Sam Smith performs at Oakland Arena in Oakland, Calif. on Aug. 27, 2023. Matt Pang/STAFF. OAKLAND — Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, beauty, pleasure and procreation was literally center stage Sunday at Oakland Arena. An enormous golden statue of the curvaceous, recumbent, nude figure took up the entire…

Kehlani performs during Sol Blume Festival at Discovery Park in Sacramento on Aug. 20, 2023. Marisela Delgado/STAFF. SACRAMENTO — The East Bay’s Kehlani and New York’s Teyana Taylor topped the bill on another hot, muggy day at Sol Blume Festival at Discovery Park Sunday. Oakland-native Kehlani kicked off with…

Sam Smith, “Gloria.” Imagine being a younger Sam Smith on the precipice of superstardom but having to censor yourself publicly and professionally for fear of losing not only everything you’d built for yourself, but also the respect of everyone else in the room. Even after becoming one of the…

Kehlani, “blue water road.” “It’s only your passion how you move by,” Kehlani sang at the end of their 2020 track “Open (Passionate).” Even if it’s a lyric that describes someone else, it surmises Kehlani’s approach to both songwriting and vocal delivery perfectly. And their ability to present lucid and…

Foo Fighters perform at BottleRock Napa Valley at the Napa Valley Expo on Sept. 5, 2021. Photos: Adam Pardee/STAFF with the exception of Foo Fighters (courtesy BottleRock Napa Valley). NAPA — With Sunday came the final day of BottleRock Napa Valley’s grand reopening. Despite the long layoff, everything seemed…

Attendees at Sol Blume in Sacramento on April 27, 2019. SACRAMENTO – Sol Blume’s two stages and unique festival fashion culminated with Miguel’s first Sacramento show in seven years Sunday. Entering the stage with no introduction, he began with the acoustic strums of “Criminal,” off of 2017’s War &…

Florence Welch from Florence and the Machine performs at Outside Lands in San Francisco on August 11, 2018. Photos: Shawn Robbins and Joaquin Cabello. SAN FRANCISCO — Touting her new record, High As Hope, Florence and the Machine played her first U.S. show Saturday at Outside Lands with the new…

Allan Rayman doesn’t do interviews. In today’s climate of social media and over-sharing, he puts forth that novel idea of letting the music speak for itself. On his sophomore album, Roundhouse 01 (released last week), he succeeds thanks to the sheer strength of his song-craft and the intensity of the…