THURSDAY, MAY 14
THEATER
NOEMI ZEIGLER: THE MADELINE MINX CABARET
Noemi Zeigler aka Madeline Minx is many things. She’s a Buddhist and a teacher at Spirit Rock Meditation Center. She’s also been a guest lecturer at Stanford, UC Santa Cruz and the University of Southern California (USC). She’s an award-winning filmmaker, screenwriter, music video director and performance artist with an MFA in directing from the AFI. But there’s also a lighter, funnier side to Zeigler. It’s this part of her personality she taps into with “The Madeline Minx Cabaret: Still Not Domesticated.” By using old VHS tapes, she blends storytelling with audience interactions, ’90s pop covers and stand-up for a fast-paced show that goes from her brushes with fame to what her larger-than-life Jewish mother has to say about it all. – MAT WEIR
INFO: Thu, 7:30pm, The Marsh, 2120 Allston Way, Berkeley. $15-$100. 415.282.3055.
FRIDAY, MAY 15
EXPERIMENTAL
DEREK GRIPPER/ALAM KHAN
A meeting in 2025 over a cup of tea in Alam Khan’s teaching room in Seattle between Khan and South African guitarist Derek Gripper sparked an immediate connection: Both were fascinated with the musical traditions of their birth continents. Khan studied for years under his renowned father, Ali Akbar Khan, and is a master of Indian raga improvisation. Gripper’s love for the 21-string West African kora led him to years of work translating its complex rhythms to the guitar. In the recently released video Francesca, the two sit cross-legged on the floor, listening intimately to each other as they exchange and intertwine notes from guitar and sarod. This is music as meditation. – JANIS HASHE
INFO: Fri, 8pm, The Freight, 2020 Addison St., Berkeley. $45. 510.644.2020.
FRIDAY, MAY 15
LATIN
LA DOÑA
Recording her new album, Corrientes, San Francisco-bred multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, songwriter and femmetón standard-bearer La Doña traveled across Latin America, collaborating with an array of artists. Her travels played a key role in expanding her already capacious stylistic palette, adding bachata, merengue and son jarocho to her groove-laden repertoire which blends cumbia, reggaeton, ranchera and salsa. At a career crossroads where she seems to be considering paths outside of performing and teaching music, La Doña continues to create music that helps define the Bay Area sound. The double bill also features the Puerto Rican synth-pop duo Buscabulla, a project of Raquel Berríos and Luis Alfredo Del Valle. – ANDREW GILBERT
INFO: Fri, 7:45pm, The UC Theatre, 2036 University Ave., Berkeley. $45. 510.356.4000.
SATURDAY, MAY 16
SOUL
CIMAFUNK
Cimafunk looks both forward and back: back to the Cimarrons, enslaved Africans who escaped the Spanish and created their own nation in Panama, forward to a futuristic blend of global genres rich with Afro-Cuban rhythms, funk swagger and soul. He approaches funk with the curiosity of a student and the confidence to rewrite the syllabus. With La Tribu, his nine-piece band from Havana, Cimafunk has brought his big personality and powerhouse sound to Coachella, the New Orleans Jazz Fest, NPR’s Tiny Desk and stages across the world. – SONYA BENNETT-BRANDT
INFO: Sat, 8pm, The UC Theatre, 2036 University Ave., Berkeley. $33. 510.356.4000.
SATURDAY, MAY 16
METAL
POOLSIDE AT THE FLAMINGO
Formed in 2005, this is one of the Myspace bands that never fell off and only got better with age. Their riffs are brutal, their drums are like bullets to the chest and singer Scotty Bohnen’s vocals are some of the grittiest, dirtiest and most guttural ever recorded. Poolside at the Flamingo is a visceral journey into the depths of madness in the best possible way. Word to the wise, this show isn’t for the weak, faint of heart or any fan of Jack Johnson. – MW
INFO: Sat, 6pm, 924 Gilman St., Berkeley. $15/adv, $20/door. 510.524.8180.
