THU 7/30
METAL
SCALP
Hailing from Orange County, Southern California, Scalp started as a joke for a Halloween party, kind of. Singer Cole Rodgers and guitarist Devan Fuentes worked together in 2018 at a coffee shop and came up with the idea for a satirical metal band called Hellboob. However, it ended up being so brutal they decided to do the real thing. Scalp combines power violence, death metal, hardcore and sludge for a relentless sound while Rodgers screams anti-capitalist, anti-religious lyrics. It’s the musical equivalent of crashing a motorcycle at high speed without a jacket and getting 100 yards worth of road rash. – MW
INFO: Thu, 7pm, 924 Gilman St., Berkeley, $15-$20, 510.524.8180.
FRI 7/31
BENEFIT
‘A NIGHT OF HOPE FOR VENEZUELA’
The devastating earthquakes in already-struggling Venezuela have killed at least 5,000 people and left many more without shelter or any way to rebuild their lives. A coalition of organizations and artists will come together at La Peña to raise money to support earthquake victims, with all proceeds going to Global Empowerment Mission, FUNDANA and the Bambi Foundation. Groove to DJ Agana and Bululu and Friends, sway along with Venezuelan dance troupe Dulce Tricolor, enjoy Venezuelan food and artisan crafts, and bid in the silent auction. Organizers say, “Every act of generosity becomes a powerful expression of hope for our beloved Venezuela.” – JH
INFO: Fri, 6pm, La Peña Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. Free-$100. 510.849.2568.
FRI 7/31
LATIN ROCK
MOMOTOMBO SF
¡Oye Como Va! The 10-piece Momotombo SF group is made up mostly of Santana and Malo alumni and celebrates the rhythms and legacies of those two iconic San Francisco bands. They take their name from the first track of 1972’s Malo Dos album, but Momotombo is also the name of a fiery Nicaraguan volcano. These guys love playing together; between the congas, bongos and timbales jamming with some impressive improvised horn section action, it will definitely be time for audience members to get up and mambo. They bring new lava life to the classic “Pana.” – JH
INFO: Fri, 8pm, Ashkenaz, 1317 San Pablo Blvd., Berkeley. $25. 510.525.5099.
FRI 7/31
LATIN JAZZ
IRVING FLORES AFRO-CUBAN TRIO
The San Diego jazz scene doesn’t get much love north of Orange County, but its rich, little-known history has taken on new relevance with the emergence of the borderlands as a transnational creative cauldron. No artist better exemplifies the region’s singular frisson than Mexican pianist Irving Flores, who’s played a key role in the San Diego/Tijuana Jazz Festival, which returns for its third season in the fall. Now based in San Diego, Flores is a fiery improviser and skilled composer and arranger who’s collaborated with Poncho Sanchez, Airto Moreira and the Spanish Harlem Orchestra. Leading his own trio, he explores a deep book of original tunes that expand on the Latin jazz tradition. – AG
INFO: Fri, 7:30pm, The Sound Room, 3022 Broadway, Oakland. $34. 510.708.9691.
SAT 8/1
JAZZ
NORA FREE
Dr. Nora Free, saxophonist, composer and arranger mentored by pianist Geri Allen, moves her jazz fruitfully between post-bop, avant-garde improvisation and soul. All her work is grounded in community organizing and social justice. Her Liberation Qtet extends that philosophy, pairing original compositions with overlooked works from the jazz canon in a program that steps beyond the standard repertoire. This homecoming performance at Wyldflowr Arts—which Free herself co-founded—will also premiere new music, with a portion of ticket sales benefiting the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund. – SBB
INFO: Sat, 7pm, Wyldflower Arts, 809 37th St., Oakland. $25. 510.842.5055.
SAT 8/1
JAZZ
SUNDRA MANNING TRIO WITH RHONDA SAUCE
Organist Sundra Manning is one of the deepest practitioners of Hammond B3 revelation in the Bay Area, with a track record that includes collaborations with artists such as Ledisi, Raphael Saadiq, H.E.R. and Martin Luther McCoy. She recently connected with a rising Oakland jazz vocalist possessing the apt name Rhonda Sauce. They delivered a sensational set a few weeks ago at the Fillmore Jazz Festival while this show, programmed by tenor sax great Howard Wiley, provides a setting for a more dynamically nuanced performance. Sauce is the most exciting jazz singer to hit the Bay Area scene since Tiffany Austin, and like Austin she’s a gifted songwriter busily defining her sound with her own material. – AG
INFO: Sat, 8pm, The Jazzschool, 2087 Addison St., Berkeley. $25. 510.845.5373.
SAT 8/1
SOUL
ORCHESTRA GOLD
A person might ask: What is Afro Psych Rock? The Freight gives a rhythmic, deep-groove answer with a visit from Orchestra Gold. Frontwoman Mariam Diakité’s voice reverberates with nuanced textures and endless colors. The rainbow is more than supported by the ensemble’s energetic guitar and horn players. On tour, Orchestra Gold takes sections from their latest release, Dakan, and a show titled “Kelaya (Live),” on a major road trip. Start on the ground and soar into celestial, spiritual realms. Orchestra Gold’s not mysterious or metaphoric, it’s just a knockout troupe offering the magic of music, dance and that something extra of experiencing all of it in community with others. – LF
INFO: Sat, 8pm, The Freight, 2020 Addison St., Berkeley. $39-$44. 510.644.2020.
MON 8/3
FOLK
BRISCOE
Roaming westward from the Longhorn state, Texas-based Briscoe touches down in Berkeley. Appearing with Alec Shaw on the same show, folk-rock is all. Truett Heintzelman and Philip Lupton tap their musical heat inspired by artists like Neil Young, the Beatles, Carole King and the Grateful Dead. That means lyrics easily learned and rarely forgotten, and solid strumming on guitar, banjo and whatnot. Their 2025 album, Heat of July, arrives for a revisit with supreme timing during the swanky days recently descending in the East Bay. March over for the show; grab some merch to keep the tunes coming all summer long. – LF
INFO: Mon, 8pm, Cornerstone, 2367 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. $28. 510.214.8600.
TUE 8/4
POP
IVE
South Korean girl group IVE has a cool, self-assured charisma that fans have dubbed “chaebol crush core”: the polished, preppy confidence of Korea’s elite, projected with an air of effortless untouchability. That self-possession suffuses a run of sleek, arena-scale, all-caps hits—“Bang Bang Bang,” “Love Dive” and “Lucid Dream”—that pair glossy pop maximalism with the members’ unique vocal styles. On their second world tour, “Show What I Am,” the six-member group amps it up further with razor-sharp choreography, towering visuals and more of the polished precision that got them this far. – SBB
INFO: Tue, 8pm, Oakland Arena, 7000 Coliseum Way, Oakland. $74-$400. 510.569.2121.
WED 8/5
POP
POPPY
This 31-year-old singer combines nu-metal and punk with synth-pop, bubblegum and electronic music for a sound that is all over the place but yet, somehow, actually works. She’s like the forgotten love child of Evanescence, Ashnikko and Bring Me the Horizon. If that all isn’t enough, in May she released her cover of Alanis Morissette’s “Hand In My Pocket,” which starts out ethereal and turns into a love-pop song adjacent to the original but stands alone all on its own. – MW
INFO: Wed, 7pm, Fox Theater, 1807 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. $62-$84. 510.302.2250.
