Lamar brings hip-hop fest to Bay Area
It’s finally Kendrick Lamar time.
Fans have spent the last few months counting down the days until the hip-hop great returned to the Bay Area.
And, now, it’s well within sight — as Lamar and friends bring Top Dawg Entertainment’s The Championship Tour to Oracle Arena in Oakland on Tuesday.
He’s joined by a great supporting cast, highlighted by red-hot R&B singer SZA and talented rapper Schoolboy Q. Other acts on the bill include Jay Rock, Ab-Soul, Isaiah Rashad, SiR, Lance Skiiiwalker and Zacari.
Of course, much has changed since Lamar last visited the Bay Area. Most notably, he made headlines around the globe last month when he won the Pulitzer Prize for music with his acclaimed “DAMN.” album. It was the first time something other than a classical or jazz recording has won the award.
And let’s not forget all the success he’s had with the “Black Panther” soundtrack, which has taken his already substantial popularity to an even greater level.
We just can’t wait to see how he’ll incorporate the “Black Panther” material to his set in Oakland.
Details: 7:30 p.m.; $49.50-$149.50; www.ticketmaster.com.
Seeing ‘Red’
Walnut Creek’s Diablo Ballet concludes its 24th season with a weekend program highlighted by the world premiere of company resident choreographer Robert Dekkers’ work “Red Shoes.” The dance is drawn from the Hans Christian Andersen fable about a spoiled girl doomed to wear a constantly dancing pair of bright red shoes for the rest of her life.
The work features a score by famed composer Philip Glass and costumes (including red shoes, of course) designed by Oakland native Cassidy Haley, a Los Angeles musician and designer who has created outfits for Pink and Fergie.
The program also includes segments from Val Caniparoli’s work “Stolen Moments” and “Four Norwegian Moods,” by the late Lew Christensen, onetime artistic director of San Francisco Ballet.
Details: 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; Del Valle Theatre, Walnut Creek; $25-$47; 925-943-7469, www.diabloballet.org.
— Randy McMullen, Staff
Breathtaking’ Blažíková
Boasting a gorgeous, alluring voice, Czech soprano Hana Blažíková is considered a specialist in medieval, Renaissance and Baroque music. In three rare Bay Area appearances this week presented by the San Francisco Early Music Society, she’ll give performances with cornettist Bruce Dickey and a quartet led by lutenist Stephen Stubbs.
The program, “Breathtaking: A Cornetto and a Voice Entwined,” includes 17th-century works by Scarlatti, Bassani, Marini and others.
Details: 8 p.m. Friday at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, San Francisco; 7:30 p.m. Saturday at St. Mary Magdalen Church, Berkeley; 2:30 p.m. Sunday at Bing Hall, Stanford; $15-$50; www.sfems.org; Bing Hall tickets at http://live.stanford.edu.
— Georgia Rowe, Correspondent
A Civil War ‘Odyssey’
Homer’s ancient Greek epic, “The Odyssey,” has provided an inexhaustible wellspring of inspiration to countless generations of artists.
Last year Marcus Gardley’s “black odyssey” proved such a hit at California Shakespeare Theater that it’s coming back this fall. And now American Conservatory Theater brings us “Father Comes Home from the Wars (Parts 1, 2 and 3)” by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks (“Topdog/Underdog”).
Not so much an “Odyssey” adaptation as a riff on some of its themes (sometimes involving a Greek chorus), Parks’ poetic play takes place during the American Civil War. A 2015 Pulitzer finalist, the story is told in three chapters that function as a trilogy, conceived as the beginning of an intergenerational nine-part cycle, in which an enslaved man named Hero is offered his freedom if he accompanies his enslaver to war to fight for the Confederacy.
Directed by Liz Diamond, the co-production with Yale Repertory Theatre features local favorites such as Rotimi Agbabiaka, Safiya Fredericks, Dan Hiatt and former ACT core company members Steven Anthony Jones and Gregory Wallace.
Details: Through May 20; ACT’s Geary Theater, San Francisco; $15-$110; 415-749-2228, www.act-sf.org.
— Sam Hurwitt, Correspondent
Meet the artists in their milieu
During the 32nd annual Silicon Valley Open Studios, hundreds of artists will throw open the doors of their working spaces and sell art directly to the public; from paintings and prints to pottery and jewelry. The event takes place over three weekends, Saturday and Sunday, May 12-13 and May 19-20.
More than 375 artists — a combination of established and emerging artists — will display their work in 160 locations. “Many museum and gallery curators come to SVOS, looking for new talent,” Mel Thomsen, executive director, said.
The event is arranged geographically: This Saturday and Sunday will feature artists of the Upper Peninsula; May 12-13, artists from the middle Peninsula (south to Sunnyvale and Santa Clara); and May 19-20, artists of the South Bay and coastal areas.
Details: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day; free admission; check the artist list at www.svos.org for names, genres and addresses.
— Linda Zavoral, Staff
Documentaries fest returns
Once again, The California Film Institute spotlights a bevy of illuminating documentaries from the Bay Area and beyond as part of its prestigious DocLands festival.
You’ll find the “Pick of the Litter” (a documentary that tags along with five guide dogs) in nonfiction films.
That’s certainly true of both the opening feature, “Anote’s Ark,” and the closing night selection, “16 Bars.”
