Rose B. Simpson: LEXICON
August 30, 2025 - February 7, 2027
de Young (Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco)
Rose B. Simpson brings Pueblo pottery, cars, and mixed media into a language of identity and continu...
Emory Douglas: In Our Lifetime
December 5, 2025 - October 31, 2026
African American Art & Culture Complex (AAACC)
Exhibitions, Visual Arts, Staff Picks
Feel the Beat: Dance in Photographs
May 16, 2026 - February 28, 2027
SFMOMA
Photographs capture the energy, discipline, rhythm, and social life of dance.
Mildred Howard: Poetics of Memory
June 12 - October 18
Oakland Museum of California (OMCA)
Visual Arts, Exhibitions, Race + Politics, Staff Picks
The Soiled Dove
August 7 - November 7
Radium Runway
The Soiled Dove combines circus performance, live music and theatrical storytelling inside the Torto...
Candlelight: Coldplay & Imagine Dragons
September 5 - December 4
Hammer Theatre
Live Music, Staff Picks
BeHere / 1942: A New Lens on the Japanese American Incarceration
September 18 - December 27
Oakland Museum of California (OMCA)
Visual Arts, Exhibitions, Race + Politics, Education, Staff Picks
Ha Chong-Hyun: Retrospective
September 25, 2026 - January 25, 2027
Asian Art Museum
A sensory journey through sixty years of innovative abstraction.
AURA at San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral
September 26 - October 31
Grace Cathedral
Visual Arts, Family + Relationships, Staff Picks
Dewey Crumpler: Sonic Lineages
September 30, 2026 - May 30, 2027
Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD)
Exhibitions, Visual Arts, Staff Picks
RM x SFMOMA: Between You and Me
October 3, 2026 - February 7, 2027
SFMOMA
Works from RM’s personal collection appear in dialogue with SFMOMA holdings in the collection’s ...
Exhibit: Honoring the Black Panther Party Rank & File Members: 60th Anniversary
October 5, 2026 - January 9, 2027
Oakland Public Library
The Oakland History Center marks the Black Panther Party’s 60th anniversary with an exhibition hon...
2026 Litquake Festival
October 8 - October 24
San Francisco’s Litquake festival returns October 8–24 with a celebration of literature and the ...
Moving Pictures: Do It. See It. Speak It.
October 17 - October 18
Robson-Harrington House
Moving Pictures brings international dance cinema, live movement and conversation to Robson-Harringt...
Spotlight Sundays: Roadsongs for Dorothea Lange
October 18
Oakland Museum of California (OMCA)
Oakland Museum of California presents Last West: Roadsongs for Dorothea Lange as part of its Spotlig...
Black Panther Party 60th Anniversary Community Day
October 18
De Fremery Park
Community Day brings the Black Panther Party’s 60th-anniversary commemoration to Lil Bobby Hutton ...
82nd Anniversary & Annual Howard Thurman Convocation
October 18
Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples
Join us in celebrating Thomas Robert Simpson, Founder and Executive Director of AfroSolo Theatre Com...
The Boil Block Party
October 18
Gilman Wine Block
Second Line Pleasure Club brings a crawfish feast and live music to Berkeley’s Gilman Wine Block. ...
Foodwise Sunday Supper: A Farm to City Feast
October 18
San Francisco Ferry Building
Foodwise’s Sunday Supper: A Farm to City Feast brings farmers, chefs and supporters to San Francis...
Doja Cat with very special guest Latto
October 19
Chase Center
Doja Cat brings the Tour Ma Vie World Tour to Chase Center with Latto.
Paints, Pots, Pints with Ruth Bancroft Garden (Berkeley)
October 20
Headlands Brewing – Berkeley Westbrae
Ruth Bancroft Garden partners with Headlands Brewing for a hands-on art and gardening workshop at th...
An Evening With Brian Evenson
October 20
City Lights Booksellers & Publishers
Litquake presents Brian Evenson at City Lights for a reading and discussion of Phantom Limb, his new...
