Sam Fender performs at Fox Theater in Oakland on April 11, 2025. Steve Carlson/STAFF. OAKLAND, Calif. — Nearly three years since his last appearance in the Bay Area, Sam Fender returned with a level of energy and excitement you’d expect from an artist that had bagged his third BRIT…

Levi Evans, Photo: Casey Culver. As a member of eclectic, freewheeling, 10-member L.A. collective NOFUN!, Levi Evans is all about fun and bravado. The group, which includes members from the Bay Area, Chicago, the East Coast, France—and in the case of Evans himself, Ireland—came together to play parties and…

Franz Ferdinand performs at the Warfield in San Francisco on March 28, 2025. Steve Carlson/STAFF SAN FRANCISCO — Playing its first Bay Area concert in three years, Scottish rock band Franz Ferdinand blasted through a 20-song set at the Warfield on Friday. The quintet, which is touring a fantastic…

Kim Deal of the Breeders performs during Ohana Festival at Doheny State Beach in Dana Point, Calif. on Sept. 29, 2024. Photo by Gilbert Flores/Getty Images. SAN FRANCISCO — While Kim Deal‘s tour in support of her new solo album may not feature the bands that made her a…

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…

St. Lucia (Jean-Philip Grobler and Patti Beranek), Photo: Xander Ferreira. In recent music videos and live performances, St. Lucia band members and spouses Jean-Philip Grobler and Patti Beranek wear matching bright red outfits in the middle of expansive desert landscapes. The videos, filmed on a road trip in South…

Poppy (Moriah Rose Pereira) performs at the Fillmore in San Francisco on March 11, 2025. Photos: Alana Lopez. SAN FRANCISCO — A little more Poppy could be the answer to a divided world. The enigmatic metalcore/pop vocalist drew a diverse crowd to the sold-out opening night of her They’re…

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,…

SahBabii performs at Regency Ballroom in San Francisco on March 1, 2025. Aaron Lee/STAFF. SAN FRANCISCO —  SahBabii brought his grungy take on trap to the Regency Ballroom on Saturday night at a stop on his Resurrection Tour. The 28-year-old rapper, whose name is Saaheem Malik, first appeared sitting at a…

Apocalyptica performs at Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco on Feb. 27, 2025. Onome Uyovbievbo/STAFF. SAN FRANCISCO — When Apocalyptica formed in 1993 in Helsinki, Finland, it was as a Metallica cover band. Its first album was Apocalyptica Plays Metallica by Four Cellos. Its second also had some…