THU 9/24
STORYTELLING
‘RADIUM STORIES’
“Radium Stories” is back under the Big Top for an evening of live storytelling built around the autumnal theme of “Back To School (Fool).” Curated by Alameda local and six-time Moth StorySlam champ JP Frary, the lineup is a cocktail of storytelling in all its genres and forms. The event will bring together NPR Storyteller of the Year winners, Moth GrandSlam winners and nationally touring comedian Keith Lowell Jensen. Tales will swing freely between funny and tragic, solemn and absurd, sometimes in a single story. – Sonya Bennett-Brandt
INFO: Thu, 7:30pm, Radium Runway, 2151 Ferry Point B, Alameda. $34.
FRI 9/25
COUNTRY
LOS HERMANOS MENDOZA
Los Hermanos Mendoza are three brothers from the Central Valley reviving the Bakersfield Sound, a rock-and-roll-y, honky-tonk-y sub-genre of country that sprang up in the ’50s as a reaction against the smoother, more pop-adjacent Nashville style. Their country is twangy, rough-edged and steeped in the music they grew up around, drawing from Buck Owens, Merle Haggard and Dwight Yoakam alongside Mexican greats like Ramón Ayala and Vicente Fernández. Guitar, upright bass and close family harmonies give their performances an old-school feel with a unique rhythmic and melodic vocabulary. The result is lively country music with real dust on its boots. – SBB
INFO: Fri, 9pm, Cornerstone, 2367 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. $34. 510.214.8600.
FRI 9/25
JAZZ
BILL FRISELL & HARMONY 5
Hunter S. Thompson once said, “Good people drink good beer,” and in that same vein good musicians know good musicians. So, is it any wonder that jazz-guitarist extraordinaire Bill Frisell is currently playing in heavy-hitting septet Harmony 5, which expands upon his 2019 project blending jazz, Americana and chamber music? For nearly five decades, Frisell has been recognized as one of the leaders in modern jazz and this time he’s bringing cellist Hank Roberts, singer Petra Haden, longtime collaborator and multi-instrumentalist Luke Bergman, and drummer Tim Angulo for a night of legendary jazz. Show also on Saturday. – Mat Weir
INFO: Fri, 8pm, The Freight, 2020 Addison St., Berkeley, $54-$74. 510.644-2020.
FRI 9/25
SOUL-JAZZ
ADAM KLIPPLE QUINTET
Whether he’s on piano, keyboard or Hammond B3 organ, Adam Klipple brings an abundance of soul to his cogent and witty improvisations. An expert arranger, he knows just how much information to supply to his collaborators, providing direction while leaving plenty of space for them to contribute their own ideas. Considering the prodigious crew he brings to the Sound Room, it will be quite a swaggering conversation. Featuring a powerhouse front line with alto saxophonist Jesse Levit, who cut his teeth at the Oaktown Jazz Workshops, and trombonist Joel Behrman, the quintet pivots on the brilliant guitarist Kai Lyons and the inventive drum work of Scott Amendola, while Klipple supplies the basslines on the B3. – Andrew Gilbert
INFO: Fri, 7:30pm, The Sound Room, 3022 Broadway, Oakland. $34. 510.708.9691.
FRI 9/25
BRAZILIAN JAZZ
TONY CORMAN’S MORCHESTRA
Keeping a big band busy is not an endeavor for the faint of heart. The intrepid Berkeley guitarist, arranger and composer Tony Corman has not only embraced the Sisyphean challenge, but he’s managed to keep his 17-piece Morchestra steadily employed, while regularly introducing new material into the band’s book. For this show, billed as a “Big Band Brazilian Blowout!,” the Morchestra soars through a program of standards and deep cuts from the Brazilian Songbook, encompassing samba, bossa nova, and Música Popular Brasileira (MPB) hits from the 1970s and ’80s. Stocked with stellar musicians, starting with pianist Laura Klein, bassist Karl Hartmann and the reliably authoritative drummer Dave Rokeach. – AG
INFO: Fri, 8pm, The Jazzschool, 2087 Addison St., Berkeley. $25. 510.845.5373.
