The Vintage Computer Festival will take place in August 2026 at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, Calif. Pictured: attendees at a past festival.
From a cool collection of classic computers to one of the best rock guitarists in the biz, there are a lot of cool shows and concerts to catch this weekend. Here’s a partial rundown.
Log on to our cyber past
It’s hard to believe, but before that phone in your hand existed people used to tap on boxy, clunky machines called “computers.” Now the golden era of desktop computing will be feted at the Vintage Computer Festival, taking place over one weekend at Mountain View’s Computer History Museum.
Located inside a building previously occupied by Silicon Graphics, the museum will host a variety of activities and hands-on demos celebrating inventions like the Atari, Apple I and Commodore 64. Visitors will learn about retro computing from the 1960s to the ’90s by exploring a showcase of historical computers, some original and some lovingly hacked to suit our modern times.
The schedule is packed with seminars like “Making Games in the 1980s,” “How Sphere Hid a Minicomputer Inside Their Micro” and “The World’s First Search Engine Was at Bletchley Park During WWII.” On Saturday, there is a film screening about Adam Osborne, who was cool before Steve Jobs with his invention of the portable computer.
A ticket to the festival also buys admission to the museum. Current exhibits include rare prototypes of iconic Apple products, a chatbot-powered robot you can commune with and a self-driving car you can sit inside. Oh, and there’s also playable Pong.
Details: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Aug. 1-2 (with late events on Aug. 1); 1401 North Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View; $42 for general festival tickets, computerhistory.org
— John Metcalfe, Staff
Here’s a show to light your fire
There’s one summer concert that — more than any other on the absolutely jam-packed 2026 Bay Area live music calendar — we’ve been absolutely counting down the days to see. Now, finally, Robby Krieger’s show at the Mountain Winery is just right around the corner. So, we definitely plan to be at the beautiful Saratoga outdoor venue to watch The Doors legend on July 31.
Why are we so excited about seeing this first-tier Rock and Roll Hall of Famer? Well, for starters, Krieger be playing from one of the very greatest songbooks in rock ‘n’ roll history during the show, delighting fans with such Doors classics as “Riders on the Storm,” “Love Her Madly,” “Hello, I Love You,” “Waiting for the Sun,” “Touch Me,” “When the Music’s Over,” “LA. Woman,” “Peace Frog” and, of course, “Light My Fire.”
Krieger is also one of the finest guitarists on the planet — one who too often gets bypassed whenever the conversation turns to classic rock’s top gunslingers. Yet, the way he draws upon so many exciting ideas and different musical styles — from blues, flamenco, jazz, classical, pop and more — in his guitar work is utterly astounding.
And Krieger is working with a really great backing band these days, which usually includes the amazing Ed Roth — who is our pick for top rock keyboardist in all of L.A.
Details: Krieger, who rarely plays Northern California, performs 7:30 p.m.; tickets are $41; mountainwinery.com.
— Jim Harrington, Staff
Classical picks: St. Vincent and SFS; West Edge Opera
A great guitarist and risk-taking opera company are in our classical sights this week. Here’s a look.
Saintly at SFS: Summer continues to offer alluring events at the San Francisco Symphony. The attractions continue this weekend with singer-songwriter St. Vincent. The Grammy Award-winner, lauded for her unique and propulsive guitar style, comes to Davies Hall for a concert featuring some of her best-known works, including music from albums “Marry Me,” “Actor” and “All Born Screaming.” Jules Buckley conducts.
Details: 7:30 July 30; Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco; $98-up, sfsymphony.org.
West Edge’s new season: West Edge Opera’s Festival 2026 season is ready with another appealing lineup of three featured works and a commissioned opera still under development. Under General Director Mark Streshinsky and Music Director Jonathan Khuner, the company continues its emphasis on deep insight; the season begins with Benjamin Britten’s “The Turn of the Screw,” an opera Streshinsky directed for the company more than a decade ago and is helming once again, returning to it for three thrilling performances with Khuner conducting and Laura Bohn as the Governess (Aug. 1-15)
Next comes Handel’s “Rinaldo” (Aug. 2-15), with a production of the early music opera created by director Keturah Stickann and music director Emily Senturia, and starring Kyle Tingzon in the title role. The company’s modern work this year is Damien Geter’s “American Apollo,” (Aug. 2, 8, and 15), drawn from the life of American artist John Singer Sargent: Oakland Symphony music director/conductor Kedrick Armstrong conducts this intimate story about race, class, artistry and sexuality; Markel Reed sings the role of Thomas McKeller, and John Bellemer takes the role of Sargent; supporting artists include Marnie Breckenridge as Isabella Stewart Gardner; Nataki Garrett directs.
Details: Information on these and other productions can be found at westedgeopera.org.
— Georgia Rowe, Correspondent
New Parkway visits India
The New Parkway in Oakland lets the good times roar in August with a special slate of films showcasing India and its culture. A few highlights.
