THURSDAY, MAY 21
AMERICANA
CHAD PRICE & SCOTT REYNOLDS
Three voices from punk’s restless lineage share a stage as Chad Price and Scott Reynolds, both former frontmen of ALL, revisit decades of melody-driven hardcore. Price’s path has wandered through alt-country and folk-leaning side roads, while Reynolds brings a sharp solo presence honed across a handful of post-ALL projects. Special guest Russ Rankin of Good Riddance and Only Crime has also built a solo career, with politically charged songwriting grounded in punk’s enduring sense of conscience. It’s a rare gathering of the voices that helped define melodic punk, then successfully spilled over into other genres. – SONYA BENNETT-BRANDT
INFO: Thu, 7:30pm, Ivy Room, 860 San Pablo Ave., Albany. $15. 510.526.5888.
FRIDAY, MAY 22
THEATER
‘THE HOUSE OF BERNARDA ALBA’
Completed in 1936, two months before his assassination during the Spanish Civil War, Federico García Lorca’s The House of Bernarda Alba tells the story of a domineering matriarch and her five daughters. But it is also widely regarded as Garcia Lorca’s warning, as a gay man and a socialist, about Spain’s descent into fascism. Oakland Theater Project presents a new adaptation by Chay Yew of the tragedy, which merges dance and theater to depict what happens when choice and freedom are ruthlessly suppressed. The significance of the message today cannot be missed. Runs until June 7. – JANIS HASHE
INFO: Fri, 7:30pm, Oakland Theater Project at Omni Commons, 4799 Shattuck Ave., Oakland. $40-$70. 510.646.1126.
FRIDAY, MAY 22
FOLK
RAMBLIN’ JACK ELLIOTT & FRIENDS
Something is going on with 90-year-olds—and it rocks. By 1968, when the Freight was launched, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott had already studied with Woody Guthrie and recorded three albums in the U.K. Now, at 94, he’s recorded more than 40 albums, won two Grammys, been a founding member of Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue and has nothing left to prove. But he has a lot more to sing and play, and will prove it with multiple pals at the Freight in an evening of folk, Americana, roots, blues and tales of the road, which continues to unfurl before him—to our good fortune. – JH
INFO: Fri, 8pm, The Freight, 2020 Addison St., Berkeley. $44-$49. 510.644.2020.
SATURDAY, MAY 23
JAZZ
VERNACULARS PLAY THE MUSIC OF FRANCIS WONG
As part of a month-long series focusing on the Bay Area’s deep history of Asian-American jazz, the Vernaculars play music by tenor saxophonist Francis Wong, who’s been at the movement’s forefront since the early 1980s. A co-founder of Asian Improv Arts, which released dozens of albums and produced the Asian American Jazz Festival for decades, Wong has been buoyed in recent years by younger artists performing his music, which often combines traditional Chinese and Japanese elements with New Thing jazz approaches of the 1960s and ’70s. He’s joined by guitarist Karl Evangelista, electric bassist Chris Trinidad and drummer Jimmy Biala. – ANDREW GILBERT
INFO: Sat, 8pm, The Jazzschool, 2087 Addison St., Berkeley. $25. 510.845.5373.
SATURDAY, MAY 23
PUNK
THE ZEROS
West Coast punk-rock history runs straight through the Zeros. Formed in 1976 in Chula Vista, the band distilled early punk to its essentials: Fast songs that rush in and out before the audience can catch their breath, raucous choruses and no-frills instrumentation. Dubbed “the Mexican Ramones,” Robert Lopez—later known as El Vez—Javier Escovedo, Hector Penalosa and Baba Chenelle helped define a stripped-down California sound shaped as much by garage rock swagger as by the emerging DIY scene. Decades later, their music is still lean and loud. – SBB
INFO: Sat, 8pm, Ivy Room, 860 San Pablo Ave., Albany. $20. 510.526.5888.