The Ring—Film with Live Orchestra
October 20 @ 7:30 PM PDT
Davies Symphony Hall
Live Music, Theater + Film
Let’s Talk West Oakland
October 21
Geoffrey’s Inner Circle
NAMC NorCal brings residents, contractors, and businesses together at Geoffrey’s in Oakland for a ...
Gather & Make: Fused Glass Sugar Skull
October 22
The Crucible
At The Crucible, Gather & Make invites participants to mark Día de los Muertos with a fused-gla...
23rd Annual Oakland African-American Chamber of Commerce Business Awards Luncheon
October 22 @ 11:00 AM PDT
Scott’s Seafood Jack London Square
Conversations + Speakers + Conferences, Galas + Awards + Fundraiser
Hisaishi Conducts Hisaishi
October 22 @ 7:30 PM - October 24 @ 7:30 PM PDT
Davies Symphony Hall
Live Music
Vishnu’s Cosmic Ocean
October 23, 2026 - January 25, 2027
Asian Art Museum
Southeast Asia’s largest ancient bronze makes a once-in-a-lifetime stop in San Francisco.
Mariachi Herencia de México: La Nueva Generación Tour — Día de los Muertos
October 23 @ 7:30 PM - 9:00 PM PDT
Zellerbach Hall
Mariachi Herencia de México celebrates Día de los Muertos with a spirited program led by a new gen...
Jodeci – 35th Anniversary Tour of Forever My Lady
October 24
SF Masonic Auditorium
Live Music, Black Culture, Staff Picks
Black Panther Party Film Series
October 24
African American Museum and Library at Oakland (AAMLO)
Celebrate the Black Panther Party’s 60th anniversary with 23 archival film clips from the Henry J....
Oakland Star Special Collection Exhibition: From the Archives — The Black Panther Party Original Newspapers 1967–1971
October 24 - December 31
African American Museum and Library at Oakland (AAMLO)
The African American Museum and Library at Oakland presents original Black Panther Party newspapers ...
Steve Reich at 90: A Birthday Celebration
October 24 @ 7:30 PM - 9:00 PM PDT
Zellerbach Hall
Conductor Brad Lubman leads more than 20 musicians in a celebration of composer Steve Reich’s 90th...
Via del NewLit: Opening Night Benefit Dinner
October 26
Via del Corso
New Literary Project opens its Rising Roadshow with a benefit dinner at Via del Corso in Berkeley. C...
Erika Krouse + Fiona McFarlane
October 28
Maude Fife Room, Room 315, Wheeler Hall, UC Berkeley
Erika Krouse joins author Fiona McFarlane for a conversation in UC Berkeley’s Maude Fife Room, Roo...
Angela Davis in Conversation with Poulomi Saha
October 28 @ 7:30 PM - 9:00 PM PDT
Zellerbach Hall
Activist, author, educator, and cultural icon Angela Davis reflects on more than 65 years of work ac...
An Afternoon at Orinda Books: Erika Krouse
October 31
Orinda Books
Erika Krouse visits Orinda Books to discuss her new story collection, Save Me, Stranger, with Hannah...
La Santa Cecilia with Ritmos Tropicosmos
November 1
Siesta Valley Bowl
Grammy-winning Mexican American band La Santa Cecilia performs with Oakland psychedelic-cumbia group...
Rising Roadshow Homecoming
November 1
Soda Activity Center, Saint Mary’s College of California
New Literary Project celebrates 2026 Joyce Carol Oates Prize winner Erika Krouse at its Rising Roads...
Joshua Redman Quartet
November 5 - November 6
SFJAZZ Center
Joshua Redman returns with his current quartet and music from the Blue Note album Words Fall Short.
Caribbean Cocktails: Migration, Memory, and Making Across the Diaspora
November 5 @ 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM PST
Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD)
Conversations, Food + Drink, Staff Picks
Mimosas & Motown: Sunday Brunch — November
November 8
Feinstein’s at The Nikko
Mimosas & Motown combines Sunday brunch in ANZU with a live tribute concert by Top Shelf Classic...
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra with Pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason: Home, Suite Home
November 8 @ 2:30 PM PST
Orpheus delivers Old World sophistication in a New York minute when pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason dives...
