THURSDAY, APRIL 2
POP
ELISE TROUW
Sometimes the best ideas start off as a joke. Just ask drummer, singer and pop artist Elise Trouw. Her new album, The Diary of Elon Lust, released in February. It began as satire but grew into a collaboration of songs she says felt like the only “real” ones she was writing at the time. The album itself is a beautifully poppy, light and playfully chaotic collection of songs that dissects modern masculinity through the eyes of Trouw’s male alter ego, Elon Lust. Each track exists as a different diary entry in a concept album that’s ahead of its time. It’s not only easily digestible, but truly addictive. — MAT WEIR
INFO: Thu, 8pm, Cornerstone, 2367 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. $30-$94. 510.214.8600.
FRIDAY, APRIL 3
JAZZ
ALLISON, CARDENAS & NASH
Allison, Cardenas & Nash features double-bassist Ben Allison, electric guitarist Steve Cardenas and saxophonist Ted Nash. Allison has recorded prolifically and led a series of acclaimed ensembles since the early 1990s, and like Nash was deeply involved in the Herbie Nichols Project, a collective devoted to the cult pianist/composer who died in obscurity at 44 in 1963. All three musicians have played on each other’s albums for decades, and in recent years have recorded several albums as a trio, including 2022’s Healing Power: The Music of Carla Bley and 2024’s Tell the Birds I Said Hello: The Music of Herbie Nichols. The group transforms every tune into an intriguing, surprise-filled soundscape. — ANDREW GILBERT
INFO: Fri, 5:30pm, Piedmont Piano Company, 1728 San Pablo Ave., Oakland. $35-$40. 510.547.8188.
FRIDAY, APRIL 3
COMEDY
VERKA SERDUCHKA
Real name: Andriy Mykhailovych Danylko. Drag name: Verka Serduchka. Country of origin: Ukraine. Known for: Being runner-up in the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest with a rendition of “Dancing Lasha Tumbai” and for overall fabulousness. Backstory: In 1990, Danylko created Verka—or did she emerge?—an outrageous female railroad sleeping car attendant. Verka has gone on to wow or outrage millions of Europeans, and now it’s Berkeley’s turn. Serious note: Danylko/Verka continues to work for their country’s freedom from invasion, including donating income from the sale of a Rolls-Royce once owned by Freddie Mercury to support the construction of a rehabilitation and prosthesis center in Ukraine. Gurrrl. — JANIS HASHE
INFO: Fri, 9pm, UC Theatre, 2036 University Ave., Berkeley. $161. 510.356.4000.
FRIDAY, APRIL 3
JAZZ
MARY HALVORSON
Composer, guitarist and bandleader Mary Halvorson released About Ghosts in 2025, her 16th album and most recent foray into the mystical, layered, sonic world she inhabits. In Berkeley, her fellow travelers formulate into a stellar new band, Canis Major, featuring Dave Adewumi (trumpet), Henry Fraser (bass) and Tomas Fujiwara (drums). To describe her sound as iconoclastic denies its deep roots in traditional and contemporary jazz. A good analogy might be the drastic extremes between microclimates in California—hot, then cool; windy, then dead calm; dry, then drowning. There’s no way to predict where Halvorson might go next. — LOU FANCHER
INFO: Fri, 8pm, The Freight, 2020 Addison St., Berkeley. $39-$44. 510.644.2020.
SATURDAY, APRIL 4
LATIN-JAZZ
EL TREN
A talent-laden, Latin-jazz sextet featuring some of the region’s essential musicians, El Tren reimagines instantly recognizable pop songs via a brilliant array of Afro-Caribbean grooves, including tunes by Stevie Wonder, Sade, John Legend and the Beatles. With bass maestro Saúl Sierra, an expert arranger, El Tren also features pianist/trumpeter Marco Diaz, his bandmate in celebrated ensembles led by John Santos and Bobi Cespedes. Peruvian-born Laura Bravo handles vocals with style and the three-piece Latin percussion session with Julio Pérez, Ahkeel Mestayer and Emilio Davalos brings a dynamic flow of clave. Many bands Latinize jazz standards, but applying the concept to the world of pop music offers many creative, audience-pleasing opportunities. — AG
INFO: Sat, 7:30pm, Sound Room, 3022 Broadway, Oakland. $35. 510.708.9691.
