From a legendary Mexican band to an Oakland Symphony world premiere and the return of the Antiquarian Book Fair, there is a lot of cool shows and events to catch this weekend and beyond.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s a partial rundown.<\/p>\n
Los Tigres head Norte to Bay Area<\/p>\n
Los Tigres del Norte are ready to greet their loyal Bay Area fans.<\/p>\n
The famed Mexican norte\u00f1o act \u2014 which kickstarted its career in San Jose way back in the mid-1960s \u2014 brings its La Loter\u00eda Tour to San Francisco on Feb. 20.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s your chance to see one of the most important Bay Area bands of all time, one that has attracted fans around the globe with its brand of thoughtful corridos that speak to the Latinx and immigrant experience.<\/p>\n
Los Tigres del Norte \u2014 which still features Jorge Hern\u00e1ndez on lead vocals \u2014 has amassed some truly incredible stats over the decades. Notably, the band has sold more than 30 million albums during its nearly 60-year recording career. It has also won seven Grammys and a dozen Latin Grammys.<\/p>\n
The group\u2019s best-known songs include \u201cLa Jaula de Oro,\u201d \u201cLa Puerta Negra,\u201d \u201cLa Reina del Sur\u201d and \u2014 the number that launched Los Tigres del Norte to superstardom \u2014 \u201cContrabando y Traici\u00f3n.\u201d\u00a0After all these years, Los Tigres del Norte continues to live up to its nickname as \u201cJefe de Jefes\u201d (\u201cBoss of Bosses\u201d).<\/p>\n
Details: 8 p.m. Feb. 20; the Chase Center, San Francisco; tickets start at $85; ticketmaster.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2014 Jim Harrington, Staff<\/p>\n Classical picks: Oakland Symphony, West Edge, Beethoven<\/p>\n This week\u2019s classical music events include the new, the cherished, and a peek at what\u2019s still to come; here are three events music lovers won\u2019t want to miss.<\/p>\n \u201cTo These Shores\u201d:\u00a0That\u2019s the name of this week\u2019s Oakland Symphony program, which presents a world premiere commission titled \u201cAmerica, To Us\u201d by composer Daniel Bernard Roumain. Music Director Kedrick Armstrong conducts, Zach-Salsburg Frank leads the Oakland Symphony Chorus, and Tracy Silverman is the violin soloist. The program also includes Mahler\u2019s Symphony No. 10, \u201cAdagio,\u201d and new and recent works by composers Chen Yi and Reena Esmail.<\/p>\n Details: 8 p.m. Feb. 20; Paramount Theatre, Oakland; $25-$92; oaklandsymphony.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cCase Closed\u201d:\u00a0With this peek at a work in progress, West Edge Opera lets the audience see what\u2019s coming; as part of the company\u2019s latest Snapshot 2026 program, it\u2019s offering two looks at \u201cCase Closed,\u201d a new opera still in the works by composer Martin Rokeach and librettist Steve Blum.<\/p>\n Details: 3 p.m. Feb. 28 at First Congregational Church, Berkeley, and 3 p.m. March 1 at the Taube Atrium Theater, San Francisco; $42.50 online, $40 at the door; westedgeopera.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n All Beethoven:\u00a0This week at the San Francisco Symphony, guest conductor Jaap van Zweden returns to Davies Symphony Hall with an all-Beethoven program that includes the composer\u2019s beloved symphonies No. 2 and No. 7.<\/p>\n Details: 7:30 p.m. Feb. 20-21; Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco; $55-$149; sfsymphony.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2014 Georgia Rowe, Correspondent<\/p>\n Famed Book Fair is back<\/p>\n After wildfires canceled its 2025 event in Pasadena, the California International Antiquarian Book Fair is back this year in San Francisco.<\/p>\n One of the world\u2019s largest exhibitions of olden literature is gathering more than a hundred booksellers from across the globe to share their choicest wares \u2014 rare tomes, illustrations, maps, historical documents and random ephemera guaranteed to level-up your bookshelf and walls.<\/p>\n The fair features several manuscripts from local star Jack London, including the original signed draft of his 1905 novel \u201cThe Game\u201d and a proof copy of \u201cThe People of the Abyss,\u201d his first-hand reporting on London\u2019s impoverished.<\/p>\n There will also be memorabilia from the Black Panther Party, the Oakland-born revolutionary group. Expect items like a 1971 newspaper announcing the dismissal of murder and criminal-conspiracy charges against party members Bobby Seale and Ericka Huggins \u2014 the latter who is actually planning on attending the fair.<\/p>\n Organizers say revolution will be a theme. \u201cOn the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence,\u201d they write, \u201cthe 2026 fair will explore the theme \u2018Revolutionary Moments in America,\u2019 examining not only the American Revolution of 1776, but the many scientific, artistic, industrial, political and cultural revolutions that have shaped the nation.\u201d<\/p>\n Details: Fair runs 4-8 p.m. Feb. 27, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Feb. 28 and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. March 1 at \u2014 John Metcalfe, Staff<\/p>\n Theater picks: \u2018Lehman Trilogy,\u2019 \u2018Notebook,\u2019 \u2018M. Butterfly\u2019<\/p>\n Here are three shows Bay Area theater fans should know about.