Frozen Theater Live!
November 10
The Lost Church
San Francisco Frozen Film Festival launches Frozen Theater Live!, bringing independent short plays, ...
Bob Marley: How Reggae Changed the World featuring Duane Forrest
November 11 - November 14
The Studio at Bing Concert Hall
Singer-songwriter Duane Forrest performs acoustic renditions of legendary reggae songs—from Bob Ma...
William Kentridge’s The Head & the Load
November 12 - November 15
Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts (HJK)
South African artist William Kentridge’s The Head & the Load brings dance, projection, speech,...
Stanley Clarke and Ron Carter
November 12 - November 15
SFJAZZ Center
Bassists Stanley Clarke and Ron Carter meet for four nights spanning hard bop, fusion and modern jaz...
The Banksy Art Exhibit
November 13, 2026 - January 3, 2027
Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts (HJK)
Visual Arts, BAR Pick
Rexx Life Raj – Father Figure 10 Year Anniversary
November 14
The UC Theatre
Berkeley rapper Rexx Life Raj marks the 10th anniversary of Father Figure at The UC Theatre.
Jerry Seinfeld
November 14 @ 8:00 PM PST
Luther Burbank Center for the Arts
Comedian Jerry Seinfeld performs at Luther Burbank Center for the Arts.
Allison Russell
November 15
The UC Theatre
Singer-songwriter Allison Russell performs at The UC Theatre with Autumn Nicholas.
The Jason Marsalis Quartet with Vanisha Gould
November 15 @ 4:30 PM - 7:00 PM PST
Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society
Jason Marsalis and vocalist Vanisha Gould meet in a wide-ranging program of modern jazz.
Corey Harris & Cedric Watson: True Blues
November 18
The Freight
True Blues is a powerful concert experience hosted by MacArthur Grant recipient Corey Harris and fea...
Alonzo King LINES Ballet and Appalachian Spring
November 19 @ 7:30 PM - November 21 @ 7:30 PM PST
Davies Symphony Hall
Live Music, Dance
Anthony Jeselnik: Wrath of Man
November 19 @ 7:30 PM PST
Luther Burbank Center for the Arts
Anthony Jeselnik is a critically acclaimed stand-up comedian. Over the past 25 years, he has perform...
Black Nile
November 20
SJZ Break Room
Brothers Aaron and Lawrence Shaw, performing as Black Nile, see a different Los Angeles: not Hollywo...
Brittany Davis
November 20
SFJAZZ Center
Singer, composer and keyboardist Brittany Davis brings the spiritual jazz, soul and funk of Black Th...
Azzedine Alaïa: Sculpting Fashion
November 21, 2026 - April 11, 2027
Legion of Honor (Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco)
A major United States retrospective surveys Azzedine Alaïa’s sculptural approach to fashion.
Ozomatli
November 21
The UC Theatre
Ozomatli performs its blend of Latin music, hip-hop, funk and global styles at The UC Theatre.
Jason Moran and the Harlem Hellfighters: James Reese Europe and the Absence of Ruin
November 21 @ 7:30 PM - 9:00 PM PST
Zellerbach Hall
Pianist and composer Jason Moran’s multidisciplinary The Absence of Ruin examines the life and leg...
Brian Blade & The Fellowship Band
November 22
SFJAZZ Center
Grammy-winning drummer Brian Blade reunites The Fellowship Band for music spanning its seven studio ...
Orchestra Liberation: A Symphonic Experience Featuring Music of the Black Diaspora
November 22
Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts (HJK)
Orchestra Liberation is a fresh, new, Black-led and musician-centered, Oakland-based orchestra bring...
Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas
November 24 @ 7:30 PM PST
Davies Symphony Hall
Live Music, Theater + Film
Jason Marsalis Quartet with Vanisha Gould
November 27
SFJAZZ Center
Jason Marsalis brings his vibraphone-led quartet to SFJAZZ with vocalist Vanisha Gould.
Thankful, A Comedy Show Starring Sinbad
November 27
Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts (HJK)
This Thanksgiving, the Bay Area Black Comedy Competition and Festival and DNA Media Group present &#...