1991’s “Mississippi Masala” stars a very young Denzel Washington and Sarita Choudhury as an interracial couple weathering negative reactions to their relationships from within her family and the community. It was directed by Mira Nair, of “Monsoon Wedding” and “Salaam Bombay!” fame. It screens 6:30 p.m. Aug. 4.
If you got a chance to catch Berkeley Rep’s critically adored Broadway-bound musical version of Ritesh Batra’s acclaimed 2013 film “The Lunchbox,” count yourself lucky. Now you can catch the film version, a rich, beautiful drama wherein a lunchbox with a special note gets into the wrong hands. It screens at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 10 and is quite literally a feast for the senses.
No celebration would be complete without legendary director Satyajit Ray being in that lineup. Ray’s lauded “Mahnagar (The Big City)” time capsules what a woman encounters in 1950s Calcutta when she takes a job as a saleswoman and endures a lot of flak from family. It screens 6:30 p.m. Aug. 24.
Details: Tickets and more information are at www.thenewparkway.com
— Randy Myers, Correspondent
Celebrate Jerry Day
It was 84 years ago Saturday that Jerome John Garcia—who eventually became known to the world as Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia—was born in the Excelsior District of San Francisco. Though he was drawn to music at an early age, it was arguably a single incident in 1961 that propelled him to fame as one of rock’s most famous and beloved musicians. It was when the budding musician and singer and three friends were in a car crash that left one dead and the others seriously injured. Garcia, who broke his collarbone, reportedly later recalled, “That was the slingshot for the rest of my life. It was like a second chance. Then I got serious.” The freewheeling, improvisational nature of the Grateful Dead’s music and the party, drug-fueled atmosphere that drew listeners sometimes disguised how gifted the musicians were and how hard they worked at their craft.
Besides his technical abilities, Garcia was a master improviser, feeding off band members, especially Bob Weir, as the band developed its astonishing reputation of “never playing a song the same way twice.” On Saturday, Garcia’s music and life will be honored in San Francisco’s 24th annual Jerry Day from 11:30 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. at the Jerry Garcia Amphitheater in McLaren Park in San Francisco. Keyboardist Melvin Seals and the Jerry Garcia Band will perform with members of Jazz Mafia band, along with Stu Allen and Mars Hotel. They’re all talented musicians with a deep knowledge of Garcia and Grateful Dead’s musical legacy, so fans of the iconic musician, who died in 1995, should have a blast.
Details: Admission is free, though there are reserved seating options for sale. More information is at www.jerryday.org.
— Bay City News Foundation
Catch the Cabrillo Fest
The Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music in Santa Cruz, with the theme “We the Dreamers!” this year, its 64th season, includes world premieres, festival commissions and new works that “reflect the urgency and expansiveness of music today.” The opening concert at 8 p.m. July 31, “On Freedom!” features Cristian Măcelaru conducting the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra in Vivian Fung’s “America the Beautiful?” and Pedro Emanuel Pereira’s Clarinet Concerto featuring soloist Carlos Ferreira, both festival commissions, and the West Coast premiere of Philip Glass’ Symphony No. 15, “Lincoln,” featuring baritone Zachary James. A pre-concert picnic at 6:30 p.m. offers more performances, of Glass’ “Brass Sextet” and the world premiere of D. Riley Nicholson’s “Broken Anthem.” Tickets are $41-$96, youth tickets for under 35 are $26. Performances, there are six total continuing through Aug. 9, are in the Civic Auditorium, 307 Church St., Santa Cruz.
Details: More information is ay cabrillomusic.org.
— Bay City News Foundation
Wild and crazy music
The 23rd Outsound New Music Summit in Berkeley this weekend showcases local and national artists in world premieres and first-time collaborations, playing everything from “experimental pop to free improvisation to microtonal composition to experimental electronics to harsh noise.” There are four programs. At 8 p.m. Friday, “Fusion vs Fission” features jazz saxophonist, flutist, composer Sam Morrison and Farallon, a trio with bassist Keith Waters, keyboardist Ian McArdle and drummer Shawn Myers. The 2 p.m. Saturday “Avant Matinee” features Gino Robair’s Radical Divination, a structured improvisation for two papermakers and music ensemble of five players; Normalways, featuring Fred Frith, Sudhu Tewary and Jordan Glenn; Hook & Wire featuring Dana Jessen on bassoon Kyle Bruckmann on oboe, English horn and electronics, Danishta Rivera on vocals and electronics, Lisa Mezzacappa on bass and Jordan Glenn on percussion; and architectural woodworker and experimental musical instrument builder Sung Kim. Additional performances are “The Art of Rocks II” at 7:30 p.m. aUG. 1 and “Mountains of Sound” at 8 p.m. Aug. 2.
Details: Tickets range from $16 to $25 for individual performances. They take place in Finnish Hall, 1970 Chestnut St., Berkeley. Visit outsound.org.
— Bay City News Foundation