THURSDAY, JULY 3
POP
BAEKHYUN
K-pop star Baekhyun takes on the Oakland Arena this week for his “Reverie” tour. At 33 years old, the powerhouse vocalist is in almost too many groups to count: the Chinese-Korean boy band Exo, its subgroup Exo-K, its subunit Exo-CBX and the supergroup SuperM. As if that wasn’t impressive enough, he offers his fans a steady solo output, featuring R&B-influenced hits like “Paranoia” and “Bambi.” His latest release, The Essence of Reverie, does not miss a beat. As he told Weverse Magazine earlier this year, “I don’t think I made it to where I am today because I got lucky. I worked as hard as I could.” – ADDIE MAHMASSANI
INFO: Thu, 7:30pm, Oakland Arena, 7000 Coliseum Way, Oakland. $74-$401. 510.569.2121.
THURSDAY, JULY 3
CABARET
BUTTAH’S JOOK JOINT
Put on your snood—or your skintight white bell bottoms—and sashay down to Yoshi’s for a live cabaret starring Ms. Buttah and the Buttaluv Band as they musically recreate decades from the Swing Era to 1970s funk and soul. The vocal fireworks of Ms.Buttah, who has performed at the Apollo and on American Idol, are the perfect warm-up for the Fourth of July weekend. Her sultry rendition of “At Last” gives the Etta James classic version a run for its money. Don’t plan on sitting down, as the joint will definitely be jumpin’ with jitterbugging and Soul Train line dancing. – JANIS HASHE
INFO: Thu, 8pm, Yoshi’s, 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland. $40-60. 510.238.9200.
FRIDAY, JULY 4
HIP-HOP
DJ DRAMA
A linchpin of the mixtape era and the architect behind Gangsta Grillz, DJ Drama helped launch titans like T.I., Jeezy and Lil Wayne, defining the gritty, swaggering pulse of 2000s hip-hop. His reach runs deep—equal parts curator, connector and kingmaker—bringing together underground upstarts and chart-topping heavyweights. Whether breaking new artists or spinning legacy heat, Drama brings the urgency of the streets and the polish of a pro. Expect a set that slides from Southern classics to contemporary chaos, a history lesson with bass. Come sweat it out in the archives. – SONYA BENNETT-BRANDT
INFO: Fri, 10pm, Crybaby, 1928 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. $13-$30.
SATURDAY, JULY 5
PUNK
SAMIAM
Is there anything better than a homecoming show? How about one featuring one of the most influential Bay Area punk acts at one of the most influential punk venues of all time? This Saturday, Samiam returns to where it all started: 924 Gilman. It was 1988 and Gilman mainstay, pop-punk band Isocracy, had just broken up. Out of the ashes rose Samiam, which rode the first wave of ’90s mainstream punk with songs on MTV. Despite numerous lineup changes, touring the world and a brief hiatus in the early 2000s, Samiam continues to endure and in 2023 put out what could arguably be their strongest album to date, Stowaway. – MAT WEIR
INFO: Sat, 7pm, 924 Gilman St., Berkeley. $20/adv, $25/door. 510.525.9926.
SATURDAY, JULY 5
METAL
CREEPING DEATH
They say it takes 10 years to become good at something. This year just so happens to be Creeping Death’s 10th anniversary as a band, and it’s safe to say these guys are definitely in the “success” category. Hailing from Texas, they blend Swedish-style death metal with American thrash for an updated version that will make anyone’s eyeballs bleed from too much headbanging. It’s demented. It’s brutal. It demands senseless moshing. It’s everything we love about American death metal, and singer Reese Alavi’s vocals can still be easily understood by the most un-metal people while remaining wrapped in metaphorical shrapnel. – MW
INFO: Sat, 9pm, Thee Stork Club, 2330 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. $27. 510.859.8709.
