This week, follow the music and make room for the people and traditions behind it. A Berkeley block party brings zydeco to an afternoon gathering, a Georgia bluesman plays Stanford, and a closing San Francisco exhibition considers Black family history. Farther south, free celebrations offer ways to spend time together without making the whole weekend an expensive production.
Music worth the trip
The Boil Block Party (●) (Oct. 18) brings Andre Thierry and the Top Chefs to Berkeley’s Gilman Wine Block from 3–8 p.m. Thierry’s zydeco accordion and the band’s funk, jazz, R&B and soul give the afternoon a reason to linger beyond the food. Entry and music are free, and all ages are welcome. Crawfish costs extra; day-of purchases are possible only if portions remain. Come for the music without counting on a meal. For a smaller-room encounter with another living tradition, Jontavious Willis: West Georgia Bluesman (●) (Oct. 23) comes to The Studio at Stanford’s Bing Concert Hall, with performances at 7 and 9 p.m. His acoustic blues draws on Delta, Piedmont and Texas styles, with gospel in the mix. The appeal is the range within that music: a chance to hear different regional approaches meet in one performer’s hands. Stanford lists limited availability, so choose a performance and check tickets before making the trip. These are two different ways into roots music, from an open afternoon gathering to a focused evening of listening.
Gather, remember, make
Lava Thomas: Lineage (●) (through Oct. 24) is in its final week at Jessica Silverman in San Francisco. Eight large-scale drawings in graphite and Conté include ancestral portraits and a Texas schoolhouse. Alongside archival documents, they connect family memory with Black life in post-Emancipation Texas. Leave time for the documents as well as the drawings; that relationship gives the exhibition a historical reach beyond portraiture alone. The gallery, at 621 Grant Avenue, is open Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m., making Oct. 20–24 the remaining visiting days in this week’s window. Another form of remembrance brings people together at San José Museum of Art’s Día de los Muertos Community Day (Oct. 24), a free, all-ages gathering from 11 a.m.–4 p.m. at 110 South Market Street. The museum stays open until 6 p.m. Both invite a slower look at how people carry memory forward, through art, family stories and shared traditions.
For a family Saturday, weigh the museum’s activities against the costumes and procession at Menlo Park’s Halloween Hoopla Parade and Carnival (Oct. 24), a free celebration from 11 a.m.–2 p.m. Parade participants gather at 10:45 a.m. in the Maloney parking lot behind Cheeky Monkey Toys. The route follows Santa Cruz Avenue to Fremont Park, where the carnival includes crafts and entertainment. School bands and performer Lori & RJ are part of the program. At SJMA, advance registration is strongly recommended and walk-ins are welcome, but sugar-skull decorating requires separate timed-entry tickets distributed onsite. General registration doesn’t reserve that activity. Choose the setting that fits your group, and keep the occasions distinct: Menlo is a Halloween costume celebration; Día de los Muertos centers a tradition of remembrance. Neither requires buying a general-admission ticket, leaving room to make a day around the gathering itself.
ON THE RADAR
Angela Davis in Conversation with Poulomi Saha (●) (Oct. 28) comes to Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall at 7:30 p.m., taking Nina Simone’s vision of freedom as a starting point; plan ahead because three lower-priced seating sections are already sold out. Prime Orchestra currently lists $94 full-price tickets, plus $15 per online or phone order. Check the live selector before buying, and arrive early: Cal Performances generally does not permit late seating.
DIG DEEPER
Find more performances, exhibitions and community gatherings in BAR’s complete Bay Area Events Calendar, with individual listings linking to organizers for the latest details.
