As City Insider reports, the Recreation and Park Commission announced it's organizing a Warren Hellman tribute concert honoring the beloved philanthropist and Hardly Strictly Bluegrass founder who passed away last month. The concert will take place on February 19th from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at either Hellman Hollow (formerly known as Speedway Meadow) or the Ocean Beach parking lots. more ›

Adorable Britpop outfit Pulp will play The Warfield on April 17. The band confirmed this on their confusing website. Though excellent musicians with catchy tunes, their look spawned countless imitators. For example, every snotty music enthusiast enrolled at our Santa Cruz-based institution of higher learning dressed just like Jarvis Cocker. These people were the single worst kind to invite to parties because a) they would clog up the stairwell while their friends took artsy photos of them, and b) they wouldn't sleep with us. Anyway, Pulp, who recently announced their reunion, is coming to San Francisco. more ›

This just in from the fine folks at NoisePop: noted alternative rock mainstays The Flaming Lips will join the 20th anniversary edition of San Francisco's citywide music festival for a special performance of 1999's critically-acclaimed The Soft Bulletin at Bimbo's 365 on Tuesday, February 21st. Joining Wayne Coyne & Co. for the performance which is sure to pack the small room at Bimbo's to the velvet curtains, will be Release the Sunbird, a fairly recent project from local indie rock Zach Rogue of Rogue Wave. more ›

Kids, are you ready to sweat and sway out in the desert for three days in April to the sounds of some of the world's biggest and best bands? After weeks of speculation, the time has come: Coachella has announced their 2012 lineup. more ›

Later this year, former San Jose resident and onetime Lindsay Buckingham lover Stevie Nicks will grace the stage at The Fillmore on October 8-9. This is the most exciting and bewitching thing that will happen in San Francisco, ever. She will play here to support her latest effort, In Your Dreams. She will also hit the floorboards at the Saratoga Mountain Winery. more ›

You might have seen the posters around town -- hey, print media does still work! The San Francisco Symphony is kicking off its 100th season with a free lunch-time concert in Civic Center Plaza on Thursday, September 8th. The performance will feature "musical surprises, celebratory treats, and activities." more ›

Oh, Tori. She is coming. The wounded yet talented orchid petal sprayed with cayenne pepper will croon for her rabid fans in Oakland later this year. Her North American tour was just announced, and she'll be making a pitstop at the Paramount Theater on December 16. The tour is in support of her album Night of Hunters due in September "on celebrated classical label Deutsche Grammophon." Her entire schedule is as follows: more ›

The grating '90s revival continues at fullblast with a not-so-grating '90s band coming to town. "British downtempo" group Portishead just announced their first North American tour in 13 years, which will include a stop in Berkeley. SF Weekly reports, "Today through July 14, a limited amount of tickets to each performance on the tour -- including the band's Oct. 21 gig at Berkeley's Greek Theatre -- are on sale through Portishead's official ticket store. Tickets will be available from usual outlets beginning July 15 and 16." [SFW] more ›

Three-day music festival Outside Lands, running August 12 - 14, just announced several "special late shows" that will only be accessible to ticket holders... for a price. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Eskmo, Best Coast, the Original Meters, Arctic Monkeys, Vetiver, STS9, The Vaccines, and the Warren Haynes Band will all perform at the following clubs and times: more ›

After having to cancel part of her tour, Adele just announced new dates for the North American leg of her shows. The British singer chanteuse, formerly scheduled to perform at the Greek Theatre at U.C. Berkeley on June 4, nixed the North American leg of her tour due to laryngitis. The new concert dates are: more ›

Darren Criss, noted crooner and graduate of San Francisco's elite St. Ignatius High School, will be in the city on Saturday. The dreamy, raven-haired actor will perform a few choice ditties at the Marines Memorial Theatre for charity. As many of you know, Criss plays Blaine Anderson, Kurt's boyfriend on Glee, whose character recently admitted to receiving a horrific bashing after asking a fellow gay classmate to the prom. more ›

