World Music

Matthew Dear: Show Preview

Pink Martini: Show Preview

J Boogie: Show Preview

The Sway Machinery Captures Malian Adventures on Its New Album

Jewish Music Fest Brings Wild Klezmers, Absurdist Humor, Mediterranean Hip-Hop to SF

Sarah SmallKitka performs Sunday at the Jewish Music Festival​To celebrate its 25th anniversary, the Bay Area's Jewish Music Festival has lined up a wide-ranging set of performances that illustrate the striking diversity of voices in contemporary Jewish-identified art. From the a capella beauty of ... More >>

Show preview: Femi Kuti

Sarah SmallKitka performs Sunday at the Jewish Music Festival​To celebrate its 25th anniversary, the Bay Area's Jewish Music Festival has lined up a wide-ranging set of performances that illustrate the striking diversity of voices in contemporary Jewish-identified art. From the a capella beauty of ... More >>

Afrolicious' Three-Year Anniversary at Elbo Room This Week

John SnyderDJs Señor Oz and Pleasuremaker​With a name like Afrolicious, the weekly Thursday-night party at the Elbo Room clearly feels a strong bond with sounds created by African musical heroes like Fela Kuti and Manu Dibango. But as Oz McGuire (a.k.a. Señor Oz) explains, Afrolicious' roots str ... More >>

String Theory

John SnyderDJs Señor Oz and Pleasuremaker​With a name like Afrolicious, the weekly Thursday-night party at the Elbo Room clearly feels a strong bond with sounds created by African musical heroes like Fela Kuti and Manu Dibango. But as Oz McGuire (a.k.a. Señor Oz) explains, Afrolicious' roots str ... More >>

Loose Joints

John SnyderDJs Señor Oz and Pleasuremaker​With a name like Afrolicious, the weekly Thursday-night party at the Elbo Room clearly feels a strong bond with sounds created by African musical heroes like Fela Kuti and Manu Dibango. But as Oz McGuire (a.k.a. Señor Oz) explains, Afrolicious' roots str ... More >>

What To Do? Wednesday's Pick: S.F. Hearts Haiti

Jeremiah (L) and Sila (R)​S.F. Hearts Haiti: A Benefit for Doctors Without Borders @ The Independent The San Francisco scene has already rushed to raise funds for Haitian earthquake relief and -- at least in terms of music -- this may be its most international effort yet. Maisha Productions' Jere ... More >>

Happy New Ear

Give a listen to this city's wide array of authentic music.

Tanya Tagaq modernizes Inuit vocal traditions

Give a listen to this city's wide array of authentic music.

My Big Fat World Music Weekend

EKAphotographyRoom with a Vieux: Vieux Farka Toure In this economy, who has the means to travel internationally anymore? Luckily, with all the world music acts coming through the Bay Area of late, you don't have to have a passport, visa, hotel, and plane ticket to catch some of the most scintillati ... More >>

Hey DJ! Friday Q&A: DJ Said

Nigerian born producer / promoter /label owner DJ Said came into this world from the same corner of the globe as Fela Kuti, and he's just as addicted to spreading Afro Beat to the masses--although he blends those sounds into myriad dancefloor styles. After a stint in England, Said settled in the Bay ... More >>

East Meets West This Weekend

Jah Yzer This weekend is kind of a slow one for music in the Bay Area--next week promises to be better, with many artists hitting town before or after the Sierra Nevada World Music Festival--but if you're looking for something to do Saturday night, how about "Golden Era: East Meets West Edition." S ... More >>

Six Degrees Announces New Vieux Farka Toure Album

Laura WilliamsAfrican Blues: Vieux Farka Toure SF's esteemed world music label Six Degrees have added to their already enviable track record (which includes Bebel Gilberto, Bossacucanova, Alice Russell, and Cheb I Sabbah) with Fondo, the latest album from Malian guitarist Vieux Farka Toure. The alb ... More >>

Sierra Nevada World Music Festival Announces Lineup

EKAphotographyFemi KutiConfirmed artists for the 2009 Sierra Nevada World Music Festival  have been announced, and tickets are now on sale. The Festival takes place June 19-21 in Boonville, Mendocino County (about a four-hour drive from SF). The lineup this year looks particularly strong (thou ... More >>