<\/p>\n \u201cLehman Trilogy\u201d: What can you say about a play that follows the 158-year history of a financial lending firm and got shut down just a couple of months after its Broadway debut by the COVID pandemic? It clearly has something going for it; the show by Stefano Massini rebounded to become a Broadway hit and winner of five Tony Awards, including best play. Now the superbly stylized story about the rise and fall of an immigrant family and Wall Street powerhouse is playing at San Jose Stage, directed by Kenneth Kelleher, through March 1.<\/p>\n Details: Tickets are $38-$84; www.thestage.org<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThe Notebook\u201d: Nicholas Sparks is one of those authors whose name alone will inspire sighs or winces, depending how you feel about his vastly popular romance novels, all of which have been adapted for the big screen. And arguably his most popular work, \u201cThe Notebook,\u201d was also turned into a musical that debuted on Broadway in 2024 and is now playing\u00a0 at the Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco through March 1.<\/p>\n Details: $62.01-$262.25; ATGTickets.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cM. Butterfly\u201d: David Henry Hwang\u2019s Tony Award-winning 1988 play recycles Puccini\u2019s opera \u201cMadama Butterfly\u201d through the lens of a real-life, 20-year affair between a French diplomat and a Beijing opera singer. The captivating story makes \u201cM. Butterfly\u201d a popular and frequently produced stage show, and it\u2019s being presented now by San Francisco Playhouse.<\/p>\n Details: Through March 14; San Francisco Playhouse; $35-$135; sfplayhouse.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2014 Randy McMullen, Staff<\/p>\n Here\u2019s your freebie of the week<\/p>\n This week marks the arrival of Tet Nguyen Dan, better known as Tet, the Vietnamese New Year. It\u2019s considered the most important holiday in Vietnamese culture, and is celebrated in a variety of events and functions around the Bay Area, often falling in the same general timeframe as other cultures\u2019 Lunar New Year events. One of the biggest and best-known Tet celebrations in the Bay Area takes place Feb. 20-22 in San Jose\u2019s Eastridge Center. Presented by UStar Productions, the large and festive annual celebration serves up an eye-popping array of entertainment and activities, including lucky money and gift exchanges, lion dancing, a student singing contest, a Miss Vietnam California pageant, a fashion show, performances by K-pop dance groups with their otherworldly choreography, carnival rides, 3-D theme parks for photo ops, and much more. There will also be a wide variety of food and drink on hand.<\/p>\n Details: 3 to 10 p.m. Feb. 20 and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Feb. 21-22; Eastridge Center, San Jose; free admission; more information at facebook.com\/UStarProductions<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Bay City News Foundation<\/p>\n There are strings attached<\/p>\n In a world full of strife, violence, suffering and natural and human-born calamities, we feel better just knowing that there\u2019s a show out there titled \u201cThe Sex Lives of Puppets.\u201d And it doesn\u2019t change our minds a bit knowing that neither the title nor this show, which runs through Feb. 21 at Stanford University, is being played strictly for laughs. Like sex itself, the stage show created and performed by London-based troupe Blind Summit is about a lot of things. And, as organizers put it, \u201cSex Lives of Puppets\u201d ranges from funny to insightful to poignant. After all, it gets pretty complicated when you are in an amorous way yet your immediate future is literally in someone else\u2019s hands. The show also offers an intriguing look at how puppetry is used to showcase and explore such emotions as angst, desire, fear, joy and more. As for the storyline, it is inspired by the U.K.\u2019s National Survey of Sexual Attitude and Lifestyles, which sounds about as sexy as a Three Stooges marathon. But you can\u2019t fault Blind Summit for its overall goal \u2013 to deliver an entertaining show that creates a safe forum for a look at sex and all its fantastic and frightening manifestations.<\/p>\n Details: Performances are 7 p.m. Feb. 19 and 20, and 2 and 7 p.m. Feb. 21; Stanford University\u2019s The Studio venue; $75.60, with student and Stanford employee discounts available; live.stanford.edu.<\/p>\n \u2014 Bay City News Foundation<\/p>\n The Abraham effect<\/p>\n It\u2019s almost surprising to learn that choreographer Kyle Abraham and his company, A.I.M., will be making their first Cal Performances appearance this weekend. It seems, after all, that the revered dancemaker and the UC Berkeley-based arts presenter are made for each other. Cal Performances is often drawn to performers with big ideas, and Abraham is nothing if not full of big ideas. Abraham and A.I.M. will be in Berkeley to perform a trio of works backed by a seven-piece band that includes two vocalists. A piece titled \u201c2X4,\u201d set to what\u2019s described as an experimental classical score by Shelley Washington, invokes a conversational, at times confrontational, scenario. \u201cThe Gettin\u2019\u201d is set to a score by Robert Glasper, who in turn was inspired by \u201cWe Insist! Freedom Now Suit\u201d by the pioneering bebop pioneer Max Roach. And \u201cIf We Were a Love Song\u201d is a collection of dance vignettes set to what are said to be Nina Simone\u2019s most passionate songs. In all, it seems like a promising night of dance, worthy of Abraham\u2019s first visit to Cal Performances.<\/p>\n
Pier 27, The Embarcadero, San Francisco; $10-$25; abaa.org\/events<\/a><\/p>\n