Josh Radnor, courtesy Ella Hovsepian. If not for his friend, musician Ben Lee, actor-director Josh Radnor would have never picked up a guitar or written a song. Two well-received folk albums later as part of a duo with Lee, Radnor is a legit musician in his own right. Now…

Andrew Farriss, courtesy. Nearly a decade removed from the twilight years of INXS, Andrew Farriss is living a much quieter, “normal” life. Farriss, who teamed with Michael Hutchence to write some of the biggest hits of the late ‘80s and early ‘90s—Hutchence the lyrics and Farriss the music—is happy…

Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts the San Francisco Symphony in a program for first responders, featuring string works by Jean Sibelius, George Walker, Carl Nielsen, Caroline Shaw, and Edward Grieg, at Davies Symphony Hall on May 6, 2021. Courtesy. SAN FRANCISCO — The city moved into the yellow tier…

John McCrea of CAKE performs during 94.7’s 20th Birthday Bash at Oregon Museum of Science and Industry on Aug. 16, 2015 in Portland, Oregon. Photo by Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images. CAKE singer-songwriter John McCrea didn’t start out as an environmentalist out to reforest the West Coast. His fascination with trees…

The Monkees’ Micky Dolenz, courtesy. A year ago, The Monkees’ Micky Dolenz was literally digging in at his Los Angeles area home as the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic clawed into the U.S. With a tour with fellow Monkee Michael Nesmith postponed, he had his hands in the…

Dead Boys perform at Burger Boogaloo at Mosswood Park in Oakland on July 6, 2019. Karen Goldman/STAFF. Following allegations that numerous Burger Records label executives and artists committed sexual assault against fellow artists and their fans, the producer of Oakland’s Burger Boogaloo festival—which was not affiliated with the now-defunct…

Portugal. The Man performs at Live 105’s Not So Silent Night at Oracle Arena on Dec. 8, 2017. Alessio Neri/STAFF. John Gourley and Zachary Carothers may be Alaska natives, but no indie rock band has repped the city of Portland over the last decade as much as theirs, Portugal.…

Bill Graham Civic Auditorium is shuttered on March 12, 2020. Photo: Another Planet Entertainment/Instagram. Another Planet Entertainment, which produces shows at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, the Independent, Fox Theater and other venues, has partnered with a nonprofit to feed Bay Area entertainment industry workers in need. The nonprofit, Touring…

Ylona Garcia, courtesy. What happens if a rising pop star decides to get a job at a fast-food restaurant? In the case of now 19-year-old Filipina-Australian singer-songwriter and actress Ylona Garcia, she got a fans-flooded McDonalds and (an understandably) flustered manager. Garcia, a new signee to Paradise Rising, the…

Alice Merton, courtesy. In the video for “Vertigo,” Alice Merton finds herself trying to escape an grungy industrial underground dystopia, only to find herself ensnared by numerous seedy characters. But while the song shares its name with a classic Hitchcock film, and the video certainly includes noir-ish shadows and…