THURSDAY, MAY 7
FOLK
LE VENT DU NORD & FOGHORN STRINGBAND
Fiddle-dee-dee, as Scarlett O’Hara would say. Québecois music meets American roots when Québec’s Le Vent du Nord and the U.S.’s Foghorn Stringband share the bill at The Freight. Prepare those feet for stomping along with both bands: The multi-award-winning Le Vent du Nord is a star of progressive Francophone folk music, as shown in their latest release, Voisinages, and Foghorn Stringband is justly celebrated for its joyful blending of old-time, bluegrass, classic country and Cajun music. Experiencing the two bands on the same night is the perfect way to explore the familial musical roots, while digging their unique flowerings. – JANIS HASHE
INFO: Thu, 8pm, The Freight, 2020 Addison St., Berkeley. $44-$49. 510.644.2020.
FRIDAY, MAY 8
ROCK
DANNY SERAPHINE
Hailed as the “father of jazz rock” by Rolling Stone magazine, Danny Seraphine knows about the rock ’n’ roll industry. As the drummer for Chicago, Seraphine hit his stride before the band even released their debut album, Chicago Transit Authority. He would later go on to help write some of Chicago’s biggest hits and fan favorites like “25 or 6 to 4,” “Saturday in the Park” and “Hard to Say I’m Sorry.” Seraphine left the band in 1990. However, rock never forgot him, and in 2016, he and Chicago were inducted into the Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame. Today, Seraphine travels with his band, CTA, delivering classic Chicago tunes for a new generation. – MAT WEIR
INFO: Fri, 7:30pm, Yoshi’s, 510 Embarcadero, Oakland. $54-$99. 510.238.9200.
FRIDAY, MAY 8
JAZZ
FILIPINOS SOUNDING EVERYWHERE
May is Asian American/Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and Berkeley’s Jazzschool is honoring it with its Friday Salon Series, starting with an evening of Filipino musicians. The tapestry of music from the Philippines includes Indigenous instruments like the huge, two-stringed boat-lute, gong music, a distant cousin of Indonesian gamelan, alongside Asian, Spanish and Latin American influences, leading to the genre called OPM (Original Pilipino Music). These threads are interwoven today with pinoy jazz and P-pop. Live performance will pair with a panel of musicians describing how their multi-ethnic culture is reflected in their music. – JH
INFO: Fri, 7:30pm, Hardymon Hall at The Jazzschool, 2087 Addison St., Berkeley. $10. 510.845.5373.
SATURDAY, MAY 9
COUNTRY
DON BURNHAM & THE BOLOS
Part of a series of farewell concerts before Western swing stalwart Don Burnham relocates to Wellington, New Zealand, this Bolos show rounds up a passel of stellar players, some of whom have been riding with Burnham for nigh on five decades. A product of the 1960s Berkeley folk scene, the guitarist and vocalist ended up leading the Western swing orchestra Lost Weekend while he explored a wider repertoire with the Bolos. With a 10-piece combo that includes veteran bassist Bing Nathan, pedal-steel guitarist Charlie Wallace, Doc Stein on dobro, Jeremy Cohen on fiddle and highly versatile reedman Ernie Mansfield, Don Burnham is riding into the Antipodean sunset with his boon companions. – ANDREW GILBERT
INFO: Sat, 8pm, The Back Room, 1984 Bonita Ave., Berkeley. $20-$25. 510.654.3808.
SATURDAY, MAY 9
JAZZ
RYAN ANCHETA QUARTET & CHRIS TRINIDAD’S CHROMA TONIC
This double bill features a rising player and a veteran mover-and-shaker. Trumpeter Ryan Ancheta is a member of the SFJAZZ High School All-Stars who’s honing a sound inflected by hip-hop and funk. His quartet features pianist Kevin Person, bassist Alan Jones and drummer Jaeden Baclay. Bass-guitarist Chris Trinidad has been a major force invigorating the Asian-American jazz movement over the past decade, often showcasing older players who laid the scene’s foundations in the 1980s. His band, Chroma Tonic, includes Naima Shalhoub on vocals and keys, Scott Oshiro on flute and quantum electronics, Alex Heigl on guitar and effects and Cy Thompson on trap set and percussion. – AG
INFO: Sat, 8pm, Hardymon Hall at The Jazzschool, 2087 Addison St., Berkeley. $25. 510.845.5373.
