THURSDAY, JULY 24
RAP
OUIJA MACC — Show cancelled! [Updated 7/24]
Last summer, the rapper Ouija Macc posited on X, “I MIGHT BE THE MOST HATED JUGGALO.” For those uninitiated, the word refers to the scores of creep-tastic oddballs who follow the duo Insane Clown Posse in the musical universe of Midwest horrorcore. Bringing heavy trap beats into the genre, Ouija Macc crafts nightmarish storylines with raw energy intense enough to scare even the most stoic audience. “RIP,” a fan favorite, conjures defiance from grief and rage, while “Need 2 Kill Someone” has a chanting, hypnotic quality. The rapper’s live shows are bold and haunting, showcasing his versatility and passion. There will be Faygo. – ADDIE MAHMASSANI
INFO: Thu, 7pm, Crybaby, 1928 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. $26.
THURSDAY, JULY 24
ALT-COUNTRY
ANIMAL PISS, IT’S EVERYWHERE
Animal Piss, It’s Everywhere makes country music for the last barstool in the room, the one sticky with spilled beer and hungover humility. Led by Clark Griffin and Shannon Ketch, the band assembles a rotating crew of East Coast freak-folk veterans—members of Sunburned Hand of the Man, Wet Tuna, Weeping Bong Band and more. They channel their own strain of cosmic Americana, lurching between vision quest, relapse and holy confusion. The sliding pedal steel guitar and clever genre-blends, meanwhile, are quietly crisp, injecting a core sincerity into the mournful weirdness of their vocals. – SONYA BENNETT-BRANDT
INFO: Thu, 8pm, Thee Stork Club, 2330 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. $13-$16. 510.859.8709.
FRIDAY, JULY 25
WORLD BEAT
KARAMO SUSSO
Born in Gambia and raised in Mali amidst a compound of griots, kora master Karamo Susso has played a significant role in bringing the West African harp into a broad spectrum of settings. A charismatic, joyful force on the 21-string instrument, he’s worked extensively with Senegalese jazz guitarist Abu Djigo’s World Blues Band, Symphony of Koras, the acoustic Caribbean-meets-Africa combo Soul Union and Manding Band, an all-star pan-West African combo. He’s performed widely around the Bay Area over the past two decades in all of these situations, and returns to La Peña for a traditional solo kora recital followed by a second set of incantatory dance music featuring his full band. – ANDREW GILBERT
INFO: Fri, 8pm, La Peña Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. $25-$35. 510.849.2568.
FRIDAY, JULY 25
FOLK
MIREYA RAMOS AND THE POOR CHOICES
A person can make a million poor choices, but the biggest one would be not hustling over to The Freight to marvel at the astounding pipes of Mireya Ramos. The Grammy-winning vocalist and violinist sings like an angel set on fire, croons like the lover everybody wants, and owns the market when it comes to Mexican ranchera and jarocho traditions. Plugging in the bluegrass, country and jazz inflections of the Poor Choices band, the U.S.-Mexico cross-border sounds merge marvelously. Not by erasing the contrasts, but by arriving from completely different directions and landing in one very special place to show how differences unite and strengthen cohabitation. – LOU FANCHER
INFO: Fri, 8pm, The Freight, 2020 Addison St., Berkeley. $39-44. 510.644.2020.
SATURDAY, JULY 26
METAL
BLOODYWOOD
Formed in 2016, Bloodywood combines the standard hip-hop and metal of nu metal with traditional Indian folk music for a twist on the genre that packs a lot of heat. The band was formed by guitarist Karan Katiyar and metal vocalist Jayant Bhadula after the former was searching for a vocalist to sing the metal covers of famous Bollywood songs. More than just a cool act, Bloodywood also uses their music for social consciousness, often writing songs about women’s rights and the rise of new generations to address past failures. The band has also worked with numerous charities, putting their money where their mouth is. – MAT WEIR
INFO: Sat, 7:30pm, The UC Theatre, 2036 University Ave., Berkeley. $39. 510.356.4000.
