E-40 performs at BottleRock Napa Valley at the Napa Valley Expo on May 26, 2018. Chloe Catajan/STAFF. As you read this, assuming you’re reading this on Saturday, I’m at BottleRock Napa. I know. I keep swearing off festival coverage on account of my increasingly useless corporeal form falling apart…

Grandson (Jordan Benjamin) performs at Slim’s in San Francisco on April 3, 2019. Joaquin Cabello/STAFF. Jordan Benjamin, better known to his fans as grandson, is feeling relaxed in the hours before he’ll open for pop-punk queen Avril Lavigne at a packed arena in Ontario, Canada. BottleRock Napa Valley 2022…

Lil Nas X. Let’s go over this again: The reason this column is called RIFF Rewind is because back in 2018 I listed my top five (or so) songs of every year from 1967 to 2018. I don’t know how I actually finished the project, but I did it.…

Metallica performs at Aftershock Fest in Sacramento on Oct. 10, 2021. Courtesy Aftershock. SACRAMENTO — Aftershock Fest couldn’t contain Metallica to just one night night. For the first time in the festival’s history, the Friday headliner returned on Sunday to close out the weekend with a second set. One thing…

Grandson performs at Slim’s in San Francisco on April 3, 2019. Photos: Joaquin Cabello. SAN FRANCISCO — Early on in his 75-minute set in front of a sold-out crowd at Slim’s, Grandson made his purpose known. “If you came here looking for answers, I’m sorry, because you’re going to leave…

Grandson (Jordan Benjamin). Courtesy photo. The past 12 months have been quite a ride for New-Jersey-born, Toronto-raised Jordan Benjamin. The alt-rock singer-songwriter, who performs as Grandson, opened for artists like Young the Giant and Smashing Pumpkins, released two-volume EP A Modern Tragedy, and is now embarking on his first national headlining tour—a nearly…