Grammy Awards

Fluid Movements

Greensky Bluegrass and Sam Bush Jam Out at the Fillmore, 3/15/13

Greensky Bluegrass with Sam Bush Friday, March 15, 2013 The Fillmore Better than: Knocking around a hacky sack in Golden Gate Park. Greensky Bluegrass is one of the nation's leading newgrass bands. What's that mean? Essentially, they bring world-class musicianship to old-school hippie-rock jams. T ... More >>

This Ain't No Disco: How Swedish House Mafia Brought EDM to America

This Ain't No Disco

Swedish House Mafia remade rave music in rock's image — and got America listening.

Dave Audé on His Billboard Hits and What it Takes to Remix Madonna

In his 15-year career, Los Angeles-based DJ and producer Dave Audé has made 80 No. 1 Billboard dance hits, including remixes of pop stars such as Madonna and Rihanna, as well as bands like Korn. Nominated for a Grammy in 2010 for his remix of Dean Coleman's "I Want You," Audé's extensive resume al ... More >>

Live Review, 6/23/12: The Avett Brothers Lead a Family Singalong at the Greek Theatre

The Avett Brothers Jackie Greene June 23, 2012 The Greek Theatre, Berkeley Better than: Nearly every other folk-rock family act you'll see this year. North Carolina's Avett Brothers, arguably the most ubiquitous folk rock act in the country right now, kicked off the Greek Theatre's summer season o ... More >>

R.I.P. Donna Summer, the Queen of Disco, 1948-2012

While previous diagnoses of the death of disco have come off as somewhat premature in the wake of countless rivals, it now seems we're a step closer to a definite end. Donna Summer, the vocalist known as the "queen of disco," has died of cancer at the age of 63. A five-time Grammy award winner, her ... More >>

A First Listen to The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends, Feat. Ke$ha, Erykah Badu, Bon Iver and More

I loved, loved the Flaming Lips' Embryonic, and find The Soft Bulletin to be a pretty magical cornucopia. Pretty big fan of 1995's Clouds Taste Metallic as well. Yet I've never considered for even a second if the Lips could be one of my Favorite Bands. They might've struck gold three-ish times, but ... More >>

The Top 20 Greatest San Francisco Musicians, #15-11

See also: * The Top 20 Greatest San Francisco Musicians, Nos. 20 to 16 Here we are with the second installment of our list of the 20 greatest San Francisco musicians ever. (If you missed yesterday's first edition, check it out here.) Note that to qualify for this list, artists had to have a strong ... More >>

The Best of SXSW Music: Saturday 3/17/2012

So, we come to it: the end of all things. Four days of madness, Doritos, Skrillex and finally, St. Patrick's Day. Before we bid SXSW 2012 farewell, allow us to share our favorite moments from SXSW day four. Later, we'll let you know which shows weren't so hot. Find our favorites below, and if there ... More >>

The Best of SXSW Music: Thursday 3/15/2012

If you're familiar with chaos theory, which in its basic form is the attempt to find patterns in the random acts of shit on Earth, then you may understand the difficulty that comes with describing a full day at SXSW. To break down the bright, scintillating chaos, Village Voice Media's roving music e ... More >>

The Best of SXSW Music: Wednesday 3/14/2012

​If you're familiar with chaos theory, which in its basic form is the attempt to find patterns in the random acts of shit on Earth, then you may understand the difficulty that comes with describing a full day at SXSW. To break down the bright, scintillating chaos, Village Voice Media's roving musi ... More >>

Indie on Top: Noise Pop Celebrates 20 Years of Independent Music

The Evolution of A-Trak: From Scratch Nerd To Dance Tastemaker In Five Steps

A-Trak is one of the world's most effective musical tastemakers. These days, the Montreal-born DJ and producer is part of the braintrust behind the Fool's Gold label, which has a proven record of picking up artists like Danny Brown, The Cool Kids, and Kid Sister long before larger labels show intere ... More >>

Valentine's Day Warning: These Five Love Songs Are Not About Loving People

​Rob Sheffield's book, Love Is a Mix Tape, meticulously details the many categories of the medium: The Party Tape; The Walking Tape; You Broke My Heart and Made Me Cry and Here Are Twenty or Thirty Songs About It. But there's not a thing in it about Valentine's Day mix tapes. You know, those ... More >>

R.I.P. Etta James, Blues Queen with San Francisco Roots

By JESSICA HILO Etta James, the incomparable force behind such hits as "At Last" and "Tell Mama," winner of six Grammys and seventeen Blues Music Awards, died Friday morning in Riverside, Calif. after a lengthy battle with leukemia and dementia. She was 73. James was an integral member of a cult ... More >>

Weekend Party Preview: Holiday Edition

Jim-E Stack plays Monarch on Friday​ We're not going to lie: Christmas exacts a heavy toll on San Francisco nightlife. The weekend of Dec. 23-25 is pretty much the only no man's land in the world of local partying. Even still, the city offers quite a few choices for those of you that find you ... More >>

Distortion 2 Static's Top Five Celebrity Guests

During its 10-year run, the Distortion 2 Static hip-hop TV show graduated from profiling local upcoming artists to chatting it up with rap superstars. Started by Prince Aries, Ariel Nuñez and DJ Haylow, the show signed off on its broadcast run back in September; a farewell shindig will be going dow ... More >>

