In the (back) pocket: a night with Vulfpeck at the UC Theatre Roxanne Bostian September 22, 2024 Jazz pop, Concerts, Festivals, and Live Reviews, Funk, Local, Soul The energy was electric on the sidewalk outside the UC Theatre on Wednesday night, the air buzzing with excitement as attendees thronged at the entrance to Vulfpeck’s late show. Inspired by the session musici...
First dates and new music Riley Collins September 20, 2022 Concerts, Festivals, and Live Reviews, Previews, Reviews I learned about Remi Wolf how everyone else learns about music nowadays: a hinge date. More often than not, these dates are unsuccessful, filling your brain with information that will no longer be needed in two...
Elujay Hypnotizes His Hometown Crowd with a Captivating Performance Tovah Popilsky April 27, 2022 Concerts, Festivals, and Live Reviews, Photos On Saturday night, Elujay performed a sold out show at Cafe Du Nord in San Francisco in order to showcase his new album and perform some crowd favorites. Elujay, who grew up in Oakland, was excited to be back a...
In a Trance: Hiatus Kaiyote at the Fox Ansley Stotelmyre March 31, 2022 Concerts, Festivals, and Live Reviews On Thursday March 17th, Hiatus Kaiyote came all the way from Australia to perform at the Oakland Fox Theater, giving a rare and magical performance of a lifetime. Their jazz, funk, and soul fusion intertwined w...
(Still Not) Over It: Summer Walker’s drops her debut album Sanjana Sanghani November 19, 2019 Album Review I had been awaiting a full-and-loaded album from R&B/soul artist Summer Walker for what seemed like way too long. So when Over It (2019) was finally released in early October, it's all I listened to for at ...
Jaime: Sunday mornings with Brittany Howard Claire Winthrop September 25, 2019 Album Review Growing up, I would come downstairs after sleeping in on a Sunday to my mom making crêpes in the kitchen. Picture spring in Portland: rain, dread (because it’s still raining and it’s June, literally where ...
March madness: music news you need to know about now Erika Badalyan March 27, 2019 Mixtapes Berkeley has been a pretty kooky place lately: people are recovering from their first wave of midterms, the weather has been unpredictable as ever, and will Apple News ever bring positivity back into our notifi...
Artist spotlight: QUIÑ is the new r&b artist you need to watch Veronica Irwin March 4, 2019 Columns and Opinions A slow-burning candle. Clouds colored in a deep, dusky rose. Dried lavender crumbling through your fingers. Forgive me for playing a bit of word-association, but the above phrases are about as close as I ca...
Rhye jazzes up the Ace of Spades Keren Duque November 15, 2018 Concerts, Festivals, and Live Reviews Earlier in February this year, Rhye released their newest album, Blood (2018), much to the anticipation of many who were awaiting their comeback after their debut album, Woman (2016). At the Ace of Spades in S...
Khruangbin loves music, Oakland loves Khruangbin Dylan Medlock November 13, 2018 Concerts, Festivals, and Live Reviews, Reviews Few musicians exude the admiration and joy for underappreciated world music like Houston instrumental trio Khruangbin. The group takes their name from the rough Thai translation for “airplane” and started p...
Brasstracks overflow The Independent with their artistry and energy Anna Nguyen April 9, 2018 Concerts, Festivals, and Live Reviews, Reviews The term “dynamic duo” couldn’t be more appropriate for musicians Ivan Jackson and Conor Rayne who met at the Manhattan School of Music and started a joint project Brasstracks just a few years ago. Sinc...
Charlotte Day Wilson brings Stone Woman to life at the Independent Anna Nguyen March 26, 2018 Concerts, Festivals, and Live Reviews, Reviews The first time I heard Charlotte Day Wilson’s voice was randomly at an Amoeba in L.A. My ear caught a trace of a demurely soulful voice playing through the store’s speakers and I immediately whipped out m...
The evolution of protest music Hannah Hartt March 26, 2018 Columns and Opinions, Mixtapes In an interview with Melody Maker magazine, Jimi Hendrix once said, “Anyone can go round shaking babies by the hand and kissing the mothers, and saying that it was groovy. But you see, you can't do this in ...
Jordan Rakei shares a piece of his soul at his last stop on tour Anna Nguyen March 13, 2018 Album Review, Concerts, Festivals, and Live Reviews, Reviews Born in New Zealand and raised in Australia, Jordan Rakei was a long way from home as he closed out his second North American tour in San Francisco at The Fillmore last Thursday, March 8th. Rakei brings his own...
A getaway with Jamila Woods Devyn White December 19, 2017 Concerts, Festivals, and Live Reviews, Reviews This show was exactly what a stressed, academically-inclined, spiritual woman of color needed before finals. It was full of sweetness and love -- enrichment to my soul. The Great American Music Hall’s small v...