Author Archives: Roman Gokhman
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Esa-Pekka Salonen leaving San Francisco Symphony following 2024-’25 season
San Francisco Symphony Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen. Courtesy: Andrew Eccles. San Francisco Symphony Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen will step down from his role at the conclusion of his contract in 2025. The symphony and Salonen made the announcements separately on Thursday, on the day the organization also announced its…
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REVIEW: Madonna tells a compelling story at second Chase Center show
Madonna performs at The O2 Arena in London on Oct. 14, 2023. Photo by Kevin Mazur/Live Nation. SAN FRANCISCO — The people who increasingly hate on Madonna about her seeming fixation on the passage of time and mortality, her looks after plastic surgery or her open sexuality—yes, at age…
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African artist showcase Madaraka Festival coming to San Francisco
Ugandan dance group Ghetto Kids rehearse a routine during a music video dance rehearsal with Eddy Kenzo (Edrisah Musuuza), in Kampala, Uganda, on Jan. 20, 2023. Photo by Badru Katumba/AFP. African music showcase Madaraka Festival is hitting the touring circuit this year and coming to the Fillmore on June…
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Usher delivers the goods and the guests at Super Bowl halftime show
Usher and H.E.R. perform during the Apple Music Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Feb. 11, 2024. Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images. Usher headlined the Apple Music Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Sunday, but he didn’t…
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Narada Michael Walden updates SB anthem ‘We’re the 49ers,’ blends sports and music
Producer and musician Narada Michael Walden has updated his San Francisco Super Bowl anthem, “We’re the 49ers.” You’d be hard-pressed to get Narada Michael Walden to pick a favorite between writing and producing hits for Aretha Franklin and Whitney Houston, or sneaking members of the San Francisco 49ers into…
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REVIEW: P1Harmony finds its groove on full-length debut, ‘Killin’ It’
P1Harmony, “Killin‘ It.” Nearly four years and six mini albums in, K-poppers P1Harmony finally deliver their first full-length album. Killin’ It is full of poppy earworms that stand on their own but fit nicely together and never overstay their welcome. Killin’ It P1Harmony FNC Entertainment, Feb. 5 7/10 Get…
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INTERVIEW: Dave Stewart bringing the ‘Eurythmics Songbook’ to America
Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics, courtesy Kristin Burns In conversation, Dave Stewart can spontaneously time-travel from where he sits in his home in Nashville to his 30s, his early childhood growing up in his parents’ row house in northwest England, to the early days of the Eurythmics or his…
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INTERVIEW: UMI ‘talking to the wind’ and following her instincts
UMI photographed at Oakland Arena in Oakland on Dec. 2, 2023. Matt Pang/STAFF. OAKLAND — “I feel very accomplished right now,” Tierra Umi Wilson says shortly after her December performance at Oakland Arena, where she opened for one of her biggest role models, Jhené Aiko. The 24-year-old Seattle native,…
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Deeper Dive: East African music about to have its moment
A few popular artists in East Africa, clockwise from top left: Sauti Sol, Eddy Kenzo, Nina Ogot, Them Mushrooms, Mimi Mars and Diamond Platnumz. Skott Bennett/STAFF. The Grammys added a new category for 2024: Best African Performance. It’s a small step, as there are many dozens of musical styles…
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E-40 and Nef the Pharaoh draw hundreds to Vallejo toy giveaway
Naomi receives a bike at Nef the Pharaoh’s toy giveaway at Shiloh Community Church in Vallejo on Dec. 23, 2023. VALLEJO, Calif. — As 8-year-old Mya rolled her new bike through the parking lot of Shiloh Community Church on Saturday, the handlebars with tassels gleaming in the sunlight, she…