EarthGang, courtesy Ant Soulo. After recording their past recent albums and EPs either while on the road or in brief breaks between tours, inventive hip-hop duo EarthGang finally had a chance to reconnect with their hometown of Atlanta when the pandemic halted concerts almost everywhere. Outside Lands Lizzo, The…

Camaron Ochs, better known as Cam. Courtesy Chelsea Kornse. Looking at it with hindsight, longtime Bay Area resident Camaron Ochs sees the clear connection between the career she thought she’d have and the one that actually brought her acclaim. The songwriter and singer—known best as Cam—who broke out in…

Attendees at Outside Lands at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco photographed on Aug. 11, 2019. Outside Lands 2021 includes headliners Lizzo, Tame Impala and The Strokes. Joaquin Cabello/STAFF. Lizzo? The Strokes? Tame Impala? Heck, throw in Tyler, the Creator, Vampire Weekend, J Balvin and Kehlani. Do you already…

Trevor Daniel, courtesy Grant Spanier. Like many of us, Trevor Daniel had to come to terms with the highs and lows of 2020 before he could look to the future. That meant putting together That Was Then, his forthcoming EP that he made while in lockdown with friends. Outside Lands Lizzo, The…

Metallica performs at Aftershock Fest in Sacramento on Oct. 10, 2021. Courtesy Aftershock. SACRAMENTO — Aftershock Fest couldn’t contain Metallica to just one night night. For the first time in the festival’s history, the Friday headliner returned on Sunday to close out the weekend with a second set. One thing…

Claud, courtesy. Pop singer-songwriter Claud is in Texas, where the next day they’ll take the stage at Austin City Limits. Just a few weeks later they’ll travel west for San Francisco’s Outside Lands. These big shows are becoming the norm as the singer builds momentum following the February release…

Mudvayne performs at Aftershock Fest in Sacramento on Oct. 9, 2021. Courtesy Aftershock. SACRAMENTO —Saturday night Aftershock line-up was marked by two reunions, of sorts. The night was headlined by The Original Misfits, with vocalist Glenn Danzig and bassist Jerry Only. The reunion, which came in 2016, followed three…

Metallica performs at Aftershock Fest in Sacramento on Oct. 8, 2021. Photos courtesy Aftershock. SACRAMENTO — Metallica frontman James Hetfield was clearly back in his element performing in front of tens of thousands of fans at a sold-out Aftershock Fest at Discovery Park. “Are we having a good time?”…

The Midnight performs at The Independent in San Francisco on Oct. 20, 2018. Shawn Robbins/STAFF. The producers of Outside Lands revealed its lineup of night shows around hat will be held over the course of the festival in October. Several of the festival’s acts, including RÜFÜS DU SOL, Kaytranada,…

Foo Fighters perform at BottleRock Napa Valley at the Napa Valley Expo on Sept. 5, 2021. Photos: Adam Pardee/STAFF with the exception of Foo Fighters (courtesy BottleRock Napa Valley). NAPA — With Sunday came the final day of BottleRock Napa Valley’s grand reopening. Despite the long layoff, everything seemed…