From a cool series of club shows in Berkeley to David Byrne’s return to the Bay Area, there are a lot of cool shows and concerts to catch

It’s a Back Room bash!

The current Freight in Berkeley is a major plus for the Bay Area concert scene; a state-of-the-art, 490-set concert hall that draws a wide range of terrific Americana performers. But a lot of folks fondly remember original Freight & Salvage, a more intimate and scruffy joint that was a beloved Berkeley jam spot. It was with the old Freight in mind that East Bay musician Sam Rudin 10 years ago opened the Back Room, an intimate music hall in Berkeley that draws an impressive lineup of jazz, folk and Americana acts.

At a time when running any kind of music or entertainment venue is challenging at best, the Back Room has kept on truckin’ for a decade now, and the Back Room is celebrating  that milestone with a series of special concerts involving some of the Bay Area’s most beloved entertainers.

The lineup includes drummer Scott Amendola anchoring a special Anniversary Quartet (8 p.m. April 16); Latin band Bululú presenting “A Night of Bubbles & Boleros,” (8 p.m. April 17); the excellent blues trio HowellDevine (8 p.m. April 18); the Crying Uncle Bluegrass Band (3 p.m. April 19); Sam Rudin takes the stage 8 p.m. April 23 with Sam’s Corner, featuring saxophonist Charles McNeal; acclaimed Malian performer Mamadou Sidibe (8 p.m. April 24); popular Celtic band Golden Bough (3 p.m. April 25); jazz singer Roberta Donnay and her band The Prohibition Mob (8 p.m. April 25) and the terrific vocalist the Dynamic Miss Faye Carol, who will put a definite exclamation point on the celebration at 5 p.m. April 26.

Details: The Back Room is at 1984 Bonita Ave., in Berkeley; tickets for the shows are $20-$40; www.BackRoomMusic.com.

— Randy McMullen, Staff

Time to feel the Byrne (again)

David Byrne earned rave reviews for his most recent run of shows in San Francisco. Fortunately, local fans who missed the stand — which consisted of three nights at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium — will get another chance to see the Talking Heads legend when he returns to the Bay Area for an April 16 show at Frost Amphitheater at Stanford University.

The tour supports Byrne’s latest album — “Who Is the Sky?” — the acclaimed singer-songwriter’s 2025 collaboration with the New York City-based musical ensemble Ghost Train Orchestra. “Who Is the Sky?” is Byrne’s first full-length since 2018’s successful “American Utopia,” which went on to be adapted into a hit Broadway musical as well as a HBO film.

The album was produced by Grammy-winner Kid Harpoon, who has previously worked with A-listers Harry Styles and Miley Cyrus. “Who Is the Sky?” also features guest appearances from Paramore’s Hayley Williams, St. Vincent and The Smile drummer Tom Skinner.

Details: Showtime is 8 p.m.; tickets start at $137; axs.com.

— Jim Harrington, Staff

Classical picks: ‘La Traviata,’ Puccini, Savall at Zellerbach

Here are three productions Bay Area classical music should know about.

“La Traviata”: Opera San José’s final production in a season titled “What Is Love?” is Verdi’s classic heartbreaker “La Traviata.” Directed by Tara Branham, the production stars soprano Mikayla Sager in the role of the opera’s lovestruck courtesan, Violetta. WooYoung Yoon sings the role of Alfredo Germont. It’s an opera that never loses the beauty and brilliance of Verdi’s score, and Branham’s production adds spice with an Act II party scene featuring Indian Kathak dance moves choreographed by Antara Bhardwaj. It’s an opera that never loses the beauty and brilliance of Verdi’s score.

Details: Performances are April 19 through May 3; California Theatre, San Jose; tickets are $58-$215; operasj.org.

Puccini in the park: San Francisco Opera’s “Bohème out of the Box” continues its outdoor production of Puccini’s “La Boheme” with free live performances. It’s not too late to see this timeless opera, with performances running through April 26 in Emeryville, Oakland, Woodside, and Concord.

Details: Register and get more information at www.sfopera.com.

“A Sea of Music”: Ever since Cal Performances began attracting great international artists to Berkeley, Jordi Savall became one of the finest on the list. Now the Catalan viol virtuoso returns to Zellerbach Hall with a program featuring his Hespèrion XXI and nearly three dozen international musicians in a concert weaving a range of musical traditions.

Details: 7:30 p.m. April 29; Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley; $43-$104; calperformances.org.

— Georgia Rowe, Correspondent

Art in a unique setting

Want to go beyond the ordinary art-museum experience? Does appreciating art in a 1950s-style motor lodge sound more your speed? Then head on over to the Startup Art Fair, which will see more than 70 artists exhibiting across two floors of San Francisco’s colorful Hotel Del Sol.

The nationally traveling art fair returns to the city in a big way this weekend. Aside from room-scale installations and special projects, there’s an opening-night celebration on Friday that features a “high-energy runway performance.” Expect to be wowed by some fun, artist-designed garments, sustainable fashion and wearable artworks.

Local and visiting artists will display their paintings, sculptures and experiments, which visitors can appreciate strolling from one hotel room to the next. There will be live installations and performances, weekend-long garment repair and accessorizing, even a sale of repurposed and rehabilitated furniture. It’s a perfect opportunity to support (in the words of the organizers) the Bay Area’s “long-standing identity as a home for innovators, misfits and cultural rebels.”

