From the Country Summer Music Fest in Sonoma to S.F. Symphony playing a David Bowie album to a new exhibit at the Museum of the Eye, there is a lot to see and do in the Bay Area this weekend and beyond.
Here is a partial rundown.
Top country acts head to Sonoma
The Country Summer Music Festival is calling.
And thousands of fans from all around Northern California — and well beyond — will heed that call for the chance to see yet another jam-packed lineup of country music talent on display at the Sonoma County Event Center at the Fairgrounds in Santa Rosa.
The three-day Country Summer Music Festival kicks off June 27 with a bill topped by Sam Hunt, the Georgia crooner known for such blockbuster singles as “Leave the Night On,” “Make You Miss Me,” “Take Your Time” and, of course, “Body Like a Back Road.” Garry Barrett, Lanco, Lily Rose, Clay Street Unit and Dry Creek Station are also on the Day 1 bill.
Kane Brown, the country star known for such smashes as “What Ifs,” “Famous Friends,” “Heaven,” “Lose It” and “Thank God,” headlines a Day 2 bill that also includes Mitchell Tenpenny, Eli Young Band, Canaan Smith, MacKenzie Carpenter, Jerrod Niemann, Adrien Nunez, Lauren Watkins, Clayton Mullen and Township.
Dustin Lynch gets the top spot on Day 3, giving fans the chance to hear such favorites as “Small Town Boy,” “Thinking ‘Bout You,” “Cowboys and Angels” and “Where It’s At.” The closing day lineup also includes Ian Munsick, Hailey Whitters, Elvie Shane, Travis Denning, Avery Anna, Annie Bosko and the Kruse Brothers.
Details: Festival passes start at $225; single-day tickets start at $100; countrysummer.com.
— Jim Harrington, Staff
The eyes have it in new exhibit
Did you know the oldest surviving medical text in Japan to mention eye disease hails from the 10th century and is called the Ishinpo? And that this treatise describes an early form of cataract surgery that involves dislodging the lens of the eye with an oversized needle, all without anesthesia?
Now you do, thanks to a special exhibit running until spring 2026 at San Francisco’s Truhlsen-Marmor Museum of the Eye, titled “West Meets East: Eye Medicine in the Asia-Pacific.” This unique show is at times cringe-inducing for those who don’t like sharp objects around their peepers, but it’s also highly informative when it comes to chronicling how ophthalmology developed in Asia, covering a stretch beginning in ancient society to beyond the period of Western colonization.
Visitors can check out artifacts from China, Japan, Sri Lanka and the Philippines, and learn about literally eye-opening treatments and surgeries informed by religious texts and a whole lot of experimentation. The exhibit is located in the Museum of the Eye, in San Francisco’s see-worthy Fisherman’s Wharf neighborhood.
Details: Summer hours are 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday; Museum of the Eye, 645 Beach St., San Francisco (on the ground floor of the American Academy of Ophthalmology); free admission; www.aao.org/museum.
— John Metcalfe, Staff
Classical picks: S.F. Opera Pride celebration, Merola, Bowie’s ‘Blackstar’
San Francisco Opera’s Pride Concert, masterworks at the Merola Opera season and a David Bowie celebration top this week’s classical music calendar.
Singing with “Pride”: Previous offerings at San Francisco Opera, including full productions of “La Boheme” and Mozart’s “Idomeneo,” have already made this a thrilling summer season; now the company unveils its final summer gem with a celebratory Pride Concert. There’s a lot to celebrate here; coinciding with the city’s annual Pride Weekend, this can’t-miss festive event includes live performances, tributes, and appearances by vocal soloists Jamie Barton (scheduled to return in Jake Heggie’s monumental “Dead Man Walking” in September), Brian Mulligan and Nikola Printz. Audiences are invited to come early for a pre-show Happy Hour, and stay for a post-show dance party.
Details: 6:30-10:30 p.m. June 27; War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco; $10-$225; sfopera.com.
Merola sings for summer: San Francisco’s Merola Opera program opens its 2025 Summer Festival with “A Grand Night for Singing: An American Songfest.” The concert featuring rising stars of this year’s esteemed training program, and curated by Ronny Michael Greenberg, features a wide range of songs representing 250 years of music from the American songbook. The Merola season runs up to the finale on Aug. 16.
Details: 7:30 p.m. June 26; San Francisco Conservatory of Music; $18-$68; Merola.org.
Bowie fans unite: San Francisco Symphony is presenting a rare concert experience featuring the score from David Bowie’s final album, “Blackstar.” Reimagined for a 65-piece orchestra, and performed with the original Blackstar band, the event is produced by artistic director Donny McCaslin and conducted by Vince Mendoza.
Details: 7:30 p.m. June 26-27; Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco; $99-$325; www.sfsymphony.org.
— Georgia Rowe, Correspondent
A Dive into superior pop/rock
Lake Street Dive was founded in 2004 by a group of young musicians at the New England Conservatory of Music, with the idea of performing a rousing form of heavily improvised, avant-garde country music. That original sound, as former member Mike Olson once quipped, was abandoned in favor of something that “actually sounded good.”
The switch apparently worked. After funding its first album by winning a songwriting contest with a tune titled “Sometimes When I’m Drunk and You’re Wearing My Favorite Shirt,” Lake Street Dive has evolved into a talented band that embraces pop, soul, jazz, folk and more. The band is also known for its killer, free-wheeling live shows and for having fostered an almost legendary connection with its fans.
