Turn up the volume

Mosswood Meltdown

The annual punk rock show at Mosswood Park is one of the best music weekends the Bay Area offers without feeling like a big corporate festival experience.

Founded in 2009 as the Burger Boogaloo, the two-day event is regularly emceed by filmmaker John Waters. Past headliners include Iggy Pop, Devo and Bikini

Kill. This year’s Mosswood Meltdown, set for July 1-2, is to include feminist electro-pop act Le Tigre at the top of the bill, along with local electro-clash band Gravy Train and the final shows by queer lo-fi punk band Twompsax.

On top of the great music and a chance to see Waters play host, the festival also offers some of the best punk fashion and people watching.

July 1-2. $89-$159. Mosswood Park, 3612 Webster St. https:// mosswoodmeltdown.com

— Tony Bravo

Tower of Power

For more than five decades, Tower of Power has served as Oakland’s enduring emissary of funk. Emerging amid the swirling sounds of psychedelic rock acts like Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead, the band inked a deal with promoter Bill Graham’s esteemed San Francisco Records label, unleashing its seminal debut, “East Bay Grease,” in 1970.

With its horn-infused, eradefining hits such as “Down to the Nightclub” and “What Is Hip?” Tower of Power quickly forged its path in the R&B landscape, commanding stages across the Bay Area. In its heyday, the group’s horn section was one of the most sought-after on the West Coast, sharing the spotlight with music luminaries such as Elton John, Bonnie Raitt and Huey Lewis and the News. In doing so, Tower of Power set a new standard for brass-heavy ensembles like Chicago and Earth, Wind & Fire.

Through triumph and tragedy, the band has persevered, earning an official Tower of Power Day from city officials in 2018. Tower of Power remains a vital force in music, continuing to tour and inspire generations with its electrifying performances and signature sound.

Catch the band during a Bay Area stop at the Mountain Winery in Saratoga next month for the fifth annual “In Concert with

Hope,” Hope Services’ largest fundraiser that benefits programs and services for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities and mental health needs.

For more tour details, including for their local stop, go to https://towerofpower.com.

— Aidin Vaziri

Too Short

The rapper, whose real name is Todd Anthony Shaw, built his reputation on raunchy, sinister rhymes and a string of platinum and gold albums in the 1980s and ’90s, featuring classics such as “Blow the Whistle” and “Don’t Fight the Feeling.” He has also made Oakland an integral part of his work, such as on the 1987 track “Freaky Tales,” in which he name-checked the discontinued bus line that he would ride to Fremont High School on Foothill Boulevard — a stretch that was renamed by the City Council in 2022 to honor his work.

Too Short has charted Billboard albums in each of the past five decades, most recently with “Ain’t Gone Do It/Terms & Conditions,” a collaboration with longtime friend and fellow Bay Area rapper E-40.

Too Short still makes several Bay Area appearances throughout the year, including his Stern Grove Festival debut last season. Stay tuned for more local performances at https:// tooshortstore.com.

The Oakland Symphony

During his 30 years as the orchestra’s music director, the late conductor Michael Morgan offered a glorious demonstration of how to turn a musical organization into a civic landmark. Sure, there were concerts, and they were often excellent. But the importance of the institution extended well beyond the musical offerings on any given evening, because Morgan ensured that the Symphony was a hub around which a whole constellation of cultural organizations rotated.

Even now, as it searches for a successor, the orchestra’s position remains strong, with programming that is notable for its venturesome spirit. Two seasons’ worth of exciting young conductors are making their way through the Paramount Theatre, each one vying to take Morgan’s legacy in a broad new direction.

For details, visit www. oaklandsymphony.org.

West Edge Opera

This innovative and always fascinating company isn’t exactly an Oakland specialty — it evolved out of the former Berkeley Opera and spent many nomadic years presenting its works in a variety of far-flung locations around the East Bay. But now that it has seemingly settled for good into a home at the Scottish Rite Center on Lake Merritt, there’s no reason not to count it among the city’s cultural destinations.

Under the wise and resourceful leadership of General Director Mark Streshinsky and Music Director Jonathan Khuner, the company has created a long track record of excellence across a wide range of repertoire, including Baroque operas, contemporary work, and off-thebeaten-path selections from the 19th and 20th centuries.

The offerings come only in the summer, during a brief and intense festival of three operas staged around the beginning of August, but it’s always worth the wait.

For more information, visit www.westedgeopera.org.