Hook in Concert
November 27 @ 7:30 PM - November 28 @ 2:00 PM PST
Davies Symphony Hall
Live Music, Theater + Film
Cirque Kalabanté: WOW (World of Words)
November 28 - November 29
Zellerbach Hall
Cirque Kalabanté’s WOW (World of Words) is a high-energy visual spectacle that brings traditional...
Kazemde George Trio
November 28
SFJAZZ Center
Berkeley-raised saxophonist Kazemde George brings his Afrofuturist trio and the music of Ocean Passa...
Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox
November 29
Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts (HJK)
Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox transforms modern hits into vintage-inspired jazz, swing, soul,...
Top Of The World – A Carpenters Tribute
December 3
Montalvo Arts Center
Relive the timeless sound of The Carpenters as this tribute band brings their greatest hits to the s...
Ambrose Akinmusire & Aszure Barton: A a | a B : B E N D
December 4 - December 5
Zellerbach Hall
Two leading lights in their fields create an urgent, intimate yet provocative world in which dancers...
Nutcracker
December 4 - December 27
War Memorial Opera House
San Francisco Ballet’s beloved holiday production follows Clara from Victorian-era San Francisco t...
Scott Amendola, Jeff Parker & Paul Bryan
December 5
SJZ Break Room
Few drummers in jazz have collaborated as fruitfully with era-defining guitarists as Berkeley's Scot...
Kamasi Washington
December 5
The UC Theatre
Kamasi Washington performs at The UC Theatre for the KEXP Yule Benefit with Bartees Strange and Hann...
Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir Yuletide Youth Concert
December 5
Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts (HJK)
The Yuletide Youth Holiday Concert is bringing the Sounds of the Season to the Calvin Simmons Theate...
Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir 41st Annual Holiday Concert “Scoopin’ Up Joy”
December 5
Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts (HJK)
The Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir comes home! After years away from the theatre it called home for...
Holiday Swingin’! A Kat Edmonson Christmas
December 6 @ 4:30 PM - 7:00 PM PST
Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society
Kat Edmonson brings a sparkling mix of jazz, cabaret and vintage pop to a festive holiday concert.
Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas
December 10 @ 7:30 PM - December 11 @ 7:30 PM PST
Davies Symphony Hall
Live Music, Theater + Film
David Benoit Christmas Tribute To Charlie Brown
December 11
Montalvo Arts Center
Celebrate a beloved Montalvo Christmas tradition as Grammy-nominated pianist David Benoit brings the...
Kenny Garrett
December 11
SFJAZZ Center
NEA Jazz Master Kenny Garrett returns with the adventurous alto sound shaped by Miles Davis, Art Bla...
Holidays with Bernadette Peters and the San Francisco Symphony
December 15 @ 7:30 PM PST
Davies Symphony Hall
Live Music
Tribute to Eddie Palmieri & La Perfecta
December 17
SFJAZZ Center
Rebeca Mauleón, David Sánchez and a Latin jazz orchestra celebrate Eddie Palmieri and La Perfecta.
Cyrus Chestnut plays ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’
December 18
SFJAZZ Center
Cyrus Chestnut brings Vince Guaraldi’s beloved score for A Charlie Brown Christmas back to the Min...
Elf—In Concert
December 18 @ 7:30 PM - December 20 @ 2:00 PM PST
Davies Symphony Hall
Live Music, Theater + Film
Graham Lustig’s The Nutcracker
December 19 - December 20
Paramount Theatre
Oakland Ballet presents Graham Lustig’s The Nutcracker at the Paramount Theatre.
Christmas with the Count Basie Orchestra
December 19 - December 20
SFJAZZ Center
The legendary Count Basie Orchestra brings a swinging program of seasonal standards to SFJAZZ for an...
Maurice MOBETTA Brown Holiday Spectacular
December 22
SFJAZZ Center
GRAMMY-winning trumpeter, rapper and producer Maurice “Mobetta” Brown brings his celebrated holi...