SATURDAY, JULY 26
ALTERNATIVE
OOMFCHELLA
Oomfchella Music Festival, a.k.a. “One of My Friends Fest,” is a Gilman micro-carnival where friendship, justice and unhinged joy collide. Enter headliner Planet Booty. The Oakland trio delivers sweaty funk-pop anthems with pure fervor and pure silliness, turning out antifascist, lyra-wearing, body-positive pageantry. Their live shows are dance parties, full-body cardio and a call to action, and at Oomfchella they’ll be preaching to the choir. Plus, they’re donating their payout to the Immigration Institute of the Bay Area. They’ll be joined by a long line-up of local bands, plus the Maraschinos up from L.A. – SBB
INFO: Sat, 6pm, 924 Gilman St., Berkeley. $18-$20. 510.524.8180.
SATURDAY, JULY 26
ROCK
FATHER JOHN MISTY
Father John Misty cranks the atmosphere into overdrive with Mahashmashana, his latest studio album. The title references the Sanskrit word for cremation ground. His new album pays tribute to the same court, to the death everyone faces regardless of race, religion or creed. Joined by Lucinda Williams and Hamilton Leithauser, two incomparably heart-grabbing musicians who have endured mountains of loss and found recovery in part through music, the show sweeps wide artistic paths. Each artist will erect a towering wall of sound. Words sung will likely cascade in downpours of soft rock and soulful ballads. But count on an equal serving of driving rock ’n’ roll vibes to chase the clouds away. – LF
INFO: Sat, 7pm, The Greek Theatre, 2001 Gayley Rd., Berkeley. $78. 510.871.9225.
SUNDAY, JULY 27
JAZZ
ALEX STABILE
Alex Stabile is a software engineer who has maintained since adolescence parallel—and sometimes intersecting—passions for piano, science, technology and computing. At Stanford, where he studied symbolic systems and piano, he worked on computer music and algorithmic composition and performed Prokofiev’s 3rd Piano Concerto with the Stanford Symphony Orchestra and guest conductor Gum Nanse as a winner of the university’s concerto competition. Over the past dozen years he’s won a slew of piano and composition competitions, including first prize at the Paris Concours de Grands Amateurs de Piano in 2024, as well as first prize at the 2024 Washington International Piano Arts Council competition. – AG
INFO: Sun, 5pm, Piedmont Piano Company, 1728 San Pablo Ave., Oakland. Free. 510.547.8188.
TUESDAY, JULY 29
CELTIC-PUNK
DROPKICK MURPHYS
Dropkick Murphys always hold it down for proud, working-class Americans. What else can you expect from a bunch of Celtic punks from Boston? While the band has proudly proclaimed their working-class values since their formation in 1996, in recent times they’ve been put to the test. Check out the video on YouTube from last March where singer Ken Casey calls out a fan in a MAGA shirt. Or there’s the infamous 2013 video of Casey beating the crap out of a guy in the audience giving the Nazis’ Sieg Heil salute. It doesn’t get more American than that. – MW
INFO: Tue, 7pm, Fox Theater, 1807 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. $78. 510.302.2250.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 30
ROCK
HEART ATTACK MAN
Hailing from Cleveland, Ohio, Eric Egan, Adam Paduch and Ty Sickels make up the pop-punk band Heart Attack Man. From their debut EP, 2014’s Acid Rain, to their latest offering, Joyride the Pale Horse, the trio has built a reputation for high-energy songs with catchy hooks and cutting wit. Their latest work has moved in an existential direction, taking on the big questions of life, death and humanity in the face of AI. In “Spit,” Eric delivers a too-real request: “Kill me and replace me with a hologram.” For huge power chords and cathartic screaming, this is the band to see. – AM
INFO: Wed, 7pm, Cornerstone, 2367 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. $34. 510.214.8600.
