Have you subscribed yet to our new arts and culture newsletter, The Scene, yet? Each week we round up the best of local events and send it to your inbox on Thursday morning.
We’ll also include Q&As with artists and news and fun tidbits you won’t find anywhere else. Even if you already get our Daily Briefing, you still need to sign up to receive the newsletter. (As always, there are no paywalls, and you can update your preferences at any time.)
Newsletter subscribers will be the first to be in the know, but we’ll also share a list of events on the site. Reach out to us at the-scene@berkeleyside.org if there’s an event you’d like us to highlight. If there’s an event you’d like to promote on our calendar, you can use the self-submission form on our events page.
Around Berkeley
➤ Geologist Andrew Alden, who has worked for the U.S. Geological Survey and is the author of Deep Oakland: How Geology Shaped a City, will give a talk about Berkeley geology at Pegasus Books’ Shattuck location. Thursday, June 1, 7 p.m. FREE
➤ BAMPFA will show the restored F.W. Murnau silent romantic drama Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans with Judith Rosenberg on piano. Thursday, June 1, 7 p.m. $5-$14
➤ Tinariwen, a Grammy-winning group of Tuareg musicians from the Sahara Desert region of northern Mali, will perform at the UC Theatre. Friday, June 2, 8 p.m. $37.50
➤ Dancing queens, take note: Cornerstone Berkeley is hosting an ABBA-inspired disco. Ages 18 and up. Friday, June 2, 9 p.m. $18-$22
➤ The Berkeley Symphony will close out its 51st season with the world premiere of Chinese-born composer Xi Wang’s “Lotus Prayer” and a performance of Carlos Simon’s “Portrait of a Queen,” which uses spoken word and music to tell the history of Black America. Also on the program is Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s famous Scheherazade. Sunday, June 4, 4 p.m., Zellerbach Hall. $20-$47.50
➤ Vitamin Em’s free public community concert will benefit Dorothy Day House and unhoused Berkeley residents. Saturday, June 3, 1:30-4 p.m. Civic Center Park. FREE
➤ Attend the opening reception of Karen Mason’s solo exhibition of botanical bird and floral paintings, Whisper, Whistle & Shout, at ACCI Gallery. Saturday, June 3, 3 to 6 p.m. FREE (RSVP required)
➤ Children’s performer Andy Z will play music in a North Berkeley park for parents and tots. Saturday, June 3, 3 p.m., Virginia-McGee Totland. FREE
➤ South Berkeley-based Inferno Theatre will perform Shakespeare’s The Tempest at John Hinkel Park. The weekend performances run through Sunday, June 11. 4 p.m. FREE
➤ Well-traveled trumpeter Dave Rocha plays jazz standards, American Songbook gems and originals with guitarist David Lechuga and upright bassist Ollie Dudek. Saturday, June 3, 7-10 p.m. Jupiter. FREE
➤ Berkeley Baroque Strings will perform its final concert of the season. On the program are several popular works by George Frideric Handel, including his Concerto Grosso in G Major, Overture to Amadigi, and Birthday Ode to Queen Anne. Saturday, June 3, 8 p.m., First Congregational Church. $10-20
➤ The Starry Plough’s monthly Silk Road Series presents a double bill of La Zuli (violinist Briana Di Mara and guitarist Anis Sehiri) and Persian-centric Payvand. Saturday, June 3, 8:30 p.m. Starry Plough. $15.
➤ The Paris-based jazz pianist Franck Amsallem, joined by bassist Jeff Denson, dean of the California Jazz Conservancy, and drum maestro Akira Tana, will perform at Covenant Winery. Sunday, June 4, 2-5 p.m. $20
➤ An old-time music supergroup, Berkeley’s Kleptograss features Eric Thompson, Alan Senauke, Paul Kotapish and Bethany Raine Sorkey setting bluegrass-tinged conflagrations. Sunday, June 4, 7 p.m. The Back Room. $20
➤ Legendary Brazilian composer and multi-instrumentalist Hermeto Pascoal, still a force of nature at 86, brings his family-like jazz band for a rare U.S. visit. Sunday, June 4, 7 p.m., UC Theatre. $35
➤ A Bay Area-based Middle Eastern and Central Asian dance benefit concert series brings together novice and professional dancers. Cafe Taqsim raises funds for ECCO Berkeley at this gathering. Sunday, June 4, 7 p.m. Ashkenaz. $15-$20
➤ Richard Leiter and friends present the next chapter in the Jazz Stories series with tales focusing on Dave Brubeck and Thelonious Monk. Monday, June 5, 7 p.m. Pegasus Books on Solano. FREE (registration required)
➤ The Freight’s Open Mic is the longest running open-stage event in the Bay Area and over the decades many future luminaries participated before their star ascended. Monday, June 5, 7:30 p.m. Freight & Salvage. FREE
➤ Award-winning author and poet Ana Castillo reads from and discusses her new book of short stories Doña Cleanwell Leaves Home in conversation by Rosa Martinez. Tuesday, June 6, 7 p.m. Mrs. Dalloway’s. FREE (registration suggested)
➤ Victoria Sung, a new curator of contemporary art at BAMPFA, will give an illustrated talk that answers the question: What exactly do curators at art museums do? Wednesday, June 7, 7 p.m. Berkeley City Club. $10
➤ BAMPFA will show Jean-Luc Godard’s take on King Lear, set in a post-Chernobyl world. Thursday, June 8, 7 p.m. $5-$14
➤ Berkeley Rep’s bloody, beautiful new play, Let the Right One In, joins the vampire media frenzy. Through June 25. $43-$119
➤ Shotgun Players’ Yerma, a lyrical play set in ‘30s Southern California that explores infertility and feminism, will run through mid-June. $8-$40
➤ Berkeley Playhouse’s Becoming Robin Hood, a family-friendly musical comedy about the famous outlaw who tries to redistribute wealth, will run through June. $30-$49
Beyond Berkeley
➤ Oakland will name its 12th youth poet laureate. The event will feature performances by the seven finalists and be emceed by Youth Speaks educator and artist, EJ Walls. Friday, June 2, 7 p.m. Oakstop. FREE
➤ Party at the second annual East Oakland Futures Fest, an afro-futurist block party that’ll include live music, kid-friendly activities, live art, food and other local vendors. Saturday, June 3, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. 90th Avenue between Birch and Holly streets. FREE
➤ The second annual Berkeley Art, Finance, and Law Symposium, presented by the Berkeley Center for Law and Business, will be held at SFMOMA. Speakers include OpenAI deputy general counsel Che Chang, the philosopher Alva Noë, and law professors Pamela Samuelson and Peter Menell, who will speak on IP and copyright issues, and others. Thursday, June 8, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. $100 (Scholarships available)
The Oaklandside’s Arts and Community reporter Azucena Rasilla contributed reporting to this story.