SATURDAY, APRIL 4
FILM
‘FREAKY TALES’
Check this cast list: Pedro Pascal, Tom Hanks, Too Short, Marshawn Lynch and Angus Cloud. They all star in action/comedy film Freaky Tales, released a year ago. Writer/director Ryan Fleck’s father has a long-term connection with La Peña Cultural Center, so he’s celebrating the anniversary at the center with a fundraising screening. The film is set in Oakland in 1987, and follows “an NBA star, a corrupt cop, a female rap duo, teenage punks, neo-Nazis and a debt collector embarking on a collision course” in four separate tales. Fleck and unnamed cast members will attend the screening and post-movie discussion. They had us at Pedro Pascal. — JH
INFO: 7pm, La Peña Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. $15-$100. 510.849,2568.
SATURDAY, APRIL 4
ROCK
SATCHVAI
Formed in 2024, SatchVai Band finds longtime friends and guitar icons Joe Satriani and Steve Vai finally sharing a full-stage canvas. Both players built their reputation on technical precision and melodic ambition. Here, Satriani’s soaring, instrumental rock anthems and Vai’s more theatrical, shapeshifting compositions collide and stretch. Backed by a tight, high-caliber rhythm section—Kenny Aronoff on drums, Marco Mendoza on bass and Pete Thorn on guitar—the project leans into interplay: twin leads spiraling, solos passed back and forth, and moments of near-telepathic synchronization. — SONYA BENNETT-BRANDT
INFO: Sat, 8pm, Fox Theater, 1807 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. $66-$266. 510.302.2250.
TUESDAY, APRIL 7
ROCK
RICHARD THOMPSON
Richard Thompson needs no introduction. As a co-founder of Fairport Convention, Thompson helped define the British folk-rock sound. But after he left the group at the age of 21, Thompson set out on his own illustrious career. He has contributed to Grammy-nominated soundtracks, has made numerous “Best of” lists from Rolling Stone to Time and Billboard. The Los Angeles Times called him “the finest rock songwriter after Dylan and the best electric guitarist since Hendrix.” THose are mighty big shoes that the man himself may or may not agree he has filled, but whose body of work with albums like Mirror Blue and Rumor and Sigh speaks for itself. — MW
INFO: Tue, 8pm, The Freight, 2020 Addison St., Berkeley. $69-$79. 510.644.2020.
TUESDAY, APRIL 7
PUNK
HIRS
Philadelphia-based queer punk collective HIRS is a constantly mutating organism, with dozens of collaborators cycling through its recordings and performances and always spitting out something volatile. Rooted in grindcore’s blistering speed and abrasion, their songs come in grenade form: compressed, explosive bursts of blast beats, serrated riffs, roars, shrieks. On releases like Friends. Lovers. Favorites. and We’re Still Here, the noise carries a clear, cathartic charge, folding trans liberation, mutual aid, and resistance into its circuitry with both fury and care. — SBB
INFO: Tue, 7:30pm, 924 Gilman St., Berkeley. $12-$15. 520.524.8180.
TUESDAY, APRIL 7 – SUNDAY, APRIL 12
DANCE
ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATER
The renowned dance company founded by Alvin Ailey changed the American dance scene forever. Arriving for its annual residency at Cal Performances under Alicia Graf Mack, four programs offer Bay Area premieres, new or reimagined works, and the return of Ailey’s all-time classic dance choreographed in 1960, the beloved “Revelations.” In addition to evening and weekend matinee performances, daytime shows for public school children are residency staples. The dancers have always been lauded and applauded for their physical prowess and modeling of Black beauty, grace, resilience and power. In 2026, their achievements will expand beyond physical excellence to include subtle artistry, courageous risk-taking and masterful storytelling. Performances go until April 12. — LF
INFO: Tue–Thu, 7:30pm; Fri, 8pm; Sat, 2pm & 8pm; Sun, 3pm; Cal Performances at Zellerbach Hall, 101 Zellerbach Hall, #4800, Berkeley. $38-$94. 510.642.9988.