DAR WILLIAMS Singer songwriter Dar Williams brings her acoustic energy and progressive ideals to the UC Theatre on Saturday night. Her most recent album, “Emerald,” “deals as bluntly as ever with the shadowy, subtle corners of humanity,” according to Rolling Stone. In addition to performing her music, Williams will be reading from her most recent book, What I Found in a Thousand Towns: A Traveling Musician’s Guide to Rebuilding America’s Communities, which was just published this week. Saturday, Sept. 9, 8 p.m., UC Theatre, 2036 University Ave.
THE BACCHAE Are you ready for some Dionysian rites in Tilden Park? Liar Liar Theater Company is staging its immersive, site-specific production of Euripides’ The Bacchae at the Lake View picnic area in Tilden (if you’re a Tilden dog walker, it’s opposite the Quarry trailhead). Warning, the production is subtitled “for madwomen only.” There’s a reason why we’re still watching Euripides after nearly 2,500 years. How can you not love everything about the troupe’s description? “The physical environment is monumental to our storytelling. The smell of the trees. The sound of the animals. These are ways in which we immerse you in the world of The Bacchae… Our actors will engage you. The extent to which you engage back is up to you, although we will say that the most adventurous visitors will be rewarded… You may see something different than your companions. We encourage you to come with levity, curiosity and a receptive mind.” Friday-Sunday, from Sept. 8-23, 7 p.m., Lake View picnic area, Tilden Park.
SOLANO STROLL The annual Solano Stroll will flood North Berkeley and Albany with nearly a quarter million visitors on Sunday for the East Bay’s largest street festival, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Among the features of the Stroll are 50 entertainers, 50 food booths, 150 government and non-profit agencies, 150 juried hand-crafters, a 75-entry parade (starts at 10 a.m.), mechanical rides and much more. Free shuttles run from North Berkeley BART to Marin Avenue, one block south of Solano, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. There’s also free valet parking for bikes at two locations on Solano (at 1800 Solano and 1245 Solano).
MOH ALILECHE The Bay Area’s direct link to Algerian Berber culture, music and dance until he moved to Portland some years ago, Moh Alileche and his Ensemble return to Ashkenaz on Saturday, playing traditional and modern music of North Africa for listening and dancing, with songs coming from Alileche’s five CDs. Opening the concert is Alileche’s friend, fellow Kabylian Kamel Zeniou and Friends. In addition to original music, the Moh Alileche Ensemble also plays some popular tunes from Alileche’s Algerian homeland of Kabylia. Saturday, Sept. 9, 9 p.m., Ashkenaz, 1317 San Pablo Ave.
NYC&T The Art Thou Gallery is currently showing the multimedia exhibition NYC & T (New York City & Tom). According to Tom Taylor, curator and artist of the NYC & T installation, the inspiration for the exhibit was simply New York City. “The first time I went there was to visit the museums but as soon as I stepped onto the sidewalk, I was hooked! Simply put, I want people to leave the gallery feeling like they had just been there.” Among the installations in the exhibit, the “Subway” features sound (a 90-minute recorded loop), video, photographs and lighting which recreate the experience of being underground in the New York City subway. Open Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. (closed from 2-3 p.m. for lunch), Art Thou Gallery, 1533 Solano Ave.
Don’t miss these other events covered on Berkeleyside:
Big Screen Berkeley: ‘I Am the Blues’ and ‘The Villainess’
A visit with the wizard: Raz Kennedy
