THURSDAY
ELECTRONIC
ODESZA
The dynamic electronic music duo Odesza is squeezing one more set of performances out of their peerless Last Goodbye Tour, a show full of mesmerizing visuals, live instrumentation and pyrotechnics, with perfectly calibrated shifts between high-energy mania and moments of lush, ethereal calm. Their first-ever live album, The Last Goodbye Tour Live, captures the show’s magic for fans to experience or relive, and these few final performances will build on the original tour for one epic last last goodbye. – SONYA BENNETT-BRANDT
INFO: Thu, 6:30pm, Greek Theatre, 2001 Gayley Rd., Berkeley. $175-$250. 510.871.9225.
FRIDAY
INDIE
COUCH
By the time the pandemic hit in 2020, Couch already had plenty of experience working virtually as a long-distance band. Members attended different universities, meaning they had to write and record online. All that changed in 2021 when they released their debut self-titled EP and came together to tour. Last year, the seven-piece group dropped their second EP, Sunshower, and went on a sold-out U.K. tour. It’s no wonder either, considering their smooth indie-pop sound is as warm and wholesome as a cup of cocoa on a cold winter’s day. The music engulfs the listener, tasting better with each sip of the band’s blend of horns, soul, synths and marshmallows of jazz. – MAT WEIR
INFO: Fri, 9pm, Cornerstone, 2367 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. $26/adv, $31/door. 510.214.8600.
FRIDAY
THEATER
‘MOTHER ROAD’
Any play that involves slicing up a Dodge pickup truck wins top votes. Loaded with other enticements, like the stellar poetic wordsmithing of playwright Octavio Solis and a 21st-century yarn spun in reverse gear, Mother Road is real life laid out on a mythological scale. Tracking themes inspired by John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, a bang-on cast led by director David Mendizábals explores the movement of people and cultures across the American West. Ultimately, the two lead characters’ journey from a California migrant farm to Oklahoma finds them discovering their true—and often violent—family histories and creating new bonds to the land and each other. – LOU FANCHER
INFO: Fri, 8pm, Peet’s Theatre, 2025 Addison St., Berkeley. $22.50-$76. 510.647.2949.
SATURDAY
ROOTS
OLD CROW MEDICINE SHOW
Old Crow Medicine Show has nurtured roots music and lively entertainment for decades, in a variety of forms, from busking on street corners in Virginia decades ago to creating Hartland Hootenanny during peak Covid—a YouTube variety show “best described as a rollicking old-time all-American barn dance” full of music, tall tales and skits. Now, they’re taking another spin around the country to support their 2023 Grammy-nominated album, Jubilee, with their characteristic blend of social commentary, soulful fiddle and jaunty, high-speed folk rowdiness. – SBB
INFO: Sat, 8pm, Fox Theater, 1807 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. $49.50-$199.50. 510.302.2250.
SATURDAY
JAZZ
JOVINO SANTOS NETO QUINTETO
Seattle-based, Rio-raised pianist/composer Jovino Santos Neto gained renown when he traded a career in biology to join the band of multi-instrumentalist Hermeto Pascoal. Since then, he’s created a musical realm where folkloric Brazilian styles such as frevo, samba, xaxado, forró and baião freely intermingle with Brazilian jazz. Over the years, Santos Neto forged ties to the Bay Area scene; now he’s reconnected with a cast of players including vibraphonist Dillon Vado, bassist Peter Barshay, drummer Dave Flores and percussionist Ami Molinelli. Like his mentor Pascoal, Santos Neto brims with music, often swiveling from the piano bench to pick up a flute, melodica or other percussive implements. – ANDREW GILBERT
INFO: Sat, 5:30pm, Piedmont Piano Company, 1728 San Pablo Ave., Oakland. $30. 510.547.8188.
