Music in the Park returns this Thursday with the L.A.-spawned cultural melting pot that is Ozomatli. That same night, Barbra Streisand, one of the last true lounge singer legends, looks back on her long and bedazzled career with a performance at SAP Center. Back in town for its 22nd year The Vans Warped Tour descends upon Shoreline Amphitheatre. And Ira Glass, creator of “This American Life” discusses the human condition in Saratoga.
Ozomatli
Thu, 5:30pm, $10-$15
Plaza de Cesar Chavez Park, San Jose
In the ancient Aztec language of Nahuatl, “ozomatli” translates to monkey. The sprightly simian is also the god of dance, fire and music on the Aztec calendar. It’s an appropriate name for a band that knows how to keep people moving with such an eclectic array of sounds. Formed in 1995, Ozomatli take inspiration from the music they grew up hearing on the streets of L.A.—classic Latin, jazz, reggae, rock and hip-hop. Interwoven in these sounds are upbeat lyrics exploring a variety of topics, from sociopolitical issues, like immigrant and workers’ rights, to colorful cultural reflections. (ST)
Barbra Streisand
Thu, 6:30pm, $190-$510
SAP Center, San Jose
One of the last of the lounge superstars, Barbra Streisand’s bedazzled career stretches across six spectacular decades. She found success in pretty much every project she embarked upon in film and music. As the winner of an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony, Babs belongs to an elite group of entertainers. And the EGOT is just the tip of the iceberg as far as her trophy locker goes. In 2014, her album Partners debuted at No.1, making her the only artist to have a top-charting album in each of the past six decades. (ST)
Kenny Chesney
Sat, 5pm, $21-$246
Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara
Go big or go home! Last year, during his “Big Revival Tour,” Kenny Chesney broke the 20-year-old attendance record set by Pink Floyd at Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium. On that same tour, he also sold-out, and set an attendance record, at the Target Field in Minneapolis. In fact, Chesney has made a habit of breaking attendance records at large stadiums over the course of his career. Word has it he even has one of the sexiest tractors in America. On Saturday, Chesney returns to the Levi’s Stadium with Miranda Lambert, Sam Hunt and Old Dominion for his “Spread The Love Tour.” (ST)
Young Soulja
Sat, 3pm, Free
Pacific Auto Parts, San Jose
Up and coming San Jose-based hip-hop artist Young Soulja The Realest is poised to break. His debut album, Well Connected, features an exclusive from R.Kelly and boasts more than a million downloads from Limelinx. He’s toured with big names like Big Sean, E-40, Paul Wall and French Montana. His recent album, For All It’s Worth, included the single “Shake It”—an ode to well-endowed women. The track put him on the radar of local hip-hop tastemaker DJ Chewy Gomez and received airplay on multiple radio stations. He performs at Day Of The Dirt Festival in San Jose. (ST)
Ira Glass
Sat, 5:30pm, $40-$70
The Mountain Winery, Saratoga
Ira Glass is a master storyteller with a keen understanding of the human condition. His radio show, This American Life, airs on more than 500 radio stations in the U.S., Australia and Canada, pulling in 2.2 million listeners weekly. Glass played an integral part in the rise of podcasting and a number of TAL contributors have gone on to launch successful programs—most notably Serial. The show’s popularity has extended to television and film. The cable network Showtime briefly produced a This American Life series, and comedian and TAL contributor Mike Birbiglia teamed with Glass on the dramady Sleepwalk With Me. (ST)
Warped Tour
Sat, 11am, $59-123
Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View
The Warped Tour debuted in 1995, making the travelling alternative music festival as old as its average attendee. And while punk acts have teeter-tottered in mainstream popularity in the intervening decades, the festival is still going strong with a mix of legacy acts and newer bands.
Warped Tour After Party
Sat, 7:30pm, Free
O’Malley’s Sports Pub, Mountain View
When a full day of punk and hardcore in the sun just isn’t enough, Pin Up Productions has got your back. Take in a lineup of heavy-hitting local and touring acts—and catch a break on those brutal Shoreline beer and cocktail prices—at O’Malley’s, just a short Lyft ride from the amphitheater. The bill includes SoCal metalcore outfit Caligula Dance Party, Carson City melodic metalcore act We Predict A Riot, San Francisco tech-metalheads Red Sky and San Jose-based throwback thrashers Sentry. (NV)
Messer Chups
Sun, 5pm, $15
The Ritz, San Jose
Most often associated with its origins in the California beach culture of the early ’60s—and that one Pulp Fiction scene—surf rock has since spread all over the world. Today, bands all over the world have picked up on Dick Dale’s fast-galloping picking pattern and distinctive “wet” guitar tone, which guitarists produce by cranking up the vibrato and reverb on their vintage amps. The Ritz celebrates the iconic sound with a lineup of surf rock bands from all over the globe, including The Messer Chups from Russia, The Phantom Four from Amsterdam and The Bradipos IV from Caserta, Italy. (ST)
A Jazzy Afternoon
Sun, 2pm, Free
Kepler’s Books, Menlo Park
The extraordinary life of jazz expert Dr. Herbert Wong will be celebrated along with the posthumous publication of his book, Jazz on My Mind: Liner Notes, Anecdotes and Conversations from the 1940s to 2000s. Internationally known for his jazz expertise, Wong started out as a DJ during WWII in the Armed Forces Radio Network. He went on to spin jazz at KJAZ for more than 35 years. Wong also founded the Berkeley Unified School District’s jazz program, Palo Alto Records and Blackhawk Records, where musicians including Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie and Elvin Jones recorded. Wong passed away in 2014. (ST)
Huey Lewis and the News
Sun, 7:30, $50-$100
Mountain Winery, Saratoga
San Francisco natives and ’80s rock sensations Huey Lewis and the News are returning to Mountain Winery after nearly four decades of success. The band has benefitted from prominent mentions and placement in several well-known films—some of which were clearly tongue-in-cheek. The uninitiated might recognize their contribution to the Back to the Future soundtrack—“The Power of Love”—or the theme song the band penned for Pineapple Express. And of course, there’s the grisly scene in American Psycho, in which protagonist Patrick Bateman kills his colleague with an axe while “Hip to Be Square” plays. (MH)
