The best albums of 2020 include Washed Out, the Mountain Goats, Ethan Gruska, Tom Petty, Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown, Logic, The Strokes, Moses Sumney, Fleet Foxes, Willie Nelson, Yves Tumor, Nicolas Jaar, Ed O’Brien, Charli XCX and Blackpink. After nearly a decade of living through 2020, we’re finally…

Charli XCX and her band of collaborators have been leading the charge of pushing pop music headlong into new territories over the last few years, using the latest and greatest in PC Music (aka bubblegum bass) production techniques. However, it was a bit of a surprise to hear she…

Charli XCX performs at The Fox Theater in Oakland on Oct. 2, 2019. Photos: Joaquin Cabello. OAKLAND — If Charli XCX wanted to make a point about where she is in her career, the alt-pop star made it at her sold-out show at the Fox Theater with a set…

Taylor Swift performs on the Reputation Stadium Tour at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California on May 11, 2018. Photos: Steve Carlson. SANTA CLARA — On her 2017 album Reputation, “the old Taylor” Swift is dead. But on the Reputation Stadium Tour, which arrived at Levi’s Stadium Friday for…

Courtesy: Catie Laffoon Michigan singer-songwriter Alex Winston and MS MR’s Max Hershenow are so over big labels. Together as new duo Post Precious, Winston and Hershenow are going back to basics when it comes to writing, recording and releasing their own songs. For Hershenow, whose band MS MR is…

Charli XCX performs at the Fox Theater in Oakland on July 23, 2015. Charli XCX not only acts in the “Angry Birds” movie, she sings on the soundtrack, which was released earlier today and also features Blake Shelton, Demi Lavato and even actor Peter Dinklage—he of the the “Game…

Charli XCX performs at the Fox Theater in Oakland on July 23, 2015. Roman Gokhman/STAFF. Perhaps the point Charlotte Aitchison was trying to make at the Fox Theater in Oakland Thursday evening was one of irony–-combining grrl power anthems with faux pole dancing and flashing of the lower half…

Charli XCX performs at Slim’s in San Francisco on Oct. 25, 2014. Roman Gokhman/STAFF. Charli XCX was in town closing out her current tour, supporting her new album, Sucker. Charli XCX performs at Slim’s in San Francisco on Oct. 25, 2014. Charli XCX performs at Slim’s in San Francisco…

Charli XCX performs at the Fox Theater in Oakland on July 23, 2015. I haven’t read “The Fault In Our Stars,” but I’ve heard so much about it I kind of want to now. This Charli XCX song is a big reason why. The soundtrack curated for the film adaptation…

Charli XCX performs at Slim’s in San Francisco on Nov. 1, 2013. Roman Gokhman/STAFF. It’s only been six months since English pop singer-songwriter Charli XCX released her first album, yet she’s already debuted a new song and video, and will soon complete her second record. It’s been a busy…