THU 6/18
AMERICANA
TRILLIAN WELCH
Take a warm, deep break from it all when Trillian Welch returns to the Freight. The three women of the group, all Bay Area favorites, come together to honor the songs of Gillian Welch in distinctive three-part harmonies. Gillian Welch and Alison Krauss co-wrote, for example, the unforgettable “I’ll Fly Away,” featured in O Brother, Where Art Thou? Meredith Edgar, Jill Rogers and Margaret Belton each have gorgeous, unique voices, which blend to make something even more gorgeous and unique. They’re joined by their backing band, the Trillianaires, which also features multiple talented musicians for an evening that will let you fly away. – JANIS HASHE
INFO: Thu, 8pm, The Freight, 2020 Addison St., Berkeley. $39-$44. 510.644.2020.
THU 6/18
THEATER
‘THE FRE’
In 2024, it was Taylor Mac lighting a fire on the OTP stage with a spectacular, comedic Andronicus revenge play. Marking a return, the company picks up the crown and rules the land of ball pits, conformity, chaos and the ever-so-human appetite for freedom. The play for ages 12 and up rides on the shoulders of a gender-queer, 11-year-old kid who glories in rowdiness and collective joy and leads the charge to “win” through unity, the ultimate prize. Be ready to roll in plastic—yes, this is an immersive audience experience in the truest sense of the word. Goes until June 28. – LOU FANCHER
INFO: Thu, 7:30pm, Oakland Theater Project, FLAX art & design, 1501 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland. $10-70. 510.646.1126.
FRI 6/19
JAZZ
EMILIO SOLLA & ANTONIO LIZANA
Raised in Buenos Aires and based in New York City for the past two decades, pianist Emilio Solla has carved out a singular niche on the Latin jazz scene with his 17-piece Tango Jazz Orchestra. He’s been sought out by heavyweights such as Cuban reed maestro Paquito D’Rivera, pianist Arturo O’Farrill and cellist Yo-Yo Ma over the years, but Solla turned his attention to rising star flamenco-jazz vocalist and saxophonist Antonio Lizana for his latest project, El Siempre Mar. It’s a volatile melding of vintage Argentine folk songs and original compositions that draw on tango, Lizano’s Andalusian roots and their shared love of jazz. – ANDREW GILBERT
INFO: Fri, 5:30pm, Piedmont Piano Company, 1728 San Pablo Ave., Oakland. $30-$35. 510.547.8188.
FRI 6/19
METAL
A BAND OF ORCS
Five orcish Warchiefs, worshipers of the chaos-dragon Gzoroth, have come through a wyrmhole to our realm, where they seek to pillage, recruit fresh servants for the coming Domination and subject humans to crushing death metal. Their theatrical live raids have brought them alongside metal heavyweights including Slayer, Motörhead, Cannibal Corpse, GWAR and Slipknot, but earthly accolades mean little when your ultimate goal is planetary conquest. They’re orcs who play death metal. What else do you need to know? – SONYA BENNETT-BRANDT
INFO: Fri, 8pm, Spats Bar, 1974 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley. $15. 510.841.7225.
FRI 6/19
METAL
PERSEKUTOR
Persekutor calls its sound “Romanian ice metal,” a fitting description for black metal steeped in frostbitten folklore and Eastern Bloc grit. Dreamed up by frontman Vlad the Inhaler in rural Transylvania and now based in Los Angeles, the group fuses the filthy swagger of Motörhead and AC/DC with the menace of Venom, Bathory and Celtic Frost. Their songs are packed with tales of survival, superstition, hard drinking and harsh winters, delivered with metallic punishment and vampiric mischief. The result is blackened metal with an edge of violence and a sense of humor. – SBB
INFO: Fri, 9pm, Eli’s Mile High Club, 3629 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland. $18-$20. 510.808.7565.
SAT 6/20
JAZZ
ELI MALIWAN’S SAXRELIGIOUS QUINTET
The Jazzschool continues to expand its programmatic purview with a stellar spate of Pride Month programming, such as saxophonist and composer Eli Maliwan’s Saxreligious Quintet. Featuring Rob Finucane on synth, Vida Sánchezon on synth bass, pianist Gabi Aldaz and drummer JC Grady, the group tackles the daunting assignment of turning Maliwan’s solo debut album Elysia Marginata into a live production. Created via prodigious multi-tracking to explore Maliwan’s video-game-meets-jazz-nerd aesthetic, the music combines electronic textures, complex harmony, odd meters, improvisation and satirical titles. A transgender Asian American, he often writes music designed to examine and celebrate his intersecting identities, and Elysia Marginata offers a glimpse into Maliwan’s gloriously messy mind. – AG
INFO: Sat, 8pm, The Jazzschool, Hardymon Hall, 2087 Addison St., Berkeley. $15-$25. 510.845.5373.
SAT 6/20
PUNK
GUTTERMOUTH
Love them or hate them, one thing’s undeniable: Guttermouth is a band. Formed in 1989, this Orange County punk act has made a lot of fans—and enemies—over the years with their irreverent style. They were one of the earliest bands to mix skate/pop, punk-style sounds with humor, and usually purposely offensive humor at that, for a sound and feel that dominated the 1990s and early 2000s. While they did put out an EP as recently as 2016, it’s been 20 years since their last full-length studio album, leaving fans wondering if this will be the year they finally get some new music. – MAT WEIR
INFO: Sat, 7pm, Crybaby, 1928 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. $30.
SAT 6/20
FOLK
TERESA TRULL AND BARBARA HIGBIE
The show at the Freight is a birthday party, with singer-songwriter, composer, producer Trull; a belated birthday party, with singer, composer and multi-instrumentalist Higbie; an album-release, per Higbie’s 2026 solo piano album, Inspiration; and a reunion. Appearing together, Trull and Higbie represent royalty in the empire of women in music. Searing vocals and lyrics delivered with sincere humility and humor. Offering a stage presence dressed up primarily with the musician’s unstoppable joy for making music. Can it be enough to make any downturned heart rise and rejoice? You bet. – LF
INFO: Sat, 7pm, The Freight, 2020 Addison St., Berkeley. $39-$44. 644-2020.
SUN 6/21
COMMUNITY
MAKE MUSIC DAY BERKELEY
Berkeley will again this year transform into a giant music party as “parks, sidewalks, plazas, shops and unexpected corners” fill with all kinds of performance, from the Berkeley Symphony to the Berkeley Juneteenth Festival to the Neighborhood Kazoo Band. Wander the streets, sing—or kazoo—along in some places, sit back and listen in others. Some participants will be performing publicly for the first time; others offer an opportunity to hear polished professionals in nontraditional settings. Venues vary from the Berkeley Marina to the Study Hall Rooftop Lounge to “somebody’s driveway.” So, “Berkeley.” – JH
INFO: Sun, 11am, multiple venues, Free. makemusicday.org/berkeley
TUE 6/23
REGGAE
ISRAEL VIBRATION
The bad news is there aren’t many roots and dancehall reggae acts from the original years left touring in 2026. The good news is Israel Vibration is, along with backing band Roots Radics. Here’s the double whammy: both Albert “Apple Gabriel” Craig and Cecil “Skelly” Spence have passed on in the last six years. However, Lascelle “Wiss” Bulgin continues the vocal trio’s legacy spreading positivity and the message of Jah for eager audiences looking for a little love and light in a world of darkness. – MW
INFO: Tue, 8pm, Cornerstone, 2367 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. $46–$49. 510.214.8600.