SUNDAY
HIP-HOP
CONCRETE BOYS
Founded and fronted by rap impresario Lil Yachty, Concrete Boys is a five-member collective consisting of Karrahbooo, DC2trill, Camo! and Draft Day. With roots mostly in Atlanta, the crew has deeply cool, mid-’90s aesthetics but takes their work in TikTok-friendly, easy-listening directions. In April, they released their debut album, It’s Us Vol. 1, on Concrete Rekordz—another Lil Yachty venture. Pitchfork had some fascinating commentary to pique everyone’s interest: Draft Day sounds “like he’s rapping with strep throat,” and the whole album “mostly works as a launchpad for Karrahbooo; she’s the only one of the bunch who will leave you wanting to hear a solo mixtape.” – ADDIE MAHMASSANI
INFO: Sun, 8pm, New Parish, 1743 San Pablo Ave., Oakland. $20-$25. 510.227.8177.
SUNDAY
BLUES
TERESA TRULL AND BARBARA HIGBIE
It’s a reunion for the ages: Teresa Trull and Barbara Higbie take the stage together this Sunday as part of the National Women’s Music Festival. The two songwriters met when they shared a bill at a rodeo in Reno in 1982 and found that Higbie’s New Age and jazz influences meshed in magical ways with Trull’s bluesy sound. Their collaboration produced two beloved albums reflecting on the diverse experiences of womanhood: 1983’s Unexpected, on the iconic Olivia Records, and 1997’s Playtime, on Slowbaby. Both have forged celebrated solo careers, but Trull will spend her 70th birthday evening with a lifelong friend. – AM
INFO: Sun, 7pm, Freight & Salvage, 2020 Addison St., Berkeley. $35/adv, $40/door. 510.644.2020.
MONDAY
THEATER
‘YELLOW FACE’
Playwright David Henry Hwang’s Obie Award-winning play begins with the central protagonist mired in the real-life ’90s fracas over color-blind casting for the musical Miss Saigon after white British actor Jonathan Pryce was cast as a Eurasian character. Shotgun Players’ script-in-hand, semi-produced stage reading has an unreliable memoirist writing a protest letter and causing a blooper himself by casting a white actor in an Asian role. From there, the play blasts off in a blend of comedy, cultural commentary and a serious investigation that challenges notions of truth about appropriation and colonization in theater. Grab a complimentary beverage with your ticket and climb on for a remarkable ride. – LF
INFO: Mon, 7pm, Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave., Berkeley. $15. 510.841.6500.
TUESDAY
JAZZ
KAHIL EL’ZABAR / DAVID MURRAY DUO
With the shared conviction that jazz is a spiritual medium drawing sustenance from Africa and the far-flung diaspora, Chicago percussionist, vocalist and fashion designer Kahil El’Zabar is at his most unfettered in the company of Berkeley-reared, New York-based tenor saxophonist and bass clarinetist David Murray. Exploring together since the mid-’70s, the two dauntingly prolific bandleaders have shaped the course of jazz. El’Zabar specializes in small groups that reflect his incantatory take on the ancient-to-the-future aesthetic of Chicago’s AACM. Murray applies his voluptuous tone to a vast array of settings and uses his full sonic palette in the duo. – AG
INFO: Tue, 8pm, Back Room, 1984 Bonita Ave., Berkeley. $20. 510.654.3808.
WEDNESDAY
FESTIVAL
HELLA JUNETEENTH THE COOKOUT
Oakland’s Hella Collective started Hella Juneteenth four years ago to honor the ending of slavery when the Emancipation Proclamation was finally enforced in Texas on June 19, 1865. That first Hella Juneteenth brought widespread attention to the holiday, with organizations like The New York Times, the San Francisco Chronicle and the Associated Press covering it. While they can’t take all the credit, the 2020 Hella Juneteenth contributed to the movement that made President Biden recognize Juneteenth as a national holiday in 2021. Now, Hella Juneteenth is back with The Cookout, a celebration at the Oakland Museum featuring local Black chefs, musicians, DJs and more. – MW
INFO: Wed, 1pm, Oakland Museum, 1000 Oak St., Oakland. $10-$75. 510.318.8400.
