Music in San Francisco doesn’t know the meaning of a January slump, and it’s been a great month in the city for announcements, shows, and releases.
For announcements, BottleRock Napa Valley, everyone’s favorite blend of high-end wine and serious rock’n’roll, released their lineup this week, with headliners including Bruno Mars, The Killers, Muse, and Snoop Dogg; just perfect to let the subtle flavors sink into the palate. Manic Scots old-timer Rod Stewart announced his plans for a North American summer tour, including a stop in the Bay Area at the Shoreline Amphitheater in August, while on the other end of the history of pop, Norwegian singer and songwriter Sigrid announced that she’s set to perform in a few cities across the U.S. as part of a small tour in April, which includes a performance at The Independent, and English rock band The Hunna announcing they’ll be playing Slim’s in San Francisco on March 30th in support of their latest single “Flickin’ Your Hair,” and their new album DARE.
After the flurry of New Year’s shows and hangovers, January had some seriously heavyweight shows; from fingerstyle guitar genius Tommy Emmanuel at the Great American Music Hall, and a performance of Leonard Bernstein’s ‘Candide,’ which was conducted by Michael Tilson at the Davies Symphony Hall, while towards the end of the month, fans of hip-hop and R&B music were treated to a fabulous performance by the Toronto duo DVSN at the Warfield. Other highlights included the surely-unpronounceable STRFCKR at the Warfield, and, 2 weeks ago, the Mynabirds at the Cafe du Nord.
January saw the release of Wrong Creatures, the latest album from San Francisco’s garage rock survivors Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, as well as flashbacks from early-oughts British R&B singer Craig David (The Time is Now) – who played Slim’s on January 19th as part of the promotion for the new record – mid-oughts emo-pop from Fall Out Boy (Mania), and age-beating pan-generational rock from They Might Be Giants (I Like Fun). Other highlights included Academy-Award winning Irish songwriter Glen Hansard (of The Swell Season), who released Between Two Shores on January 19th, and The Shins, whose flip-reversed take on last year’s Heartworms (with the quiet songs played loud, the loud songs played quiet, the fast songs played slow, you get the idea), entitled The Worm’s Heart, was released on the same day.
Looking forward, Noise Pop 2018 is on the horizon in February; with over 100 performers set to take to the stage in over 25 venues across the Golden City, it’s going to be a massive, pan-city explosion of sound. Noise Pop runs from February 19th – 26th this year, with mainstream shows, a satellite festival, and free shows as well; the lineup is released in phases and we’ve already got the first 2 phases of acts, with major artists still to come: highlights (are almost impossible to choose in such a broad lineup but) include Ty Dolla $ign, Shabazz Palaces, Sean Rowe, Dengue Fever and Inara George. The year’s warming up!