So Train's Awful Singer Doesn't Even Live in San Francisco or the Bay Area

Pat Monahan, suburban Seattle resident.​Did you see our investigation this week into the miseries of Train -- one of the most successful local bands of the last decade? If you did, you'll recall that this infamous, Grammy-winning trio has a song called "Save Me, San Francisco," whose horrors w ... More >>

Anderson Cooper Calls Out Chris Brown; Ladies Everywhere Swoon

​So, remember that thing that happened at the 2009 Grammys? That thing where Chris Brown  and Rihanna both no-showed on account of the fact that he'd beaten the crap out of her? Then shortly afterwards, photos emerged online of a decidedly broken-looking Rihanna, sporting a swollen eye, a spl ... More >>

R.I.P. Amy Winehouse, 1983-2011

​Beloved English singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse died in her London home on Saturday at the age of 27. Police have not yet determined the cause of death, but several outlets have reported that there were no signs of foul play. Winehouse enjoyed a brutally short legacy akin to that of several ... More >>

In Print: Papercuts' Stunning Sub Pop Debut, Killer Mike's Righteous Fury, and More

Papercuts' Jason QueverFrom ​SF Weekly's latest print music section:S.F.'s Papercuts Make a Stunning, Dreamy Sub Pop Debut: On Papercuts' Sub Pop debut, Fading Parade, Quever's vision of atmospheric, world-weary indie-pop is expanded to a stunning degree. Not only is it by far the best thing Paper ... More >>

Feel It Again: Cuba's Los Muñequitos de Matanzas Return to S.F.

Sizzle & Fizzle: Highs and lows from the last week in S.F. music

Sizzle & Fizzle: Highs and lows from this week in S.F. music

The Man Behind the Scenes

Taj Mahal, Ravi Shankar, Vieux Farka Touré Among Performers in SF Jazz Festival

Cedric AngelesVieux Farka Touré​The nonprofit SFJAZZ announced its lineup today for the 28th annual San Francisco Jazz Festival, which runs from September 14 to November 20. Tickets go on sale Sunday, July 11, and prices vary for each concert. Highlights include:Taj Mahal, Toumani Diabaté and Vi ... More >>

Last Night: Metallica at HP Pavillion

​Metallica December 12, 2009 HP Pavilion At San Jose Better than: Getting drunk with your boss at the office holiday party. Still alive and kicking out the jams more than a quarter of a century after making Kill 'Em All, Metallica doesn't really have anything left to prove. The band members are ... More >>

The High and Low Life

New Year's Eve options abound for both champagne and beer budgets.

Raphael Saadiq Announces Oakland Show

Retro Chic: Raphael Saadiq​ November 18th will be a homecoming of sorts for Oakland native Raphael Saadiq. Ray Ray, as he is known, is arguably the most prolific and talented male soul/R&B artist around today--equally seasoned at singing, playing several instruments, and producing. Saadiq has ... More >>

American Idiot the musical fails to give Green Day’s anthems narrative arc

Outside Lands Trivia Challenge

Zap Mama​ The headliners for this weekend's Outside Lands festival--Pearl Jam, the Dave Matthews Band, Black Eyed Peas, Thievery Corporation, Tenacious D, and M.I.A.--need little introduction. But what about the undercard? One of the coolest things about this event is the sheer number of acts play ... More >>

Last Night: The Roots at Davies Symphony Hall

The RootsDavies Symphony HallBetter than: Sitting still for an orchestraLocal music history was made last night as the Roots performed the first-ever hip-hop concert at Davies Symphony Hall as part of SFJAZZ's Spring season. The Philadelphia-bred, Grammy Award-winning group plays in your living room ... More >>

D'Wayne Wiggins brings Van Hunt to Maxwell's

EKAphotographyDynastic Thoughts: D'Wayne Wiggins Yesterday, I met with the prolific and talented D'Wayne Wiggins , who's probably best known as the guy in Tony Toni Tone not named Raphael Saadiq. Though he's a big fat rock star, D'Wayne has remained a humble, community-minded individual. He showed m ... More >>

Rap and Bullshit

Today’s R&B is pure garbage.

Sly Stone is lured from hiding once again

Yay Area Grammar

Macworld Coverage 2008: Randy Newman Sings, Steve Jobs Talks, Media Scrambles, and Nerdfest Rolls On

Talib Kweli To Justify ICER AIR Douche Fest

From symphonies to smoke machines: snapshots of three very different shows

Eye on the Prize

Vintage winners immortalized

Hear This

Seeking an experienced live band? The Blind Boys of Alabama boast 60+ years of show-stopping soul.

Prince Paul

Politics of the Business

The Week's Can't-Miss Performance

Trumpeter Nicholas Payton gives Louis Armstrong a vivacious overhaul

Hear This

Saxophonist Joe Lovano's tribute to 52nd Street swing and bop.

Blue Man Group

Blue is the color of my true love's head

House Of Tudor

Stinky's Peep Show Four-Year Anniversary; The Gossip; "Live From the 215"

Baby Jesus, Reborn

Black Nativity

The House of Tudor

Recordings