Marcus Shelby New Orchestra: Plays Duke Ellington’s Nutcracker Suite featuring Tiffany Austin
December 23
SFJAZZ Center
Marcus Shelby’s New Orchestra and Tiffany Austin perform Ellington and Strayhorn’s jazz Nutcrack...
Dave Koz and Friends Christmas Tour 2026
December 23 @ 7:30 PM PST
Luther Burbank Center for the Arts
Reimagining a rich musical tradition, Dave Koz and Friends will perform fresh renditions of timeless...
Steel Pulse (New Years Eve)
December 31
The UC Theatre
Steel Pulse brings the Reggae Against Racism Tour to The UC Theatre for New Year’s Eve.
Cimafunk
December 31
SFJAZZ Center
Cimafunk and La Tribu welcome the new year with an explosive blend of Cuban funk, hip-hop and Afro-C...
Avatar Live in Concert
January 8, 2027 @ 7:30 PM - January 9, 2027 @ 2:00 PM PST
Davies Symphony Hall
Live Music, Theater + Film
Celebrating Herbert Blomstedt
January 14, 2027 @ 2:00 PM - January 16, 2027 @ 7:30 PM PST
Davies Symphony Hall
Live Music
The Peking Acrobats
January 21, 2027 @ 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM PST
Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts (HJK)
Visual Arts
Kodo: One Earth Tour 2027: Luminance
January 22, 2027 - January 24, 2027
Zellerbach Hall
The awe-inspiring taiko drummers of Kodo return to Berkeley with their earth-shattering sounds and a...
Alsop Conducts Shostakovich 5
January 22, 2027 @ 7:30 PM - January 24, 2027 @ 2:00 PM PST
Davies Symphony Hall
Live Music
World On A String
January 27, 2027
Montalvo Arts Center
Broadway’s biggest hits like you’ve never heard them before—boldly reimagined in a high-energy...
The Sleeping Beauty
January 29, 2027 - February 7, 2027
War Memorial Opera House
Helgi Tomasson’s grand staging of The Sleeping Beauty pairs classical virtuosity with Tchaikovsky�...
Kings Return
January 29, 2027
Montalvo Arts Center
Dynamic four-piece a cappella group Kings Return brings a smooth, genre-blending show of R&B, ja...
Seong-Jin Cho Plays Mendelssohn
January 29, 2027 @ 7:30 PM - January 31, 2027 @ 2:00 PM PST
Davies Symphony Hall
Live Music
Mitsuko Uchida, piano
January 29, 2027 @ 7:30 PM - 9:00 PM PST
Zellerbach Hall
At the height of her powers, Mitsuko Uchida performs a kaleidoscopic program of Haydn, Mozart, and S...
Marvel Studios BLACK PANTHER in Concert
January 31, 2027
Zellerbach Hall
Experience the drama of Marvel Studio’s Black Panther performed with a live score on the big scree...
Attacca Quartet with Caroline Shaw
January 31, 2027 @ 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM PST
Hertz Hall (UC Campus)
The Attacca Quartet reunites with Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw for the Ensemble in ...
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis
February 19, 2027 @ 7:30 PM - 9:00 PM PST
Zellerbach Hall
Trumpet virtuoso Wynton Marsalis returns to Berkeley as part of his final tour as artistic director ...
Lisa Fischer & Grand Baton
February 21, 2027
Montalvo Arts Center
Lisa Fischer’s voice is a once-in-a-generation instrument—powerful, precise, and so emotionally ...
Danish String Quartet
February 21, 2027 @ 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM PST
Hertz Hall (UC Campus)
The Danish String Quartet returns to Berkeley with program of Shostakovich, Beethoven, and Gabriella...
Cirque Kalabanté – World of Words
February 25, 2027 @ 7:30 PM PST
Luther Burbank Center for the Arts
Afrique en Cirque is a show by Yamoussa Bangoura, inspired by daily life in Guinea and the beauty, y...
Vienna Philharmonic and Yannick Nézet-Séguin
March 2, 2027 - March 4, 2027
Zellerbach Hall
The Vienna Philharmonic and Yannick Nézet-Séguin return to Berkeley for three Mahler-focused night...