SUNDAY, MAY 17
PUNK
PRINCE DADDY & THE HYENA
Prince Daddy & the Hyena, a band that deserves all the hyphens in punk-rock-emo, has an anxious, screamy side and a big, fun, poppy side. Formed in Albany’s DIY scene, the quartet has pushed through near-disaster, personal loss and constant reinvention without sanding down their chaos. Sometimes abrasive, sometimes disarmingly catchy, frontman Kory Gregory can deliver songs that feel both frayed and cathartic. New album Hotwire Trip Switch is the band at their most earwormy, 12 eclectic songs that stand on their own, spiraling through self-doubt, humor and emotional turbulence. – SBB
INFO: Sun, 8pm, Cornerstone, 2367 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. $32. 510.214.8600.
SUNDAY, MAY 17
THEATER
‘THE LUNCHBOX’
Notes placed in lunchboxes exist throughout history as lifelines. A note from a mom or dad in a lunch sack soothes separation anxiety. In Berkeley Rep’s new musical adaptation of Ritesh Batra’s film directed by Tony Award-winner Rachel Chavkin, the missive placed in a misdirected lunch delivery in Mumbai causes a young married woman and a widower nearing retirement to become improbable pen pals. Enraptured, they continue communicating and as their hearts surrender, connection and hope rise. What does it mean to be brave? Not sure, but slip a note in a loved one’s lunchbox if the answer is revealed. Goes until June 28. – LOU FANCHER
INFO: Sun, 7pm, Berkeley Rep, Roda Theatre, 2025 Addison St., Berkeley. $33-$112. 510.647.2949.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 20
JAZZ
KURT ROSENWINKEL
After more than 30 years, Kurt Rosenwinkel is still innovating, composing for and improvising on jazz guitar. He began studying the instrument at age 12 and since that time has absorbed and incorporated multiple musical influences—Eric Clapton guested on his 2017 album Caipi and Q-Tip collaborated on two other albums. An influential bandleader, Rosenwinkel is also helping to teach a new generation of jazz guitarists. NPR said of his 2009 album, Live at the Village Vanguard, “A guitarist whose harmonic ideas and sinuous, legato approach make him readily identifiable, Rosenwinkel is arguably the most beloved jazz guitarist of his generation.” – JH
INFO: Wed, 7:30pm, Yoshi’s, 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland. $39-79. 510.238.9200.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 20
JAZZ
PETER ERSKINE TRIO
While he spent much of the 1970s touring with the Stan Kenton Orchestra and trumpet-star Maynard Ferguson, Peter Erskine became one of the fusion era’s definitive drummers when he joined electric-bass legend Jaco Pastorius in the rhythm section of Weather Report in 1978. A longtime professor at USC’s Thornton School of Music, he’s a drummer for all styles and seasons and couldn’t have stronger partners than trio-mates pianist Alan Pasqua and bassist Scott Colley who he brings north for a series of gigs. As an ensemble they improvise with poise, power and prodigiously inventive melodicism. – AG
INFO: Wed, 5:30pm and 8pm, Piedmont Piano Company, 1728 San Pablo Ave., Oakland. $30-$35. 510.547.8188.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 20
LIVE CONVERSATION
CHAKA KHAN
No one can sit still when listening to “I Feel For You,” arguably Chaka Khan’s greatest hit. Along with “Tell Me Something Good,” another transformational “set your stuff on fire” song, and her anthemic “I’m Every Woman,” the pop, soul, jazz, gospel and funk Rock & Roll Hall of Fame queen rules the roost. With multiple Grammy awards, high-profile philanthropic endeavors and a stellar, 50-plus-year career, Khan has stories to tell. Hosted by talk show host and filmmaker Chann Berry, the show presents storytelling, music, conversation, and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness music history remembered and being made anew. – LF
INFO: Wed, 7:30pm, Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts, 10 10th St., Oakland. $95-$145. 510.629.2381.