Slap That Ass

EKAphotographyFemi KutiConfirmed artists for the 2009 Sierra Nevada World Music Festival  have been announced, and tickets are now on sale. The Festival takes place June 19-21 in Boonville, Mendocino County (about a four-hour drive from SF). The lineup this year looks particularly strong (thou ... More >>

Slap That Ass

EKAphotographyFemi KutiConfirmed artists for the 2009 Sierra Nevada World Music Festival  have been announced, and tickets are now on sale. The Festival takes place June 19-21 in Boonville, Mendocino County (about a four-hour drive from SF). The lineup this year looks particularly strong (thou ... More >>

Civil Grand Jury Reports SF City Government 'Sucks Big Time' (Paraphrased)

EKAphotographyFemi KutiConfirmed artists for the 2009 Sierra Nevada World Music Festival  have been announced, and tickets are now on sale. The Festival takes place June 19-21 in Boonville, Mendocino County (about a four-hour drive from SF). The lineup this year looks particularly strong (thou ... More >>

Hear This

These days, there's a DJ in every band, even David Krakauer's Klezmer Madness!

Various Artists

Hot Women

Pelton Wuz Here

Hitler, Civil War soldiers, and circus freaks: Welcome to the dances of Stephen Pelton

Mulishly Good

A profusion of styles held together with a potent, familiar legend

Dissent

Bleeding Together

Moonwatcher: A New Tale of Chelm for Chanukah

Three bumbling, stone-broke idiots trying to scrape up the dough to fight "weapons of mass aggravation"

Saadet Türköz

Marmara Sea

Out of West Africa

The legendary Orchestra Baobab has reunited and is bringing its Pan-African sound to San Francisco

Festivals/Fairs

The legendary Orchestra Baobab has reunited and is bringing its Pan-African sound to San Francisco

Best Roots Music Store

Down Home Music

Hear This

Peoples Bizarre

The Magic Carpathians Project

Ethnocore II: Nytu (Drunken Fish)

All the World's a Stage

On both recordings and turntables, DJ Cheb i Sabbah brings the rhythms of the globe to the dance floor

Various Artists

Ethiopiques Volumes 1-8 (Buda Musique)

Hear This

Ben Goldberg Duo

House Of Tudor

Alessandra Belloni; Lifter Puller

Best Place to Buy an Exotic Musical Instrument

Clarion Music Center

Review

DJ Spooky That Subliminal Kid's Subliminal Minded -- The EP

Word from the Motherland

Amandla Poets

Fingerpickin' Good

Bad Livers

Hear This

Africa Fete

New World Disorder

Tom Ze's restless experimentalism has earned him adoration from music's cognoscenti everywhere -- except in his native Brazil

Bluesman's Blues

Paul Pena,who's played with everyone from Jerry Garcia to B.B. King, is coming out of the musical shadows, thanks to the award-winning documentary Genghis Blues. He's also blind, and sick, and entirely tired of living.

Night + Day

Paul Pena,who's played with everyone from Jerry Garcia to B.B. King, is coming out of the musical shadows, thanks to the award-winning documentary Genghis Blues. He's also blind, and sick, and entirely tired of living.

Riff Raff

Paul Pena,who's played with everyone from Jerry Garcia to B.B. King, is coming out of the musical shadows, thanks to the award-winning documentary Genghis Blues. He's also blind, and sick, and entirely tired of living.

Reviews

Paul Pena,who's played with everyone from Jerry Garcia to B.B. King, is coming out of the musical shadows, thanks to the award-winning documentary Genghis Blues. He's also blind, and sick, and entirely tired of living.

Night + Day

Paul Pena,who's played with everyone from Jerry Garcia to B.B. King, is coming out of the musical shadows, thanks to the award-winning documentary Genghis Blues. He's also blind, and sick, and entirely tired of living.

Zoom Lens

Paul Pena,who's played with everyone from Jerry Garcia to B.B. King, is coming out of the musical shadows, thanks to the award-winning documentary Genghis Blues. He's also blind, and sick, and entirely tired of living.

The House of Tudor

Paul Pena,who's played with everyone from Jerry Garcia to B.B. King, is coming out of the musical shadows, thanks to the award-winning documentary Genghis Blues. He's also blind, and sick, and entirely tired of living.

Shlemiel Ticket

Paul Pena,who's played with everyone from Jerry Garcia to B.B. King, is coming out of the musical shadows, thanks to the award-winning documentary Genghis Blues. He's also blind, and sick, and entirely tired of living.