Details: Open 7-10 p.m. Friday, noon-9 p.m. Saturday and noon-7 p.m. Sunday; 3100 Webster St., San Francisco; general admission $22 plus fees (three-day and VIP passes also available); startup-art.com.

— John Metcalfe, Staff

A cautionary tale from the Bard?

“Julius Caesar,” a Shakespeare play about the assassination of the Roman dictator and the country’s subsequent plunge into civil war, is considered an historical drama/tragedy and is often praised for its insights into the political machinations of the time. But the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, which is presenting the 1599 play at several venues through May 3, would like you to view it in a somewhat different light. “Our production treats Julius Caesar not as distant history but as a warning aimed directly at America now,” says April Ballesteros, who’s directing the production. She says the production is set during World War I “because it marks the moment when republics fractured under fear, nationalism, and the belief that extraordinary times require extraordinary men.” She adds: “Our current leader’s political persona echoes that pattern, casting himself as the only one who can fix a broken nation, framing opposition as disloyalty, and relying on spectacle and language to consolidate power.” Of course the other tragedy in “Caesar” is a passive populace that lets it all happen. “Julius Caesar” is often considered relevant and insightful, but timely? You can see for yourself as the play, which is free, is presented at 2 p.m. Saturday at San Francisco Public Library; 7 p.m. April 23 at Grand Theatre Center for the Arts in Tracy; 7 p.m. April 29 at Mountain View Public Library; 5:30 p.m. May at Lyman Park, St. Helena; 6 p.m. May 1 at San Mateo Main Library (registration required); and 2 p.m. May at San Bruno City Park.

Details: More information is available at sfshakes.org.

— Bay City News Foundation

Freebies of the week

It was 120 years ago on Saturday that a 7.9-magnitude earthquake struck San Francisco and pretty much laid waste to the city and ignited a fire that chewed its way through what remained for three days (and, yes, given fault-line conditions, another huge trembler like that could happen at any time). In the city this week, there will be an annual remembrance of what remains one of the defining moments in Bay Area history. The two-part event is free and open to the public, and no registration is required. It offers an intriguing way to acquaint yourself with San Francisco history – if you don’t mind getting up early. The quake itself began at 5:12 a.m., and the remembrance on Saturday will kick off at 4:30 a.m. at Lotta’s Fountain, at Kearny and Market streets, a site that is remembered as a key meeting place during the immediate aftermath of the quake. The gathering will feature a variety of city firefighters and public safety officials and, reportedly, the return of a classic 1928 firetruck that has been a popular staple of the event. At around 5 a.m., the gathering will move to the nearby Golden Fire Hydrant on 20th and Church streets, which was said to be one of the sole sources of water during the original fire, to give the landmark its annual repainting. The event will include a wreath-laying and silent remembrance of those who lost their lives to the disaster, followed by a communal singing of “San Francisco.” For those who’d prefer a historical lesson at a more civil hour, know that the Clift Royal Sonesta Hotel will host another in its “Making History Fun Again” speaker’s series featuring historian John Martini, who will discuss the 1906 earthquake and its aftermath. The talk will take place at 6 p.m. in the hotel’s Redwood Room. The event is free but it’s advisable to register at Eventbrite.com (search for “Making History Fun Again.”)

— Bay City News Foundation

A whole lotta sonatas going on

Acclaimed violinist Joshua Bell has appeared many times on the Davies Hall stage since his debut with the San Francisco Symphony as a Shenson Young Artist in 1991, as a soloist, a chamber musician and in his capacity as the music director and conductor of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. He returns Sunday night with his 1713-vintage Stradivarius in the company of pianist Shai Wosner as his recital partner. They open their program with Franz Schubert’s Violin Sonata in A Major, also known as the “Grand Duo,” because of its persistent pairing of the violin and keyboard voices in equal partnership. Also in the lineup are Edvard Grieg’s Violin Sonata No. 3 in C minor, Sergei Prokofiev’s Violin Sonata in D Major and the Violin Sonata No. 2 by Maurice Ravel, making the evening a rather grand survey of the sonata repertoire.

Details: Performance time is 7:30 p.m.; $75-$350; www.sfsymphony.org.

— Bay City News Foundation

Shakespeare gets sung

It’s all music, magic, madness (temporary) and merriment in the kingdom of the fairies as San Francisco’s feisty little company Pocket Opera mounts its production of Benjamin Britten’s interpretation of the Bard’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” one of his funniest and most endearing plays. The first performance takes place Friday in the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, moving to 1:30 p.m. Sunday at the Berkeley Hillside Club and winding up at the Gunn Theater at the Legion of Honor in San Francisco at 1:30 p.m. April 26. Kyle Tingzon sings the role of King Oberon, with Chelsea Hollow as his queen, Tytania; well-known Bay Area baritone Kirk Eichelberg dons the donkey head as the hapless Bottom. Nicolas Garcia is stage director, and David Drummond is in charge of the music.

Details: Tickets range from $20 to $99.50; www.pocketopera.org.

— Bay City News Foundation