Bay Area arts: 10 great shows and concerts to catch this weekend
From the return of The Weeknd to a symphony concert with fireworks, there is a lot to do in the Bay Area this weekend and beyond.
Here’s a partial rundown.
R&B star crooner heads back to Levi’s
The Weeknd is almost here.
Yes, that’s right — the superstar R&B vocalist (born Abel Tesfaye) is on his way to the Bay Area to perform two huge shows, July 8-9, at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.
That’s the same place The Weeknd played on his last trek through town, captivating 50,000-plus fans with his first-ever stadium headlining jaunt — dubbed the After Hours Tour — back in August 2022. That’s also the same tour that The Weeknd is still peddling to this day, only under a slightly changed title — now dubbed the After Hours ’til Dawn Stadium Tour.
The Weeknd is supporting his latest album — “Hurry Up Tomorrow” — which was released back in January and immediately zoomed up to the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200.The album — which is reportedly the final chapter in a trilogy that began with 2020’s “After Hours” and 2022’s “Dawn FM” — is a companion piece to the 2025 psychological thriller film in which he stars. The record, however, was far better received than the film.
Details: Showtime is 7 p.m. each show; tickets start at $73 (subject to change); ticketmaster.com.
— Jim Harrington, Staff
Lounge chairs as art
There’s something to be said about how the working class might love going into the office more if the furniture was as comfortably stylish as the Eames Lounge Chair, the iconic creation of designers Ray and Charles Eames.
While the famed couple kept their Eames Office in Los Angeles, they left marks on the Bay Area. Charles’ daughter maintained a ranch in Petaluma, and the new Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity in Richmond is curated by the duo’s granddaughter. Now there’s a revealing exhibit in the heart of San Francisco tracing the coda of the designers’ career, with roughly 100 artifacts ranging from furniture down to small Eames-y ephemera.
“Past as Prologue: The Last Decade of Furniture Design by Ray and Charles Eames (1968-1978)” will run through the fall at the Transamerica Pyramid. The show focuses on office furniture for the white-collar workforce, based around modularity and visual authority. “Plywood and fiberglass gave way to injection-molded plastics and polyurethane, and the rise of secretarial and computational work prompted fresh thinking about ergonomics and all-day comfort,” the curators write.
Please, do not put your feet up or spin around in the chairs. But do peruse the two retail shops accompanying the exhibit carrying vintage furniture, art books and playful Eames’ gift items.
Details: Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily at the Transamerica Pyramid annex, 535 Washington St., San Francisco; free, www.eamesinstitute.org/sfdw-25-events
— John Metcalfe, Staff
Star-spangled classical offerings
Music lovers have myriad ways to enjoy classical performances this week, including a July 4th concert complete with fireworks, a wine country festival, and an operatic showcase focused on love. Here’s a look.
Big, bold, and spectacular: Celebrate Independence Day with the San Francisco Symphony’s “Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular” at the Shoreline Amphitheatre. The event, a Bay Area tradition, features the orchestra, composer and ukulele virtuoso Taimane, and a big fireworks finale. It’s all part of the organization’s Summer with the Symphony series, and it promises to launch your holiday weekend with a bang.
Details: 7 p.m. July 4; Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View; $29.50-$63.70; ticketmaster.com or www.sfsymphony.org.
Music, wine, and food: Take a trip to the wine country, where Festival Napa Valley has a full summer season lineup ready; highlights include Jon Batiste, the Versailles Royal Opera in its North American debut, and Walt Disney’s “Fantasia” with live orchestra. More than 60 chamber, opera, symphonic works, and dance events are on the schedule, which also includes kids’ events, vintner luncheons and more. Check website for full listings.
Details: July 5-20; various Napa Valley locations; wide variety of single tickets and packages; $5-up; festivalnapavalley.org.
Merola looks at love: The esteemed Merola Opera Program has multiple events coming up through the end of August, including this week’s Schwabacher Summer Concert, titled “It’s Complicated: Love and Opera.” Making his Merola Opera debut, William Long conducts scenes by Donizetti, Gounod, Puccini and others, all portraying love’s myriad facets and sung by the young, gifted artists of this year’s program. Omer Ben Seadia and Elio Bucky share directing duties.
Details: 7:30 p.m. July 10, 2 p.m. July 12, San Francisco Conservatory of Music’s Concert Hall, San Francisco; $18-$68; merola.com.
— Georgia Rowe, Correspondent
SF Mime Troupe delivers ‘Disruption’
It’s hard to imagine the deeply unsettling political landscape in which we now find ourselves could inspire a stage comedy, but if anyone could make it happen, it’s the San Francisco Mime Troupe.
Besides, there is a tradition to uphold.
