Like the inevitable arrival of fog, experiencing live music is a staple of San Francisco summers. Thankfully, the Bay Area’s concert calendar is once again brimming with must-see shows.  Sure, there are the star-studded outdoor festivals this season — from the second annual Blue Note Jazz Festival Napa Valley featuring Mary J. Blige, Nas and host Dave Chappelle; the return of Portola Music Festival with Skrillex and Nelly Furtado; and the 15th annual Outside Lands at Golden Gate Park headlined by Kendrick Lamar, Foo Fighters and Odesza. But there are plenty of other offerings fo ..read more

Like the inevitable arrival of fog, experiencing live music is a staple of San Francisco summers. Thankfully, the Bay Area’s concert calendar is once again brimming with must-see shows.  Sure, there are the star-studded outdoor festivals this season — from the second annual Blue Note Jazz Festival Napa Valley featuring Mary J. Blige, Nas and host Dave Chappelle; the return of Portola Music Festival with Skrillex and Nelly Furtado; and the 15th annual Outside Lands at Golden Gate Park headlined by Kendrick Lamar, Foo Fighters and Odesza. But there are plenty of other offerings fo ..read more

Like the inevitable arrival of fog, experiencing live music is a staple of San Francisco summers. Thankfully, the Bay Area’s concert calendar is once again brimming with must-see shows.  Sure, there are the star-studded outdoor festivals this season — from the second annual Blue Note Jazz Festival Napa Valley featuring Mary J. Blige, Nas and host Dave Chappelle; the return of Portola Music Festival with Skrillex and Nelly Furtado; and the 15th annual Outside Lands at Golden Gate Park headlined by Kendrick Lamar, Foo Fighters and Odesza. But there are plenty of other offerings fo ..read more

The music industry lost one of its most extraordinary live performers with the passing of Tina Turner, the incomparable “Queen of Rock & Roll,” who died at 83 on Wednesday, May 24. Her commanding stage presence, both regal and raw, was an inspiration to countless vocalists, from Mick Jagger to Beyoncé. As a teenager, she endured decades of abuse in her relationship with Ike Turner and triumphed as a solo star as a 40-something woman. Her struggles were documented in a best-selling autobiography (1986’s “I, Tina”), a Hollywood biopic (1993’s “What’s Love Got to Do With It”), and a ..read more

Paul Simon says he suffered sudden hearing loss while recording his new album, making it unlikely that he will ever be able to tour or perform live again.  The 81-year-old Rock & Roll Hall of Fame musician and co-founder of the folk duo Simon & Garfunkel told the British newspaper The Times that the hearing in his left ear deteriorated while he was in the studio working on “Seven Psalms,” which came out on May 19. “Nobody has an explanation for it,” Simon said. “So everything became more difficult. My reaction to that was frustration and annoyance; not quite anger yet, because I t ..read more

Jimmy Buffett, the 76-year-old singer famous for his laid-back tunes, was hospitalized after his recent California tour date due to an undisclosed medical issue that required immediate attention. In a message posted on his website and social media platforms, the “Margaritaville” singer and entrepreneur announced that he postponed his upcoming show in Charleston, S.C. “Just two days ago, I had returned from a trip to the Bahamas, trying to warm up from the California ‘winter tour,’ and was eager to get to Charleston,” Buffett’s note stated. “However, I had to stop in Boston for a check-up, and ..read more

In 2014, documentary filmmaker Bobbi Jo Hart was shopping for a guitar online for her daughter and came across a picture of a striking, gray-haired woman wielding a six-string on the Taylor Guitars website. The photo was part of a feature story on Filipina American rocker June Millington, who along with younger sister Jean fronted the all-female 1970s rock band, Fanny.  Hart may not have found a guitar that day, but she found her next documentary film subject.  “I completely forgot about the guitar,” Hart told The Chronicle by video call from her home in Montreal. “I read the story o ..read more

Though this year’s Acoustic-4-A-Cure was already flush with worthy headliners, from Heart’s Nancy Wilson to blues great Taj Mahal, organizers Sammy Hagar and Bobby Weir decided to save their best booking as a surprise. Marking her first public performance in four years, 82-year-old folk icon Joan Baez took the Fillmore stage on Saturday, May 13, to audible gasps of excitement from the sold-out audience.  “I knew you’d be the toughest crowd,” she joked at one point in her set, which included riveting renditions of Bob Dylan’s “Seven Curses” and the traditional freedom song “(Ain’t Gon ..read more

San Francisco Mayor London Breed has unveiled a new plan to bring more summer concerts to Golden Gate Park starting next year.  The proposal, announced first to The Chronicle on Friday, May 12, calls for two to three days of headliner-driven events on the weekend following the annual Outside Lands music festival. The San Francisco Recreation and Parks Commissioners are scheduled to vote on Thursday, May 18, on whether to recommend granting a permit to Another Planet Entertainment to organize ticketed concerts at the Golden Gate Park Polo Fields for three years beginning in 2024. Even thou ..read more

Dogstar, the Los Angeles-based rock band featuring “Matrix” star Keanu Reeves on bass, is reuniting for its first live performance in more than two decades at this year’s BottleRock Napa Valley. The grunge-era three-piece group, which also includes guitarist/vocalist Bret Domrose and fellow actor Rob Mailhouse on the drums, is a last-minute addition to the festival lineup which already includes Duran Duran, Lizzo, Post Malone, Red Hot Chili Peppers and many others. The band is scheduled to perform May 27 during the three-day outdoor concert at the Napa Valley Expo over Memorial Day weekend. In ..read more