A quote about cellist Alisa Weilerstein: "She's young, accomplished, whip-smart and attractive, so why don't we hate her?" To make it even more difficult to say anything bad about her, just after we chatted with her this past October, she participated in an anti-prop 8 fund raiser in San Francisco. That did not turn out so well, but thanks for trying, Alisa! We also talked to her before she came out of the diabetic closet and announced a partnership with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. She's quite juvenile herself, being only twenty-six, and having been on stage since the age of four. So we won't have the goods on that diabetes gig, but Joshua Kosman does, and if you're looking for a role model for the fight against this disease, she's your girl. more ›

We're giddily loving this award-winning album featuring these noteworthy musicians: the Blind Boys of Alabama, Nick Cave, San Francisco's own Kronos quartet, and Natalie Merchant. You need some serious mojo to get all these on the same recording, especially when it's not for a We Are the World-ish feel-good cause du jour. more ›

San Francisco and the Bay Area are getting ready to throw a big (albeit somewhat belated) celebration for Philip Glass’ 70th birthday with concerts all over the place and, of course, the premier of Glass’ new opera Appomattox. And the kick-off is this Friday night with a very special and rare intimate recital courtesy of San Francisco Performances. Mr. Glass will be playing several of his pieces with cellist Wendy Sutter and percussionist Mick Rossi at Herbst Theater. more ›

The language of Wednesdays is universal. Tonight: Blame it on the bossanova -- Brazilian singer Luciana Souza kicks off her yearlong residency as San Francisco Performances' jazz artist in residence with a performance at the Hotel Rex salon. If you miss her at the Rex tonight, she's performing in a variety of other (free) venues throughout this week. 6:30 p.m. at 562 Sutter (between Powell and Mason). We'd give you pricing info but we can't find it anywhere online. more ›