SATURDAY, MAY 23
THEATER
‘CONTINUITY’
Continuity is the kind of production at which Shotgun excels. A meaty, meaningful topic dressed up in mayhem. Written by Bess Wohl and directed by Emilie Whelan, the customary chaos of a Hollywood film soundstage is lit up by confronting the climate crisis. Ramped up to full volume, there is doom, drama, comedy and a colossal contest between high-stakes “let’s pretend” and real science. Can people wake up to reality and change their minds? Do they really want to? Hollywood does not have the answers … or does it? Goes until June 21. – LOU FANCHER
INFO: Sat, 8pm, Shotgun Players, 1901 Ashby Ave., Berkeley. $8-80. 510.841.6500.
SUNDAY, MAY 24
INDIE
THE BETHS
New Zealand indie-rocker Elizabeth Stokes realized before most folks that the Straight Line Was A Lie. Which is also the title of the band’s fourth album. Joined by bandmate, guitarist and creative partner Jonathan Pearce; bassist Benjamin Sinclair; and drummer Tristan Deck, the vocalist/guitarist takes the stage in Berkeley during an international tour. This is rock for all ages. Sure, there’s angsty, honest lyrics and some fierce guitar and drum riffs that blow away cognitive cobwebs. But there’s also dreaminess, harmony, hope, tenderness and a charm that feels nostalgic in today’s brutal world. The Folk Bitch Trio and French Cassettes fill out the bill. – LF
INFO: Sun, 8pm, The UC Theatre, 2036 University Ave., Berkeley. $55. 510.356.4000.
TUESDAY, MAY 26
ROCK
TELEHEALTH
Formed in 2022 by husband-and-wife duo Kendra Cox and Alexander Barr, this synthpop quintet picks up where Devo left off with retro-future sounds and humorous commentary on the apocalyptic wasteland modern society finds itself in. Earlier this year they signed to Seattle’s biggest little label, Sub Pop, and just released their sophomore album, Green World Image. This is synth-rock for fans of Kraftwerk, the Epoxies, Atom & His Package and Shiny Toy Guns. Or as Barr described their sound to The Seattle Times, it captures the entangled society we find ourselves in and “how it might feel to doomscroll for 20 minutes … Sometimes it makes you feel amazing, and other times you feel dreadful.” – MAT WEIR
INFO: Tue, 8pm, Thee Stork Club, 2330 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. $14/adv, $16/door. 510.859.8709.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 27
ROCK
THE LAST DINNER PARTY
How can one tell if their band is on the right trajectory or not? Well, opening up for the Rolling Stones after being a band for only a year is a pretty good gauge. That’s exactly what the Last Dinner Party, then known as the Dinner Party, did in 2022. With Siouxsie Sioux-style vocals and sounds that draw influence from Bowie, Fleetwood Mac, Queen and Roxy Music, the Last Dinner Party is an amalgamation of old souls meeting new sounds. They released their debut album, Prelude to Ecstasy, in 2024 and immediately dropped their second album, From the Pyre, the next year. This year, they’ve already released two brand-new songs. – MW
INFO: Wed, 8pm, Fox Theater, 1807 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. $57-$120. 510.302.2250.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 27
JAZZ
MIGUEL ZENÓN
As a founding member of the SFJAZZ Collective, Puerto Rican alto saxophonist Miguel Zenón’s regular presence in the Bay Area used to be a given. But these days, any performance by the virtuosic altoist is a special event. With multiple Latin Grammy and Grammy Awards, and just about every other distinction, Zenón possesses a molten-copper tone and slippery phrasing that imbues every note with a singing quality. He’s created an expansive book of original tunes, but he’s also deeply versed in turning boleros, salsa hits and Puerto Rican standards into sleek vehicles for improvisation. His superlative working band features Venezuelan pianist Luis Perdomo, Italian bassist Luca Allemano and Cuban drummer Henry Cole. – AG
INFO: Wed, 7:30pm, Yoshi’s, 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland. $29-$69. 510.238.9200.
