Bonus points to whoever can guess the drummer in this Alessio Neri photo. It’s that time of year where I, like the past six years, count down my favorite musical experiences. I attended 56 concerts this year, up from 54 last year and 51 the year before. I gave up…

Tove Styrke performs at Cafe Du Nord in San Francisco on Oct. 17, 2018. Photos: Steve Carlson. SAN FRANCISCO — Singer-songwriter Tove Styrke made a convincing argument Wednesday at Cafe Du Nord that she’s a significant player in the pop landscape, even on a night when she wasn’t the…

Lorde performs at the Oracle Arena in Oakland on March 13, 2018. Alessio Neri/STAFF. OAKLAND — When Lorde returned to the Bay Area Tuesday, at Oracle Arena; it was possibly not her biggest local crowd draw. That may have come when she played the sunset slot at last year’s…

Tove Styrke, courtesy: Emma Svensson. Nearly a decade has passed since Tove Styrke finished third on Swedish Idol, without a trophy but with a record contract launching her to pop stardom in her home country. At that time, in 2009, Styrke had not released a single song of her…