Original photo: Lizzo at the the 65th Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on Feb. 5, 2023. Photo courtesy The Recording Academy. Lizzo is upset. That’s fine and normal and human and everything. The singer got on social media, which is usually a bad idea when you’re having an emotional…

Lizzo performs at BottleRock Napa Valley at the Napa Valley Expo on May 27, 2023. Steve Carlson/STAFF. NAPA — The impact was quick, if not immediate. The tension and excitement had been building, people jockeying for position and moving in as close to the stage as they could. With…

Nova Twins, courtesy Corinne Cumming. If you’ve read this column for more than a year you don’t need a recap, but in 2018 I completed a quest to list my top five (or so) songs for every year from 1967 to the present. After that, my column kept going…

Turnstile performs at The UC Theatre in Berkeley on Nov. 23, 2018. Joaquin Cabello/STAFF. Bad news. It’s Grammy season again. The Grammys are, famously, awful. Nobody who votes for them seems to listen to let alone enjoy music. They’re mostly handed out to the oldest, lamest option, or failing…

Lizzo performs at Chase Center in San Francisco on Nov. 12, 2022. Onome Uyovbievbo/STAFF. SAN FRANCISCO — R&B superstar Lizzo brought her “Special” Tour to Chase Center Saturday night. The Detroit-born singer is in the midst of a massive arena tour in support of her latest album, also titled Special,…

Lizzo, “Special” “Hi, motherfucker, did you miss me?” The good time hits as soon as Lizzo comes in with the first lyric on her new album, Special. Special Lizzo Atlantic, July 15 8/10 “The Sign” kicks off a record that will instantly bring you back to the summer of 2019,…

Chumbawamba circa 2000. Photo: Jill Douglas/Redferns. Thanksgiving is behind us for another year. For some that’s a sad thing, since Thanksgiving is a time of togetherness, family bonding, boundless gluttony and football. To those people, I’m glad you enjoyed your day. Of course, there’s another group, too. Those people…

Attendees walk under the windmills at Outside Lands in San Francisco on Oct. 30, 2021. Adam Pardee/STAFF. Usually, I write up the best and worst of each day at Outside Lands. This year I’m combining the first two days into one. Why is that? Well, for one thing, I’ve…

Lizzo performs at Outside Lands in San Francisco on Oct. 30, 2021. Adam Pardee/STAFF. SAN FRANCISCO — There was only one point in her show at Outside Lands on Saturday in which Lizzo was wrong. Lizzo. “I’m the worst headliner,” Lizzo said while coordinating a TikTok video with the…

Kehlani performs at the Greek in Berkeley on June 23, 2017. STAFF file. Every year, while I’m at Outside Lands, I do a column of five bands I think you should see at Outside Lands. You may have noticed that Outside Lands is next weekend, and yet my column of…