One Night In Memphis
March 3, 2027
Montalvo Arts Center
A live concert tribute to Sun Records legends Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Elvis ...
Augustin Hadelich Plays Brahms
March 12, 2027 @ 7:30 PM - March 14, 2027 @ 2:00 PM PST
Davies Symphony Hall
Live Music
David Finckel, cello; Wu Han, piano
March 14, 2027 @ 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM PDT
Hertz Hall (UC Campus)
David Finckel and Wu Han return to Berkeley with an all-Russian program featuring works by Prokofiev...
An Evening with Audra McDonald
March 20, 2027 @ 7:30 PM - 9:00 PM PDT
Zellerbach Hall
The record award-winning Audra McDonald returns to Berkeley with her signature mix of Broadway and t...
Dover Quartet
April 4, 2027 @ 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM PDT
Hertz Hall (UC Campus)
The Dover Quartet returns to Berkeley with a program of contrasting temperaments featuring works by ...
The Music of Billy Joel Starring Michael Cavanaugh
April 4, 2027 @ 3:00 PM PDT
Luther Burbank Center for the Arts
Michael Cavanaugh is the new voice of the American Rock & Roll Songbook and a charismatic perfor...
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
April 6, 2027 - April 11, 2027
Zellerbach Hall
Elegance, strength, abstraction, and soulfulness—the Ailey dancers bring their spiritual core back...
La La Land in Concert
April 9, 2027 @ 7:30 PM - April 10, 2027 @ 2:00 PM PDT
Davies Symphony Hall
Live Music, Theater + Film
Carmina burana with the SF Symphony Chorus
April 11, 2027 @ 7:30 PM PDT
Davies Symphony Hall
Live Music
The Tallis Scholars; Peter Phillips, director
April 16, 2027 @ 7:30 PM - 9:00 PM PDT
First Congregational Church of Berkeley
The Tallis Scholars return to Berkeley with a program centered on one of Josquin des Prez's true mas...
The Comeuppance
April 20, 2027 - May 16, 2027
Toni Rembe Theater
When a group of millennial classmates meet to pregame for their twentieth high school reunion, every...
Salonen Conducts Symphonie fantastique
April 22, 2027 @ 7:30 PM - April 24, 2027 @ 7:30 PM PDT
Davies Symphony Hall
Live Music
Le Concert des Nations; Jordi Savall, director
April 23, 2027 @ 7:30 PM - 9:00 PM PDT
Zellerbach Hall
Venerable viol master and conductor Jordi Savall returns to Berkeley to direct Beethoven's third and...
Ray Chen Plays Sibelius
May 6, 2027 @ 2:00 PM - May 8, 2027 @ 7:30 PM PDT
Davies Symphony Hall
Live Music
Stella Swings Ella – Big Band
May 14, 2027 @ 7:30 PM PDT
Luther Burbank Center for the Arts
Following her celebrated appearances at Luther Burbank Center for the Arts with The Billie Holiday P...
Alisa Weilerstein and Inon Barnatan in Recital
May 16, 2027 @ 7:30 PM PDT
Davies Symphony Hall
Live Music
Disney and Pixar’s UP: In Concert
May 21, 2027 @ 7:30 PM PDT
Davies Symphony Hall
Live Music, Theater + Film
Stravinsky Firebird Staged
June 3, 2027 @ 7:30 PM - June 5, 2027 @ 7:30 PM PDT
Davies Symphony Hall
Live Music
Bartók Concerto for Orchestra and Jean-Yves Thibaudet
June 11, 2027 @ 7:30 PM - June 13, 2027 @ 2:00 PM PDT
Davies Symphony Hall
Live Music
John Adams The Dharma at Big Sur
June 17, 2027 @ 7:30 PM - June 18, 2027 @ 7:30 PM PDT
Davies Symphony Hall
Live Music
Yefim Bronfman Plays Rachmaninoff
June 25, 2027 @ 7:30 PM - June 27, 2027 @ 2:00 PM PDT
Davies Symphony Hall
Live Music
