MUNA performs at Great American Music Hall in San Francisco on Sept. 24, 2019. Photos: Gary Chancer. SAN FRANCISCO — “We’re the goddamn greatest band in the world,” MUNA guitarist-producer Naomi McPherson proclaimed after just one song into the Los Angeles pop trio’s sold-out show inside a sweltering Great American Music Hall…

Phoenix photographed at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California, on June 10, 2017. Photo: Alessio Neri RIFF doubled in readership in 2017, and as editor-in-chief, so did my workload. As one of five people running our humble little publication on a day-to-day basis, while planning as far out as…

Photo: Jay Demetillo 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 10 through 6 in PART 2. Favorite Shows 2016 | Favorite Shows 2015 | Favorite Shows 2014 Favorite Shows 2013 | Favorite Shows 2012 5 – TOM PETTY at BottleRock…

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…

SAN FRANCISCO — More than nine months into a tour, at a time when you couldn’t blame a performer for going through the motions, MUNA still puts on as passionate of a performance as it did on the first day. The Los Angeles trio, backed by a talented bassist and drummer, was still…

Photos: Alessio Neri At first, the three musicians in MUNA were not sure whether they could a role as important as role models and inspirations to the queer community. These, days, however, not only have vocalist Katie Gavin and guitarists Josette Maskin and Naomi McPherson accepted the role, but…

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…

Courtesy: Andrew Jorgensen for Outside Lands Since 2008, concert-goers in the Bay Area and beyond have carefully planned out their Outside Lands itineraries. With numerous music stages, the Barbary comedy tent, wacky culinary stage, pop-up performances (that throw a wrench into everyone’s carefully sculpted, laminated schedules), not to mention…

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?…

  Photos: Alessio Neri SAN FRANCISCO — Pop and R&B trio Muna played at Popscene just eight months ago, opening for Local Natives, before the Los Angeles band began its ascent to the top of critics’ breakout lists. The band returned Friday night to officially debut About U, its first LP that…