“In the Name of Love” is co-produced by Living Jazz and UnderCover, and includes performances by Kronos Quartet and Meklit. Bay Area artists like Kronos Quartet, Meklit and Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir will perform Saturday during a livestream celebration in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “In The Name…

SF Ballet Artistic Director and Principal Choreographer Helgi Tomasson. Courtesy: Erik Tomasson/SF Ballet. After nearly four decades as artistic director and principal choreographer of the San Francisco Ballet, Helgi Tomasson today announced that he will be concluding his tenure by mid-2022. Tomasson will continue to actively lead the company in…

MF DOOM performs during the Pitchfork Music Festival at Union Park on July 18, 2009 in Chicago. Courtesy: Roger Kisby/Getty Images. The wife of underground hip-hop icon MF DOOM on Thursday announced that he died on Oct. 31. The rapper, whose name was Daniel Dumile, was 49. “Thank you…

New San Francisco Symphony Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen. Courtesy: Andrew Eccles. Queen Elizabeth II awarded an honorary knighthood to San Francisco Symphony Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen earlier this week. Salonen received his commendation for his services to music and United Kingdom-Finland relations. The Finnish-born conductor and composer made his international…

Nico Vega performs at America’s Cup Pavilion in San Francisco on May 31, 2013. Roman Gokhman/STAFF. Aja Volkman-Reynolds and Dan Epand of the band TWO, formerly of Nico Vega, blasted President Donald Trump on Tuesday for using their 2013 song “Beast” in a recent social media post that claimed…

First Avenue in Minneapolis photographed on May 19, 2020. Photo: Todd Johnson. While most headlines about the newly-passed, long-awaited second round of COVID relief are focused on the $600 individual payments, it also includes help for the nation’s independent venues. According to a joint statement by Nancy Pelosi and…

Georgia Comes Alive. Courtesy. Nonpartisan nonprofit organization HeadCount and several partners have organized a daylong virtual music streaming event in support of getting out the vote for the Georgia Senate runoff elections. Georgia Comes Alive, on Dec. 26, will include performances by Foo Fighters, Bob Weir, Dave Schools of…

SF Sketchfest announces Festpocalypse! SF Sketchfest on Thursday announced Festpocalypse!, a virtual fundraiser for the annual wintertime event. Festpocalypse! will include cast reunions of “The Kids in the Hall” and “The State” as well as David Cross and Bob Odenkirk, a gathering of “Saturday Night Liv” alumni, actors like…

Tom Morello performs with Prophets of Rage at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View on Sept. 13, 2016. Morello will join the Save the Senate streaming event to fundraise for Fair Fight. Paige K. Parsons/STAFF. A host of artists are poised to perform at a one-day music festival with proceeds…

Pickup Sessions, courtesy: Living Jazz. Living Jazz, an Oakland organization devoted to the empowerment of people through music, has partnered with the West Oakland Food Pantry to provide live music to people waiting in line to receive food at the pantry. The series is called Pickup Sessions and the…