This year's free concert series at Stern Grove promises to have almost something for everyone. Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings, San Francisco Symphony, English Beat, and Neko Case (!), just to name a few, will perform. Check out the entire lineup: more ›

by Erick Pressman Upon first listen, one would think the notorious folk/bluegrass/Americana outfit Devil Makes Three hailed from West Virginia, deep in the backwoods where everything from moonshine to high grade methamphetamine were being manufactured. Dig deeper and you’ll find the band came together in the the hustle and bustle of the University of California Santa Cruz, just beyond the city limits of Santa Cruz itself, which couldn’t have a more different vibe from the Ozarks or even the Deep South, where American roots music has some of of its biggest (but not all) of its roots. more ›

by Erick Pressman Wire are one of the most influential rock bands of all time. There really isn’t any other way to put it. When the list of bands who have name checked you as a major influence include The Minutemen, REM, The Cure, Manic Street Preachers, Minor Threat, Henry Rollins, Guided By Voices, Blur, Bloc Party, My Bloody Valentine, and Big Black, it is obvious that your band created some next level art every bit as important as some of their more infamous peers such as the Sex Pistols or The Clash. more ›

by Erick Pressman When we were young, if you wanted to find new music, you went to a record store or at very least bought a copy of Spin, Rolling Stone, or one of the many genre specific music magazines that came and went over the last twenty years. Who knew that in the late 2000s, you could use cable television’s “On Demand” function, which features music videos as well as television shows and movies, to find new, and furthermore punk, bands you haven’t heard of. That, oddly enough, is how Broadway Calls first caught our attention. more ›

by Erick Pressman Spring has sprung, gas prices have risen, the Giants are played their opening series, and one of California’s brutal, up and coming black metal bands, The Funeral Pyre, are completing their US tour at the Submission Space on Sunday night. With band members hailing from both the greater Los Angeles area as well as San Ramon, The Funeral Pyre kicked off this US tour with Italian heavyweights who recently signed to the almighy Southern Lord Records, The Secret, and saw them hit most of the US including a couple of big time South By Southwest showcases featuring Trash Talk, All Pigs Must Die, and Kylesa, as well as a one off show in Cleveland with uber-hyped grinders Masakari. more ›

Can you believe that punk rock is heading into it’s fourth decade of existence? Hell, some say it’s already in its forties depending on which “first punk band ever” school of thought they choose to subscribe to, but that’s a boring argument best reserved for people who aren’t interested in having rewarding sex lives. That being said, Chicago punk giants Rise Against are hitting our fair city Saturday night, and they’ve decided to bring LA punk legends Bad Religion, as well as Worcester, MA, upstarts Four Year Strong, with them. It will be an outstanding evening of multi-generational punk that will appeal to the youth as well as some of the parents who will inevitably be in the crowd watching their special little snowflakes kick ass in the pit. more ›

The Examiner has more details about Britney Spears' Castro concert for Good Morning America. "The 400 and 500 blocks of Castro Street between Market and 19th streets will be closed starting just before midnight on March 26 until about 4 or 5 p.m. on March 27, said [Scott] Wiener, whose district includes the Castro neighborhood. The actual one-hour performance is slated to begin at noon. The piece is set to air on GMA the following Tuesday, March 29." more ›

Monkey's Gone to Heaven? by Daniel Phifer A good cover song is no simple achievement. It requires a very delicate balance. An artist has to add their own stylistic viewpoint to the song they’re covering without straying too far from the elements that made the original so cover worthy. more ›

by Erick Pressman When you have a fest as vast as Noise Pop, inevitably, even those with trained eyes may miss a killer show when getting their preview for a blog together. Lucky for all of you readers, we got the info at the eleventh hour and are hitting you with a last minute, super-sweet, Happy Hour show recommendation featuring three of the Bay Area’s most intriguing punk-tinged indie rock bands. Judgment Day, Street Eaters, and Bam!Bam! are invading the Fifty24SF Gallery at 218 Fillmore, in Lower Haight. more ›

