President-elect Donald Trump made a lot of big promises during his 2024 campaign. He made an especially ambitious one back in March 2023. Since then, he hasn’t spoken much about it. The national media hasn’t given it much coverage either.
Hershey Felder may have saved his best for last.
There is promise in the charred hills, we learn right away in Pico Iyer’s new book, Aflame. At the New Camaldoli Hermitage, a silent Benedictine retreat overlooking the Pacific Ocean near Big Sur, where wildfires often threaten the property, words …
As soon as I was done with San Jose Avenue, Ancient Persia materialized. I reached the promised land.
ARIES (March 21-April 19)
Saskatchewan’s Colter Wall is a narrative songwriter with a rough-hewn baritone voice. Working in country, folk, Western and Americana idioms, he has found critical success among discerning audiences. Wall’s self-titled debut album was released in 2017 and climbed to the …
It’s common these days to say artists or groups defy a genre or are hard to categorize. But for Invoke, it truly is a task as this quartet jumps from Western and Eastern classical to jazz, bluegrass, ragtime, Appalachian fiddle …
The nonprofit Bay Area Chinese Musician Association presents Indie-Licious, a father-and-son family band called “Bu San Bu Si,” performing several original songs with help from some of their favorite Bay Area musicians. Musical style ranges from folk to pop and …
America’s the melting pot of the world, so it stands to reason that no stand-up comedian is more American than Martin Amini. He grew up with an Iranian father and a Bolivian mother, giving him a multicultural background that lends …
When British singer and musician Amy Winehouse hit the airwaves in the mid-aughts, she quickly became a revelation. Her infusion of classic oldies with modern verve earned her more Grammy Awards than any other British female act. Furthermore, her album …
San Jose guitarist and composer Mason Razavi’s roots are in classical music, but he later immersed himself in jazz, electric and rock guitar. His album People, Places, and Monsters featured original compositions set to animation. Razavi released four more records, …
In Rachmaninoff and the Tsar, real-life concerto pianist Hershey Felder expands his 28-year onstage career playing composer and pianist Sergei Rachmaninoff. Starring alongside him is British Italian actor Jonathan Silvestri as Tsar Nicholas II, the doomed ruler whose fall ushered …
In many ways, music is supposed to be an escape. When the doldrums of daily life strike, music can allow peace and healing. That’s exactly the aim of electronic musician AMIDY, who made his commercial debut on Monstercat with a …
Gabriel Rutledge looks like Jim Henson designed him to be the comedian opener for Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem (Fozzie Bear was way too square). His delivery is relatable, hilarious, and so fast-paced audiences won’t be done laughing at …
Save for a five-year hiatus, the guitar duo Jack O’Neill and Cary Pierce has been making music as Jackopierce for three-plus decades. Their uncluttered and heartfelt folk styling employs acoustic guitar artistry and vocal harmonies. Jackopierce has amassed a substantial …
Although there has been a relative lack of scientific studies of cannabis over the years (thanks to pot being illegal for most of modern U.S. history), some subjects have gotten enough scrutiny that conclusions can be drawn. Among the most …
As of today, 2024 is out the door. Just as my friends contemplate the previous year in various ways throughout these pages, the columnist also needs to recap his most memorable screeds of 2024, with gratitude in mind.
Oanh Trinh watched in horror as thieves drove an SUV through two security gates and rifled her Oakland business, Lucky 7 Cigarettes, early one morning in October.
As a lifelong South Bay resident, I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve played mini-golf at the Golfland locations, or Neptune’s Kingdom in Santa Cruz. Even as an adult, I’ll still jump at the chance to grab a putter. …
ARIES (March 21-April 19)
