THURSDAY, MAY 28
JAZZ
STELLA COLE
At 27, Stella Cole is a welcome addition to a tradition that has been buoyed in recent years by online offerings. She started gaining attention by posting homemade videos of her comely renditions of standards, earning an avid following that led to her well-received eponymous 2023 debut album. Next month, Decca Records releases Live at Café Carlyle, an album recorded during her sold-out 2025 debut residency at Manhattan’s flagship cabaret room. Entirely at home in the American Songbook and clearly besotted with iconic vocalists Frank Sinatra, Nat “King” Cole and Rosemary Clooney, she performs with her polished trio led by pianist Michael Kanan. There is also a performance on Friday. – AG
INFO: Thu, 7:30pm, Yoshi’s, 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland. $36-$75. 510.238.9200.
THURSDAY, MAY 28
ROCK
DAISYCHAIN
Chicago band Daisychain makes blues-psych rock with dual lead vocals and guitars that know how to get weird. Their sound sits comfortably in a psychedelic haze, flowing between rooted and restless, unsettling and comforting. Their Sylvia Massy-produced debut, All In A Name, landed in June 2025 with songs about modern life’s particular, fragmented chaos and the people to hold onto through it. Now on their “Crystalline Flowers Tour,” the band is loud, fun and based in a friendship that comes through in how they play. – SBB
INFO: Thu, 8pm, Eli’s Mile High Club, 3629 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland. $15-$18. 510.808.7565.
FRIDAY, MAY 29
HIP-HOP
THE NEIGHBORHOOD KIDS
Their videos have been viewed millions of times. Their Instagram has 225,000 followers. And now the Neighborhood Kids are hitting the road with their “Voice of The Revolution Tour.” Hailing from San Diego, the Neighborhood Kids are a conscious hip-hop group dropping knowledge in a way only the voice of the youth can do: sharply, concisely and without any B.S. Whether they’re rapping about slave labor in the Congo, minimum wage or standing up for La Raza, the Neighborhood Kids lay down wisdom over fat beats the way hip-hop was meant to be. – MW
INFO: Fri, 7:30pm, La Peña Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley, $15-$30. 510.849.2568.
FRIDAY, MAY 29
JAZZ
JOVINO SANTOS NETO TRIO
Born in Rio de Janeiro, pianist Jovino Santos Neto had completed a degree in biology and was ready to venture into the Amazon when he connected with legendary composer and multi-instrumentalist Hermeto Pascoal. Profoundly shaped by his 15-year tenure with Pascoal (1977-1992), Santos Neto settled in Seattle in 1993 and has been a major creative force on the West Coast ever since. A regular presence at Jazz Camp West and California Brazil Camp, he’s a prolific composer who turns every performance into a spontaneous celebration, often adding melodic elements into the mix. He’s joined by bassist Scott Thompson and drummer David Flores. – AG
INFO: Fri, 5:30pm, Piedmont Piano Company, 1728 San Pablo Ave., Oakland. $25-$30. 510.547.8188.
FRIDAY, MAY 29
INDIE
ALABAMA SHAKES
Fans understood—sort of—when force-of-nature singer/guitarist Brittany Howard took a break from the Shakes to do solo work. But they quaked in joy when the band reunited last year and began touring. Audiences jump to their feet to sing along with the survival anthem, “Hold On,” named the “#1 Best Song of 2012” by Rolling Stone. Howard is an incredible talent in any environment, but perhaps she shines brightest accompanied by decades-old pals, guitarist Heath Fogg and bassist Zac Cockrell. Who knows better what it took to become what they are? Howard is long past, “Didn’t think I’d make it to 22 years old,” but she hasn’t forgotten that time. – JH
INFO: Fri, 8pm, Greek Theatre, 2001 Gayley Rd., Berkeley. $68-$266. 510.871.9225.
SATURDAY, MAY 30
ROCK
DOUG GILLARD
Doug Gillard might just be one of the more eclectic musicians in the rock world. He’s played with Guided By Voices, Nada Surf and the Beatles-inspired Bambi Kino—named for the German theater the Beatles used to live in. This Saturday he’s playing a birthday bash at the Ivy Room with the Bye Bye Blackbirds, a modern rock outfit inspired by ’60s guitar-pop mixed with ’70s power-pop and layered with ’80s college radio rock. Add to the mix Bill Swan, best known as the trumpeter and guitar player for San Francisco indie-rock band Beulah, and the result is a one heck of a party. – MW
INFO: Sat, 8pm, Ivy Room, 860 San Pablo Ave., Albany. $18. 510.526.5888.
SATURDAY, MAY 30
PUNK
THE DARTS
The all-women foursome in the Seattle-based band vibes cool, hot, creepy, dark, despairing and often—simultaneously on one album. The lyrics are tight, the drums solid, the guitar delivers every shade in the book, and their punky, funk-rock attitude growls and howls, kinda like a hungry monster who missed a meal. Joined on the ticket by Service and Alameda’s Pretty Frankenstein, the show is all GO-GO-GO with no stop sign. Yield? No way. Rest easy, this attention-grabbing night will mean no one’s gonna nod off while the caravan rolls. – JH
INFO: Sat, 8pm, Thee Stork Club, 2330 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. $16-19. 510.859.8709.
SUNDAY, MAY 31
PUNK
‘THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT’
The event is a fundraiser for Bay Area Girls Rock Camp. Founded in 2018, the nonprofit uses music to break through barriers encountered by girls and trans and/or nonbinary youth. The summer camp and the after-school programs launch young students into futures in which they become leaders, mentors, social justice activists, courageous storytellers and people empowered through self-expression to claim their full identities. In addition to attending the event, ways to support the BAGRC include a “Rock Out” donation of $500, sharing campaign updates on social media, double-your-money employee matches and direct donations. Featured groups include Small Crush, Love Spiral, Mommy Mommy, Snallygaster and Whine. – LF
INFO: Sun, 5pm, 924 Gilman St., Berkeley. $25. 510.524.8180.
SUNDAY, MAY 31
HIP-HOP
PRADABAGSHAWTY
London Golston Woods, a.k.a. Pradabagshawty, was born in Columbia, South Carolina, before planting roots in Atlanta. His sound sits in the plugg subset of trap, with atmospheric beats and a laid-back flow. Singles like “Whoa” and “Cash Cow” have racked up streams, and the releases keep coming with Home Invasions, Red Flags & Roses and new album 5 Problems. Pradabagshawty is still building and still independent-minded, the kind of artist people will say they heard early. – SBB
INFO: Sun, 8pm, Cornerstone, 2367 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. $86. 510.214.8600.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3
METAL
APOCALYPTICA
When thinking of the band Metallica, classically trained cellists do not, perhaps, immediately jump to mind. But in Helsinki, in 1993, four of these cellists formed a band they thought of as a “low-fi” tribute to the legendary heavy metal group. Possibly to their amazement, Apocalyptica’s 1996 debut album, Plays Metallica by Four Cellos, was a global hit. Decades later, the group is still seeking and destroying, having collaborated with Metallica bassist Rob Trujillo on “The Four Horsemen” and James Hetfield on a spoken-word version of “One,” featured on Plays Metallica, Vol. 2. The moral is: Never underestimate Finnish cellist metalheads. – LF
INFO: Wed, 8pm, Henry Kaiser Center for the Arts, 10 10th St., Oakland. $39-$131. 510.629.2381.