FRI 9/25
BALLET
THE AUSTRALIAN BALLET
Choreographer Christopher Wheeldon’s Oscar and the Aussie ballet company swoop into town riding the leading wave of contemporary story ballets. Inspired by the life of Irish author Oscar Wilde, the two-act production weaves together queer love, classical ballet and narrative elements of two Wilde masterworks, The Picture of Dorian Gray and the short story, “The Nightingale and the Rose.” The ballet premiered in 2024, one of the first classical ballets to push past ballet’s heteronormative world of princes and Romeos. The Australian dancers are sublime. Composer Joby Talbot’s score gains gravitas with a driving techno beat bringing out the darkness while the strings fly like birds high above it. Runs until Sept. 27. – Lou Fancher
INFO: Fri, 7:30pm, Cal Performances at Zellerbach Hall, 101 Zellerbach Hall, Berkeley. $60-215. 510.642.9988.
SAT 9/26
BOLLYWOOD
SHREYA GHOSHAL
Since Shreya Ghoshal’s breakout in Devdas in 2002, the playback singer has become one of Bollywood’s biggest vocal powerhouses. Ghoshal is the invisible voice behind an astonishing parade of characters: She can sing in Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu and more, with a five-octave range and a typecast-busting versatility. Her “Unstoppable Tour” will bring the full cinematic treatment to the stage: soaring ballads, intricate vocal runs and the big musical drama that no one does like Bollywood. – SBB
INFO: Sat, 8pm, Oakland Arena, 7000 Coliseum Way, Oakland. $84-$700. 510.569.2121.
SUN 9/27
NEO-SOUL
ERYKAH BADU
The singer/songwriter/actor known as the “Queen of Neo Soul” brings cool to the Greek. Can it be that warm and frosty reside in Badu’s silky voice? A big “yes” to that. A new Badu record has been slow in coming but at last, Before the World Blows: The Abi and Alan Experiment is here. The collaborative record with underground producer The Alchemist is layered; the lyrics are wiser than precious albums. Time may have tested fans’ patience, but the reward for waiting is rich. Also on the bill is Smino, another singer with vocal chops to hook onto and funky rap juiced by his gospel upbringing, R&B influences and terrific drumming. – LF
INFO: Sun, 7pm, The Greek Theatre, 2001 Gayley Rd., Berkeley. $190-672. 510.871.9225.
TUE 9/29
PUNK
SOCIAL DISTORTION
When talking about the OG’s of California punk rock, Social Distortion stands above the rest. Formed in Fullerton in 1978, the band spent the last 48 years riding the lines between punk-rock, outlaw-country and rock ’n’ roll. Led by Mike Ness, Social D means a lot of things to a lot of people: hard living, cool cars and plenty of style. This is a band that literally has something for everyone. Their debut plus the 1945 EP slap. Want something a little more Johnny Cash? Then their late ’90s and early 2000s work is key. Social D is also bringing along legends Descendants and Australian party boys, the Chats. – MW
INFO: Tue, 7pm, Fox Theater, 1807 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. $78-$264. 510.302-2250.
TUE 9/29
ROCK
THELMA AND THE SLEAZE
The all-female, queer band from Nashville, Tennessee, is led by vocalist and guitar player Lauren “LG” Gilbert, whose fiery trail is anything but mitigated. Band members cycle in and out for various projects. In Albany, longtime alums Hot Sauce on drums and Tinkerbell on bass join Gilbert with an “almost entirely new set of songs off the to-be-released new album,” plus classic songs from their catalogue. Joined at the Ivy Room show by Hypnotic Pattern and Mimi Bryn, the evening promises TATS’ best rock ’n’ roll, HP’s ’90s grunge and Bryn’s country-punk and blues. – LF
INFO: Tue, 7:30pm, Ivy Room, 860 San Pablo Ave., Albany. $15-18. 510.526-5888.