SATURDAY, MAY 9
CLASSICAL
LARA DOWNES AND FRIENDS
Honored by NPR’s Performance Today as Classical Woman of the Year, Downes’ work encompasses but also sweeps the boundaries of classical music aside in numerous collaborations, as a recording artist, and with projects she has created that celebrate American history and artists of color. Downes will be joined by singer Judy Collins, poet Tarriona “Tank” Ball, the quartet Invoke—viola-mandolinist Karl Mitze, cellist Geoff Manyin, violinist Zach Matteson and violinist-banjo player Nick Montopoli—and the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir. Spanning more than a century, the music includes popular and classical music that makes no secret America is a complicated country, and in its people exist good and evil, courage and timidity, ugliness and beauty, and more. – LOU FANCHER
INFO: Sat, 8pm, Cal Performances at Zellerbach Hall, 101 Zellerbach Hall, #4800, Berkeley. $33-$135. 510.642.9988.
SATURDAY, MAY 9
CELTIC
SAN FRANCISCO SCOTTISH FIDDLERS
See men in skirts, lots of plaid and hear more than 70 musicians crank out Scottish and Irish tunes on fiddles, cellos, guitars, piano and percussion. Since 1986, the troupe has blessed folks in the Bay Area with Celtic music that is anchored in exquisite fiddle playing. From dance-worthy or singable music to intensely moving ballads, what makes the group memorable is in part the complexity of the performers, who range broadly in age and include recognized award-winning artists and rising stars. Caroline McCaskey is the group’s new music director and leads the program. Expect the action at The Freight to be more than just toe-tapping, and remember to bring a hanky for those tear-jerking tunes. – LF
INFO: Sat, 7pm, The Freight, 2020 Addison St., Berkeley. $49-54. 510.644.2020.
SUNDAY, MAY 10
MATH ROCK
DAZZLING KILLMEN
Originally formed in 1990, St. Louis’ Dazzling Killmen are a musical treat for the ears. Their broken style of playing different time signatures, combined with grinding noise, speaks to just how far ahead of their time these guys were. And to add the cherry on top, they accomplished in only four years a wall of sound that is as equally mesmerizing as it is anxious. By 1994, they released their second and final full-length, Face of Collapse, and just as the name implies the band collapsed soon after. Now, they are newly reformed and will play their music for the first time in 30 years. – MW
INFO: Sun, 7pm, Thee Stork Club, 2330 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. $20/adv, $25/door. 510.859.8709.
SUNDAY, MAY 10
REGGAE
PROTOJE
Few artists capture reggae’s shape-shifting nature as clearly as Protoje. Rooted in Jamaica’s storied tradition but nostalgia-resistant, he treats reggae as a living, protean form that happily absorbs hip-hop, soul, jazz and contemporary production. Part of the island’s reggae revival, Protoje mixes social critique and reflective intimacy without losing the genre’s familiar, grounding pulse. On his “Reggae Invasion” tour, Protoje is bringing his rock-solid new album, The Art of Acceptance, to more than 10 countries. – SONYA BENNETT-BRANDT
INFO: Sun, 8pm, UC Theater, 2036 University Ave., Berkeley. $48. 510.356.4000.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 13
INDIE
DUSK DEPT.
Dusk Dept. looks like a crew of Satan worshipers and sounds like an epic house party at full swing. The seven-piece collective performs cloaked and anonymous, dissolving the usual hierarchy of frontperson and backing band into a single, mysterious organism. But if they’re a secret society, they’re definitely a fun one. Their buoyant, sweat-soaked funk is all bouncy basslines, jabby horns and ecstatic groove. Born from marathon after-hours sessions, their self-titled debut—out this May on Ear Up Records—sparks more of that tension: ominous presentation, irresistible joy. – SBB
INFO: Wed, 7:30pm, Ivy Room, 860 San Pablo Ave., Albany. $15-$20. 510.526.5888.
