Bria Salmena, Photo: Matthew Tammaro. While Toronto-area native Bria Salmena partnered with several friends—some of whom she’s been making music with for years—for her new album, she describes the finished work, Big Dog, as her most personal. Big Dog Bria Salmena Sub Pop, March 28 Get the album on…

TEHYA, courtesy contradash. Since she moved out of her house at 16, when her mom and stepdad moved from Seattle to the East Coast, but she refused to uproot her life, Tehya has lived on a houseboat, a house to a music collective in the city’s Capitol Hill neighborhood,…

Aespa performs at Oakland Arena in Oakland on Jan. 30, 2025. Photos: Aaron Lee/STAFF. OAKLAND — Outside Lands producers knew what they were doing when they booked aespa as the festival’s first K-pop group a couple of years ago. While pop charts are flooded with Asian groups who specialize…

Franz Ferdinand, courtesy. Much is going on in the life of Franz Ferdinand frontman Alex Kapranos as of late. The Scottish quartet is back with its first album of new songs in six years, The Human Fear. But Kapranos, 52, is also newly married to French musician Clara Luciani…

MusiCares, courtesy. MusiCares and East Bay outreach and social services organization Kingmakers of Oakland have partnered to hold a health and wellness event on Saturday for established Bay Area hip-hop music professionals. The event will include complimentary wellness services like vision screenings and eyewear, hearing exams with custom ear…

Sports Team, courtesy. Updated at 1:30 p.m., Dec. 4: Mercury-Prize-nominated British band Sports Team, known for songs like “The Drop,” was robbed and had a gun pointed at them in Vallejo on Tuesday morning. The band was slated to begin a tour in Sacramento the same day. The robbery…

Travis Japan, “VIIsual.” When Tokyo J-pop septet Travis Japan made its full-length debut in late 2023, after years of toiling away trying to build an identity, it arrived on a whopping 19 songs that blended funky disco and glittering pop. A year later, the group is back with a tighter…

Cyn, courtesy. Cynthia Nabozny’s music career was gaining momentum at the end of the last decade. The Michigan-born, L.A.-based artist, who goes by Cyn, signed with Katy Perry’s label imprint, released an EP, toured with Perry and Børns and had her songs featured in several films. Valley Girl (deluxe)…

Aurora performs at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco on Nov. 23, 2024. Karen Goldman/STAFF. SAN FRANCISCO — Aurora has for a long time made music as a response to the injustices she sees in the world. From human-caused destruction of nature, to people forced from their homes,…

Young Posse, courtesy. K-pop rap group Young Posse is having a ball on its first tour in America. The all-girl quintet—all its members are still in their teens—got to meet one of their own idols in Run-DMC’s Darryl McDaniels;  experienced not only both coasts but Middle America with shows…