The Highwomen perform at BottleRock Napa Valley at the Napa Valley Expo on Sept. 3, 2021. Adam Pardee/STAFF. NAPA — After country star Chris Stapleton, himself a replacement to Stevie Nicks, suddenly became ill the day before BottleRock Napa Valley was to start, the festival’s producers acted quickly. They realized…

Jon Batiste, courtesy. We’ve all been out of practice with navigating a massive music festival. Though you may have been lucky enough to enjoy live music at various points through the last tumultuous 18 months, a three-day festival in wine country is new again to all of us. To…

Lawrence performs at The New Parish in Oakland on Oct. 7, 2018. Photos: Joaquin Cabello OAKLAND — Artists visiting the Bay Area can add a notch to their belts when they can fill venues in multiple cities on the same trip. So it was for New York sibling pop-funk…

Photo: Jay Demetillo Welcome, once again, to my annual countdown of my most entertaining music experiences of the year. I attended 54 concerts this year, up from 51 last year and 41 the year before. In compiling this list, I’m not trying to scientifically list the best or most technically proficient…

Lawrence, courtesy Ray Lego. SAN FRANCISCO — Access will only get you so far. Eventually, even if you have a head start to success, it still comes down to skill. Take New York soul pop band Lawrence. Clyde Lawrence, 24, wrote a key song for the 2000 film Miss…

While there was disappointment about A Tribe Called Quest’s postponement turning into a total (and mysterious) cancellation, Metallica’s spectacle of a performance more than made up for it. A band that’s been touring off and on for more than 35 years doesn’t really have bad shows anymore, but even by…

Photos courtesy: Andrew Jorgensen/Outside Lands Ten years in, the Outside Lands Music Festival has become one of the most iconic music gatherings in the U.S. Which other festival offers a top-notch lineup alongside giant lit-up cypress trees in a magical fairy forest in the middle of a bustling metropolis?…