With a catalogue of eight studio albums and one live LP — the band’s latest release is 2024’s “Good Together” on the Fantasy Records label — Lake Street Dive has embarked on a summer tour that lands at the Frost Amphitheatre in Stanford on June 29. The band says its current set list covers all of its releases, and is bound to include a few surprises. Which, with this group, could mean almost anything at all.
Details: Music starts at 7 p.m.; general admission seating; $60; live.stanford.edu.
— Randy McMullen, Staff
Freebie of the week
Opera San Jose, as it does annually, is bestowing largesse on its fans with an Opera in the Park day, which takes place this Saturday from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the San Jose Municipal Rose Garden (21649 Naglee Ave). Gathering on the open-air stage (for a performance that actually gets underway at 6 p.m. after check-in) for a series of arias, ensembles and selections of popular music will be longtime Bay Area favorite, baritone Eugene Brancoveanu; tenor Nicolas Vasquez-Gerst; mezzo-soprano Courtney Miller; and soprano Mary Evelyn Hangley. Their piano accompaniment will be provided by Veronika Agranov-Dafoe. Attendees are encouraged to bring picnic blankets or low-backed chairs to enjoy the entertainment and a repast of their choosing (sorry, no alcohol allowed in the park), and — bonus! — those who register in advance will receive a wristband upon check-in to redeem a complimentary shaved ice. Claim your frozen sweet treat at operasanjose.org.
— Bay City News Foundation
An animated comedian
Two distinct elements help distinguish the unique comedy of Maria Bamford. One is an extraordinarily versatile voice that, among other things, has enabled her to portray a wide variety of characters on sitcoms as well as on animated shows ranging from “CatDog” to “American Dad!” to “BoJack Horseman.” The other is Bamford’s long-running experience with mental health issues, which, along with descriptions of her dysfunctional family, form the foundation of much of her standup comedy. Armed with a voice that creates a number of characters and family members, Bamford’s comedy takes a self-deprecating, if occasionally surreal , look at her life, and her struggles with anxiety and bi-polar and obsessive-compulsive disorders. It’s an issue that’s been part of her professional life since she moved to Los Angeles to find work and experienced a series of nervous breakdowns. Yet she has released several comedy albums, including “Unwanted Thoughts Syndrome,” as well as a memoir, “Sure, I’ll Join Your Cult.” The 2016 Netflix comedy “Lady Dynamite,” in which she starred, is based on her life. You can witness Bamford’s unusual comedy style and hear about her eventful life when she brings her standup tour to Livermore’s Bankhead Theater on June 27.
Details: 8 p.m.; $25-$70; livermorearts.org
— Bay City News Foundation
Drag stars enliven Pride events
As the Trump administration continues to seek ways to punish and persecute the LGBTQ+ community, the Bay Area is busy celebrating pride month. That continues this week with two events featuring some of the Bay Area’s wealth of talented drag performers.
On Thursday night, San Francisco’s Fridays on Front Street block party series (taking place between California and Sacramento streets, on the city’s newly designated entertainment zone) honors Pride month with a “Drag Me to Front Street” theme and appearances/performances by such well-known drag artists as Bobby Friday, Peaches Christ, Major Hammy and more. The event will also include lots of food and drinks (and in accordance with entertainment zone standards, means that cocktails can be consumed outside). The event is free and runs 5 to 7 p.m.; more information is at downtownsf.org.
Meanwhile, the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival on Saturday serves up more Pride-related entertainment, with two hours of drag, circus and musical entertainment from such artists as Rahni NothingMore (the MC), Tyson Check-In, Helixir, Tila Pia, Sassi Fran, Starya, Miss Viva La Glam, Juliano Wade and more. The show runs 2-4 p.m. on the Yerba Buena Gardens Lawn, on Mission between 3rd and 4th streets. A preshow DJ set kicks things off at 1:30 p.m. More information is at ybgfestival.org.
— Bay City News Foundation
East Bay guitarist fetes Jeff Beck
Oakland guitarist Jules Leyhe is drawing a buzz these days with his fantastic fret work, and you can hear his talent for yourself on Thursday. The musician known for his superior slide guitar skills — he specializes in the blues — will be in Oakland’s Sound Room on Thursday paying tribute to guitar legend Jeff Beck. Leyhe has performed with such A-Listers as Buddy Guy, Jimmie Vaughan, Chris Cain, Charlie Musselwhite and Fantastic Negrito, and Premier Guitar credits him with delivering “the best blues slide guitar licks since Derek Trucks, maybe even Duane Allman.” And while he bills himself as a blues purist Leyhe can coax a lot of different sounds and moods out of his instrument. Which makes the late Beck such a perfect muse for Leyhe. Beck. One of the best and most influential guitarists to ever walk the planet, Beck was known for his extraordinary versatility and the wide range of riffs and effects he could produce. Visit Leyhe’s website (www.julesleyhemusic.com) and you’ll find a clip of him covering “Beck’s Bolero” (along with video master-classes on everything from slide guitar to the music of Jimi Hendrix and Derek Trucks). On Thursday, Leyhe will be backed by a band including Ian McArdle on keyboards, Isaac Schwartz on drums and Matt Roades on bass.
Details: 7:30 to 10 p.m.; the Sound Room, 3022 Broadway, Oakland; $31.72; www.soundroom.org
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