by Erick Pressman Ah yes, its the end of February. The weather is awful, the Giants are in Arizona, which means its time for the annual Noise Pop Festival! Now in its nineteenth year, Noise Pop has grown from a couple of shows around San Francisco to a week long, Bay Bridge spanning extravaganza not only featuring live music, but photography installations, poster art shows, and music documentary screenings. more ›

by Erick Pressman For the most part, Jimmy Fallon’s late night television show leaves a lot to be desired, but Wednesday night he may have put himself on the historical map forever by unleashing Odd Future, or OFWGKTA, onto the senses of the part of the world who isn’t necessarily immersed in what’s going on in underground hip hop. more ›

The '90s are certainly back. Notice all the flannel and Doc Martens floating around out there? What better way to further celebrate the recently bygone decade than with an epic re-imagining of a classic Pixies album, which set the stage for the grunge and indie music scenes, among others? more ›

by Erick Pressman While San Francisco continues to wage war on all ages shows, a lot of youth-oriented bands and tours seem to pass on playing the city entirely and end up hitting Sacramento on their way towards the Northwest. Leave it to locals Set Your Goals to remind the city that the youth are alive, well, and ready to leap off of anything nailed to the ground at DNA Lounge on Sunday night. more ›

by Erick Pressman (who resides in Oakland) Hey San Francisco, meet Bam!Bam!. This all-female, lo-fi, garagey, pop punk duo are the greatest band in the Bay Area that you haven’t heard yet, and lucky for you, they are playing a free show at the Uptown in Oakland tonight. It would very much be in your best interest to be at this show. This is a bold statement, but it's the absolute truth, and there just isn’t any other way to say it. Grab a beverage, a snack, and get the story behind the next band whose pin you’ll be sporting on your denim jacket. more ›

by Erick Pressman These days it’s rare to find an indie rock tour with one band worth watching on it. So when you have two, no-bullshit, ground-breaking bands like Sebadoh and Quasi joining forces on tour, you need to mobilize, cop tickets, and get to the show early because there isn’t a moment of this show worth missing when it hits the Great American Music Hall on Tuesday, February 8th. more ›

by Erick Pressman Back in December, there was a bit of a panic attack moment that was had. It turned out that on the same night Wild 94.9 threw their epic Wild Jam concert featuring Chris Brown and Drake, local stoner rockers Om played the Independent with Lichens and a local band Barn Owl. more ›

Against Me! brings their the neo-folk punk to smaller venue for two nights 1/31 and 2/1 by Erick Pressman Punk rock is a cruel mistress. The kids and the scene can and will turn on you for little to no tangible or logical reason. Bands are punished for achieving moderate success by kids who have little to no idea what its like to be in a functioning band of any genre, punk or otherwise. more ›

by Erick Pressman A few years ago, the folks at Noise Pop booked a Saturday night show at Mezzanine that included two faceless electronic/dj asshole type acts, and an opener simply known as Wallpaper. While Noise Pop does a great job of sticking to its guns and booking a solid week of music related fun every year, that particular night seemed lacking, and there wasn't a high entertainment expectation set that particular evening. Oh how wrong we were to judge. Out came a short, white dude wearing some of the most haggard, sequined old-lady sweaters to ever have been made, a gold lamp chain around his neck, and immediately jumped into a cover of Color Me Badd's "I Wanna Sex You Up". Yes, it was absolutely as mind-blowing as it sounds. more ›

Fu Manchu, Dusted Angel, and a bunch of dudes with beers turned Bottom of the Hill into the ultimate party on 1/22 by Erick Pressman Fu Manchu are one of those bands who have been at it for years and while they may not have achieved the status and notoriety of their more infamous peers like Clutch, Queens of the Stone Age, or High On Fire, they've managed to set hooks into one of the most ravenous and loyal fanbases in all of music. more ›