Strong ticket sales, empty seats for Berkeley venues during omicron
With omicron cases on the rise, the local performing arts scene is once again experiencing a wave of cancelations and postponements.
Andrew Gilbert
Freelancer Andrew Gilbert writes a weekly music column for Berkeleyside. Andy, who was born and raised in Los Angeles, covers a wide range of musical cultures, from Brazil and Mali to India and Ireland. A Berkeley-based writer, he contributes features on jazz and international music to numerous publications, including the San Jose Mercury News, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Seattle Times and Los Angeles Times. His column covering the Bay Area dance scene, Dance Card, runs monthly in the Contra Costa Times. And his CD reviews air regularly on KQED’s “California Report.”
Articles by Andrew Gilbert
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Shotgun Players show that Malvina Reynolds’ music doesn’t fit in a little box
Created by actress Beth Wilmurt, ‘The Cassandra Sessions: Recording This World’ premieres on the Ashby Stage Dec. 2-26.
Berkeley-born trumpeter Erik Jekabson is suddenly ubiquitous
Jekabson is playing a series of gigs in San Jose, Oakland and San Francisco this weekend, celebrating a new album his quartet recorded nearly a decade ago at the Hillside Club.
Berkeley High’s jazz bands return to the stage this week
The bands are playing their first concerts since the start of the pandemic at the Berkeley High School Little Theatre.
Pianist Sarah Cahill to celebrate 50 years of female composers at Mills College show
Sarah Cahill’s “Future is Female” concert this Saturday is a prelude of sorts to a “communal feminist immersive listening experience” planned Dec. 18 at BAMPFA.
Berkeley folk and traditional artists buoyed by Hewlett Foundation grants
Faye Carol, Mahsa Vahdat, Susana Arenas Pedroso and C.K. Ladzekpo are among the 10 artists “steeped in diverse cultural traditions” who’ll get at least $50,000 each from the foundation.
Shape-shifting dance company Pilobolus will blow minds in Berkeley this week
Pilobolus comes to Zellerbach Hall Oct. 21-22 for the dance company’s first Cal Performances engagement in more than three decades.
Berkeley director Rob Nilsson’s nomadic quest film has smoky roads, a shadowy father and a subtle take on the pandemic
Center Divide, the second installment of Rob Nilsson’s Nomad trilogy, premieres Oct. 10 as part of the Mill Valley Film Festival.
Renowned Berkeley saxophonist Joshua Redman is an ‘introvert at heart’
Joshua Redman will perform Oct. 1-3 at the SFJAZZ Center with bassist Reuben Rogers and drummer Marcus Gilmore.
Banjoists and fiddlers to play old-time music in Berkeley
The Berkeley Old Time Music Convention will take place mostly at Freight & Salvage. It opens Thursday with a triple bill including Jody Stecher, Kate Brislin and Jake Blount.
Bernard ‘Pretty’ Purdie, legendary jazz master, will hold court in Berkeley on Saturday
In his first Bay Area appearance in several years, Bernard “Pretty” Purdie will perform Saturday night at the California Jazz Conservatory.
Iranian-American songwriter Adrienne Shamszad is on a ‘spiritual quest’
Returning to Freight & Salvage on Thursday Adrienne Shamszad will play the first public concert in the venerable venue’s delta-delayed reopening.
Trio to perform traditional folk songs at Berkeley’s new museum of Hungarian culture
Zina Bozzay, who has dedicated her life to preserving traditional Hungarian music, will perform with her folk trio Vadalma Sunday afternoon outside the Orly Museum of Hungarian Culture in Berkeley.
Black women blues greats performing Sunday at Civic Center Park
The Black Women’s Blues Festival, produced by Berkeley singer Faye Carol, will include performances by Lady Bianca, Theresa Harris, Kito Kamili, Avotjca and more.
Musical bon vivant Barbara Golden celebrates 80th birthday with new album ‘Not Dead Yet’
Barbara Golden left her home in the North Berkeley cooperative Walnut House early in the pandemic. She returns with a new anthology of her recordings, ‘Not Dead Yet.’
‘Itching to get back’: Berkeley Symphony reuniting for first in-person concert in 18 months
The Berkeley Symphony is performing on Aug. 4 at Bruns Amphitheater — the orchestra’s first in-person concert since February 2020.
