renowned soloist featured with symphony orchestras. Kitan is part of Comunidad Anqari, a collective dedicated to preserving and teaching the Indigenous music of the Altiplano. Together, they have developed contemporary arrangements of songs gleaned from Andean folk traditions of southern Perú, Ecuador, Bolivia and Argentina. – AG
INFO: Sun, 7pm, The Back Room, 1984 Bonita Ave., Berkeley. $15-$20. 510.654.3808.
MON 7/6
POP
ROSALÍA
Every now and then an artist rises to a spectacular, singular vision. And then does it again and again. Rosalía is arguably one of these rare birds. Possessing a vocal gift that is glorious, vulnerable, acrobatic and more, this tour of her newest album, Lux, also brings fantastic production elements to the arena. Divided into four acts, the concert is part ballet, partly an orchestral and electronic symphony and, throughout, an operatic journey. The sum total is physically fierce, then frolicsome, then fantastical, fun and scaled to exceed expectations. The only thing bigger than Rosalía’s reach appears to be her imagination. – LOU FANCHER
INFO: Mon, 8:30pm, Oakland Arena, 7000 Coliseum Way, Oakland. $250-$529. 510.569.2121.
TUE 7/7
THEATER
‘SCABMUGGERS’
“Sometimes,” says the playwright of Scabmuggers, Yvonne Martinez, “you have to break shit up to get things done.” She should know. The work-in-progress play, from her novel of the same name, is based on her experiences in 1994 at the Harvard Trade Union Program. Her stage surrogate, Ana, begins the course and is harassed by a Black classmate who’s been set up by a white, homophobic, racist classmate. The cohort splits into camps supporting and against her, mirroring the conflicted history of the labor movement and starkly illuminating issues of misogyny, race, homophobia and class that continue to resonate today. A “scabmugger,” BTW, was an early 20th-century female striker who fought back against scabs. – JH
INFO: Tue, 7pm, The Freight, 2020 Addison St., Berkeley. $20-$30. 510.644.2020.
TUE 7/7
BLUES
MARCUS KING BAND
Marcus King’s guitar playing gets headlines, but his songwriting has also grown increasingly adventurous. Since stepping away from the Marcus King Band for a series of solo albums, the South Carolina musician has explored everything from orchestral soul to country-rock confessionals. 2025’s Darling Blue marks a return to the band format and to the musical legacy of the Carolinas: Southern rock, blues, gospel and country. Backed by a road-tested ensemble and armed with a voice that sounds seasoned beyond his 30 years, King circles back to emotional directness and roadhouse grit. – SBB
INFO: Tue, 8pm, Fox Theater, 1807 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. $56-156. 510.302.2250.
WED 7/8
COMEDY
ALLISON O’CONOR
As the co-host of Decadence, a podcast about glamor, the Brooklyn-based queer comedian is fearless. No topic—men giving birth, rock-star parking, redeeming a $5 reward at Walmart, the versatility of pizza—is too trivial or too taboo to touch upon. O’Conor’s “Aspiring Icon” show ventures into more personal places she encountered during her coming-out journey. Featured recently in the New York Comedy Festival and intensely relaxed on stage or in front of a camera, O’Conor makes audiences laugh, cry, groan, giggle and look at themselves and the world with new, fun-loving eyes. Life is hard, but made so much easier with jokes. – LF
INFO: Wed, 8pm, Eli’s Mile High Club, 3629 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland. $15-$20. 510.808.7565.
