Producers of the 11th annual Outside Lands announced the daily lineups of the festival that runs from Aug. 10 to 12. R&B crooner The Weeknd and alt-rock mainstay Beck headline Friday. Florence and the Machine and rapper Future take center stage on Saturday. R&B and pop icon Janet Jackson and DJ…

This is the final in a three-part series. Read how I’m scoring my list and find out about my “special consideration” acts in PART 1 and 13 through 8 in PART 2. Favorite Shows 2015 | Favorite Shows 2014 Favorite Shows 2013 | Favorite Shows 2012 7 – STURGILL SIMPSON at the Fox Theater – Nov. 19 Two weeks ago,…

NAPA — The fourth installment of the BottleRock Napa Valley festival brought high temperatures and memorable performances. Temperatures flirted with the 90-degree mark as 40,000 flocked to the Napa Valley Expo each day for the event. Let’s look at seven sets from the 2016 BottleRock that stood out above the rest.…

Roman Gokhman’s Favorite Concerts of 2015 This is the second in a three-part series. Read the introduction to learn how I’m scoring my list and find out about my “special consideration” in PART 1. 10 – TAYLOR SWIFT at Levi’s Stadium – Aug. 14. At this point in her career,…

Florence and the Machine performs at the Masonic in San Francisco on April 8, 2015. Roman Gokhman/STAFF. The time off between records and touring has done Florence Welch a lot of good. While Florence and the Machine’s sophomore effort, Ceremonials, directly followed the world tour for her debut, 2009’s Lungs, this time she had…

Florence and The Machine performs at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, Calif., on Oct. 5, 2012. MOUNTAIN VIEW — Since 2010, Florence and the Machine have gone from selling out the Mezzanine, to the 2,800-seat Fox Theater to nearly selling out the 22,000-capacity Shoreline Amphitheatre Friday. Now with two…

Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine performs at the Fox Theater in Oakland on Nov. 5, 2010. Roman Gokhman/STAFF. This story originally appeared in the Oakland Tribune. OAKLAND — When 24-year-old British singer Florence Welch and her band, the Machine, first performed in the Bay Area in April,…

Florence and the Machine, courtesy. This story originally appeared in the Oakland Tribune. She did not yet have a band or any paying gigs, but Florence Welch — whose musical experience at that point included open mic nights and tinkering with a piano in a friend’s bedroom studio —…