The Sept. 6 event features Bay Area acts like SambaDá and the forró combo Dona Francisca and some of Brazil’s greatest musicians performing from the northeastern states of Pernambuco and Bahia.
Casa de Cultura Berkeley
30 years of cutting-edge music with Machete Records
Complete artistic freedom often comes with a cost. For Oakland percussion maestro John Santos, the price of running his own musical realm to pursue a sweeping pan-Caribbean musical vision means accepting the financial burden of producing and distributing his own recordings. On Saturday, Santos celebrates the 30th anniversary of his label Machete Records at Berkeley’s […]
Cuba’s Ernesto Oviedo makes U.S. debut in Berkeley
Oakland percussion master John Santos has spent the past three decades introducing Bay Area audiences to Caribbean musical treasures, but he’s got something unprecedented in store for Berkeley this weekend. Havana’s Ernesto Oviedo, the 77-year-old maestro of boleros, makes his U.S. debut under his own name at an intimate sit-down concert Sunday at La Casa […]
The It List: Five things to do in Berkeley this weekend
JEWISH MUSIC MASH-UP How often do you get the chance to see a concert featuring a rabbi and a Christian gospel choir? Sunday sees the kick-off for the fourth Netivot Shalom Music Festival. Previously an annual event, the festival now hosts five monthly Sunday concerts featuring local artists performing a diverse array of Jewish music. It is […]
It’s a Berkeley world after all as music hits streets, park
Just as Berkeley starts settling into its pleasingly sleepy summer rhythm, the 9th Annual World Music Festival takes over Telegraph on Saturday, infusing the avenue with a jolt of energy. Running from noon to 9 pm, the free musical fest brings an international array of music to cafés and shops south of campus, with the […]
Out in Berkeley: From Brazil, a street party, a songstress
No one is likely to mistake Berkeley for Salvador de Bahia, the northeastern Brazilian city famous as the heartland of Afro-Brazilian culture. But on Sunday, at least for a day, San Pablo Avenue will resound to the thundering pulse of samba drums and the springy twang of berimbaus, as the BrasArte’s Casa de Cultura celebrates […]
Out in Berkeley: Grupo Falso Baiano’s infectious grooves
By Andrew Gilbert If the unseasonable weather has you longing for a tropical respite, the quickest route from Berkeley to Brazil runs right through Casa de Cultura on San Pablo Avenue. For the past few months the stellar choro ensemble Grupo Falso Baiano has hosted an informal jam session, or “roda de choro” from 3-5 pm every […]