“Anote’s Ark” touches on the topical issue of climate change, focusing on the ordeal confronting the residents of Kiribati, which includes 33 atolls in the Pacific Ocean. In his feature debut, Matthieu Rytz puts a human face on the issue as we meet residents coping with a man-made disaster that is uprooting them and destroying their communities and history.
“16 Bars” ends the festival on an inspiring note, chronicling how Todd “Speech” Thomas of the hip-hop group Arrested Development spearheaded an innovative program that encourages prisoners in Virginia to record songs they write. Filmmaker Sam Bathrick brings to life the experiences of four inmates.
Other films not to miss are: “Shiners” (about shoeshiners); “Into Two Galaxies” (about two kayakers and a polar expert embarking on an adventurous run in Greenland); “McQueen” (about the late fashion designer Alexander McQueen); and “A River’s Last Chance” (about environmental problems that are hobbling the Eel River).
There are plenty of other selections worth seeing, along with Q&As with the filmmakers and appearances of some of the key players in the films.
Details: Today through Sunday at various theaters in Mill Valley and San Rafael; most screenings $15; schedule, tickets and more information at www. doclands.com.
What a week for concerts
This is one of the biggest weeks of the year for the Bay Area music scene. There are just so many highly anticipated concerts going in the San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose areas. Here are some of the top picks:
Khalid: The 20-year-old crooner is one of the most promising talents in popular music, and he’s already accomplished so much at such a young age. Notably, his debut — “American Teen” — was the best R&B/soul album of 2017. Plus, the single “Young, Dumb & Broke” is a jam for the ages. Those are some of the reasons to see the Georgia native during his two-night stand, Saturday and Sunday, at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco. Details: 8 p.m.; $49.95; www.ticketmaster. com.
U2: Bono and his merry men return in support of their highly regarded new album, “Songs of Experience,” and perform May Monday and Tuesday at the SAP Center in San Jose. It’s the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame act’s second time in the Bay Area in roughly a year’s time. The group also celebrated the 30th anniversary of “The Joshua Tree” album in May 2017 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. Details: 8 p.m.; $41-$325; www.ticketmaster.com.
Daryl Hall & John Oates and Train: It’s a doubleheader of a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame duo and one of today’s top pop-rock bands. Trust that you’ll have plenty of opportunities to sing along, as both acts roll out one fan favorite after another on Friday at the SAP Center in San Jose. Details: 7 p.m.; $49.50-$129.50, www.ticketmaster.com. (Also: Aug. 7 at Oracle Arena in Oakland.)
Eric B. & Rakim: The legendary hip-hop duo, best known for 1987’s platinum-selling “Paid in Full,” performs two shows in one night, Thursday, at the Fillmore in San Francisco. Details: 8 and 11 p.m.; $45; www. livenation.com.
— Jim Harrington, Staff
3 brilliant pianists light up the Bay
With three phenomenal keyboard stars appearing in concert this weekend, there’s a wide range of repertoire in the offing. The only challenge for piano aficionados is choosing one, or figuring out how to get to all three.
Leif Ove Andsnes: The great Norwegian pianist appears in a Berkeley recital featuring Beethoven’s “Tempest” Sonata, Carl Nielsen’s Chaconne and selected works by Schubert and Sibelius. Jōrg Widmann’s tribute to Schubert, “Idyll and Abyss,” completes the program. Details: 8 p.m. Friday; First Congregational Church, Berkeley; $34-$96; 510-642-9988, calperformances.org.
Yuja Wang: Wang, who brings a thrilling blend of technical dazzle and interpretive fire to everything she plays, returns to the San Francisco Symphony as part of the Great Performers series. She’ll play Prokofiev’s Piano Sonata No. 8 in B-flat Major, along with works by Chopin, Ligeti and Scriabin. Details: 7:30 p.m. Sunday; Davies Hall, San Francisco; $30-$210; 415-864-6000, www.sfsymphony.org.
Yeol Eum Son: A silver medalist at Tchaikovsky and Van Cliburn competitions, the South Korean pianist makes her San Francisco recital debut with a program spanning Mozart to Arvo Pärt. She’ll reprise the performance the following day for the Steinway Society. Details: 8 p.m. Friday at Herbst Theatre, San Francisco; $30-$48; 415-392-4400, www.chambermusicsf.org; 2:30 p.m. Sunday at Trianon Theatre, San Jose; $40-$60; 408-990-0872, www. steinwaysociety.com.
— Georgia Rowe, Correspondent
Behold the ‘Creation’
Franz Joseph Haydn created “The Creation” in 1796, drawing on texts from Genesis, the Psalms and Milton’s “Paradise Lost” to create an epic oratorio that depicts nothing less than the seven days God spent making the world.
From chaos to completion — with stormy seas, warbling birds, heavy beasts and appearances by Adam and Eve along the way — the composer transforms the greatest origin story ever told into a vibrant work for orchestra, chorus and vocal soloists.
Under conductor John Nelson, Symphony Silicon Valley and the Symphony Silicon Valley Chorale give it two performances this weekend. The soloists are soprano Abigail Santos-Villalobos, tenor Timothy Bentch and bass Adam Lau.
Details: 8 p.m. Saturday, 2:30 p.m. Sunday; California Theatre, San Jose; $45-$90, with discounts for students and seniors; 408-286-2600, www.symphonysiliconvalley.org.
— Georgia Rowe, Correspondent