Bethany Cosentino, “Natural Disaster.” Having a sound that’s uniquely your own as an artist is as much of a hurdle to jump as it is a blessing when going on new ventures. For Bethany Cosentino, half of rock duo Best Coast, the pandemic, political unrest and a period of…

Rachel Goodman’s top alt-rock and alt-pop songs of 2020. L to R; Row 1: Tame Impala, Caribou, Washed Out, Trace Mountains, The Big Moon, Future Islands. Row 2: Strfkr, Surfer Blood, Surf Rock Is Dead, Of Montreal, Hazel English, Suburban Living. Row 3: Jack River, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever,…

Empire of the Sun performs at Golden Gate Park at Outside Lands on Aug, 12, 2017. Alessio Neri/STAFF. Sonoma Harvest Music Festival producers Monday announced the lineup for the third annual event at Glen Ellen’s BR Cohn Winery. This year’s festival will again take place on four days over…

Best Coast performs at the Regency Ballroom in San Francisco on Feb. 29, 2020. Onome Uyovbievbo/STAFF. SAN FRANCISCO — Best Coast, fresh off releasing its fourth album, Always Tomorrow, performed the marquee Noise Pop festival show Saturday at the Regency Ballroom.  The L.A. band of Bethany Cosentino and guitarist Bobb Bruno,…

“This album is the story of a second chance,” Bethany Cosentino of Best Coast said about the duo’s new LP, Always Tomorrow. The definition of a second chance, loosely speaking, is the opportunity to say that one failure isn’t the end and there’s always hope for something better. For Cosentino and Bobb…

Washed Out performs at the Fox Theater in Oakland on Aug. 16, 2017. The project of Ernest Greene will perform a DJ set several days before Noise Pop 2020 kicks off next week. RIFF STAFF. San Francisco’s yearly Noise Pop Music Festival always seems to feature a billionty bands.…

BottleRock 2013 lineup. Tickets for BottleRock Napa Valley are selling briskly, said Gabe Meyers, festival cofounder. Music fans will be coming from as far away as Japan, Australia, Germany and Great Britain. Those who have not already booked a hotel room in the region will be in for a…

BottleRock 2013 lineup. Longtime Napa residents and businessmen Bob Vogt and Gabe Meyers think that as important as Napa County has been for the Bay Area in terms of food and wine, entertainment is extremely lacking. Meyers, a 42-year-old sports media producer, and Vogt, a 63-year-old lawyer and commercial…