Photos: Gary Chancer SAN FRANCISCO — Several thousand people from San Francisco and throughout the Bay Area filled into a two-square-block stretch of the Mission to see free music, shop, eat and participate in craft workshops during the sixth annual 20th Street Block Party. The event, sponsored by Noise Pop…

Every week, there’s a plethora of new music at our fingertips. Artists on platforms such as Spotify and Bandcamp are plentiful, and the radio offers a steady deluge of new singles, but who has time to sort through all that? RIFF does! We pooled our resources to find some of the best…

In the midst of a much-needed break from The Dodos following the passing of his father and the birth of his daughter, the indie rock band’s frontman, Meric Long, found himself searching for the means to subvert his approach to songwriting. This led to inspiration away from his guitar. While…

Every week, there’s a plethora of new music at our fingertips. Artists on platforms such as Spotify and Bandcamp are plentiful, and the radio offers a steady deluge of new singles, but who has time to sort through all that? RIFF does! We pooled our resources to find some of the best…

Magik*Magik 8 p.m., Friday Swedish American Hall Tickets: $15. SAN FRANCISCO — Conductor, pianist and arranger Minna Choi is about to kick off a three-hour rehearsal. But while several of her musicians from the popular Bay Area Magik*Magik Orchestra are on-hand, they’re not rehearsing for a recording session with…

Minna Choi (left) and Magik*Magik Orchestra, Courtesy: 7X7. For five years, Magik*Magik Orchestra has played the role of sidekick to artists from San Francisco’s The Dodos to singer-songwriter John Vanderslice to Sting. When We Were Young: Magik*Magik Orchestra with The Dodos, Geographer, Rogue Wave and more 8 p.m., Tuesday,…

Mountain Goats perform at Front Porch Music Festival at Wente Vineyards in Livermore, Calif., on Sept. 1, 2012. Photos: Eric O’Donnell. Livermore’s Wente Vineyards, venerable for hosting big-name artists like John Fogerty, Sheryl Crow and Dianna Krall, went indie Saturday with a double-bill of The Mountain Goats and The…