Every summer, for more than 60 years, the iconic, hard-left-leaning political stage company has presented a free musical show at parks around the Bay Area. It’s designed to make you laugh but with salient points tossed in. In this year’s production, titled “Disruption,” the Mime Troupe tackles such issues as the ever-changing tech world and its self-styled “geniuses,” immigration, money, gentrification and more. As the organizers put it: “Soon San Francisco will be a suburb of Silicon Valley — and just in time for the president’s upcoming visit. But if the city is poised to be a calm, efficient paradise … why is everything suddenly on … fire!”
The show was penned by longtime Mime Troupe member Michael Gene Sullivan and Marie Cartier, with music and lyrics by Daniel Savio. The show is accompanied by the S.F. Mime Troupe Band.
Details: Free performances kick off 2 p.m. July 4 at Dolores Park, San Francisco, and run through Aug. 3 at parks and venues in San Francisco, Berkeley, Oakland, Santa Cruz, and more; go to www.sfmt.org for complete schedule and more information.
— Randy McMullen, Staff
The Bard of boy bands
You may not know who Max Martin is but there’s a decent chance you’ve heard a song of his sometime today, if not within the past hour. Martin is one of the most successful songwriters and producers in pop music history. He’s penned huge hits for artists ranging from Britney Spears to Taylor Swift and the Backstreet Boys. His 27 No. 1 Billboard singles is second only to a guy named Paul McCartney. So you know it was only a matter of time before someone had the bright idea of wrapping his songs into a jukebox musical.
Which brings us to “& Juliet,” a musical that incorporates such Martin-penned pop nuggets as “I Want it That Way,” “…Baby One More Time,” “Teenage Dream” and many more into a Shakespeare-inspired revisionist story in which Juliet (yes, that Juliet) does not take her own life but instead goes on to find a bunch of new adventures. If you think that all sounds somewhat ridiculous, well, of course it is. What would you expect from a musical that winds and weaves through a disparate collection of some of the catchiest tunes in history? Following successful runs in London’s West End in 2019 and on Broadway (where it has been playing since 2022) a North American touring production runs through July 27 at San Francisco’s Orpheum Theatre.
Details: Tickets for the 2½-hour show are $57.92-$272.02; broadwaysf.com
— Bay City News Foundation
Freebie of the week
The Fillmore Jazz Festival — always a good time for music lovers, with bands scheduled throughout the day both days and vendor booths aplenty up and down the streets — runs 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. July 5-6 for a 12-block stretch it namesake Fillmore Street, from Jackson to Eddy streets in San Francisco. There are five separate venues for the musical acts, so you can plan out your listening strategy ahead of time to make the most of your visit. The great jazz vocalist Kenny Washington, who hails from Oakland but is well-known in New Orleans as well, is slated is scheduled to close out the stage at California and Fillmore streets with his trio at 5: 30 p.m. July 6; other artists scheduled to perform include the Cal Tjader Centennial Celebration with Dred Scott and Cali Mambo, Fillmore Slim, jazz saxophonist John Handy, Sonny Fairley, Project Pimento and the Larry White Experience.
Details: All performances are free; more information is at fillmorejazzfest.com.
— Bay City News Foundation
Free tunes in Cupertino
The Billy Martini Show — a high-energy outfit playing funk, R&B and soul from the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s — will hit the stage from 10:30 a.m. to noon July 4 as part of the summer-long lineup of the City of Cupertino’s concert series at Memorial Park Amphitheater at 21163 Anton Way. Bring a picnic lunch and a blanket or lawn chairs to enjoy the show. And if you miss the band in Cupertino, the Billy Martini Show will also be holding forth at 1:30 p.m. July 6 at The Warehouse at 5 Canyon Lake in picturesque Port Costa. The show is also free ad there will be a kitchen and bar on site.
Details: More information is at Billymartini.com.
— Bay City News Foundation
Songs for the red, white & blue
The Oakland Municipal Band is kicking off its new season of free concerts at the lovely Edoff Memorial Bandstand at Lake Merritt with a patriotic program well-suited to the July 4th holiday weekend. The 35-member band, said to be one of the oldest public music organizations in the United States, has been performing at Lakeside Park since 1912. The band claims that some of its fans have been attending Lakeside concerts for five decades.
Led by new music director Kaitlin Bove, the band will display its versatility with a wide-ranging program that features everything from such patriotic staples as the “Star Spangled Banner,” “Stars and Stripes Forever” and “America the Beautiful” to a medley of songs from the “Top Gun” soundtrack to Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man” to Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.” and Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the U.S.A.” The concert runs from 1 to 3 p.m., guests are invited to bring blankets, lawn chairs and a picnic. The band will also perform at the park on July 13, 20 and 27, as well as Aug. 3. More information is at oaklandmunicipalband.org
— Bay City News Foundation