SATURDAY, JULY 5
JAZZ
DRED SCOTT
Who pianist Dred Scott is not: the enslaved man who unsuccessfully sued for his freedom in 1857, nor the rapper of the same name. This Dred Scott, an iconoclastic Bay Area native who moved to NYC decades ago, is an acclaimed jazz pianist who’s recorded 13 albums including his latest, Cali Mambo. This one was inspired by the Latin jazz recordings of George Shearing, and Scott, currently touring while “cobbling back together the remnants of his pre-Covid musical life,” will jam on tracks from it in his Oakland gig. Vibraphonist Tom Beckham, Latin jazz drummer Josh Jones and bassist Sam Bevan will join him in what’s sure to be an evening of Latin lace and escapades. – JH
INFO: Sat, 5:30pm, Piedmont Piano Company, 1728 San Pablo Ave., Oakland. $25-$30. 510.547.8188.
SUNDAY, JULY 6
WORLD MUSIC
BAMBA WASSOULOU GROOVE
Travel on the strings of the Malian guitars to the distant land of Mali in West Africa. At the apex of each of Bamba Wassoulou Groove’s compositions there is no downward slide, but instead a sense of being given wings and cast into a great blue sky to fly untethered. With roots in hugely popular ’70s and ’80s bands—like Super Djata Band, Ambassadors of Salif Keita and the Super Rail Band—that due to various forces dissolved, the group’s next-gen members retain Malian culture and musical traditions while storming into modern times with original songs and instrumentation and vocals that reflect contemporary influences. Bring dancing shoes, ’cause this sound is geared for moving. – LOU FANCHER
INFO: Sun, 7pm, The Freight, 2020 Addison St., Berkeley. $22-$34. 510.644.2020.
SUNDAY, JULY 6
COMEDY
MOSHE KASHER & NATASHA LEGGERO
Kasher and Leggero have done a lot of cool stuff in their careers, but the best thing was getting hitched in 2015. The married couple hit the road and now bring to Yoshi’s “The Endless Honeymoon Podcast” Tour. The topics will surely range from popping out a first child in 2018; the worst things they’ve ever done to themselves, each other and anyone within shouting distance; and how to get along—or not—within a love relationship. Is life an endless honeymoon? No, but this duo can make a person a believer, or at least make someone able to laugh at colossal failure and plead for forgiveness, a second chance, and more stories from Leggero and Kasher. – LF
INFO: Sun, 7:30pm, Yoshi’s, 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland. $39-$89. 510.238.9200.
MONDAY, JULY 7
INDIE
SUCKER CRUSH
Oakland-born Sucker Crush writes hushed summer ballads and midnight breakup songs—music for when the party’s over but we’re still awake, scrolling old texts and replaying what we shouldn’t have said. The songwriting project of composer and multi-instrumentalist Marissa Deitz, Crush’s sound is hazy and heart-heavy, built on dreamy guitar lines, late-night synths and lingering vocals. It’s pop wilted at the edges; romantic, but never naive. Whether nursing a crush or bleeding from one, Sucker Crush turns emotional fallout into something tender, cinematic and peppered with humor: bittersweet anthems for long walks home. – SBB
INFO: Mon, 7:30pm, Ivy Room, 860 San Pablo Ave., Albany. $15. 510.526.5888.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 9
JAZZ
KOLUMBO
If summer were a song, it might be one by Kolumbo. The “synthedelic” tiki-jazz act hit the scene in 2022 with their debut album, Gung-Ho, and has swayed happily in the breeze since. The man behind the band’s balmy magic, Brooklyn-based keyboardist Frank LoCrasto, has toured with Cass McCombs and Fruit Bats. Growing up in landlocked Texas he was smitten by all things beach, from the scent of sunscreen to the sound of 1960s exotica. Aficionados and dilettantes alike love Kolumbo’s take on the quirky, tropical genre, which has come into full form with their second record, Sandy Legs. – AM
INFO: Wed, 8pm, Thee Stork Club, 2330 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. $12/adv, $15/door. 510.859.8709.
