Category Archives: Music
Berkeley High’s Kehlani and PopLyfe fall at final AGT hurdle
Berkeley High junior Kehlani Parrish and her group PopLyfe reached the final four of America’s Got Talent this week. But the six-member group was the first to be voted off on last night’s results show.
Despite that disappointment, PopLyfe had a thrilling performance of “Higher Ground” with Stevie Wonder on the show. When told they would be performing with Wonder, the usually composed Parrish was clearly thrilled. “He’s the reason I started singing,” she said.
Following the performance of … Continue reading »
New Yorker illustrator enlivens Cal Performances programs
When concertgoers attend Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas in the Zellerbach Hall tomorrow night, the opening performance of this year’s Cal Performances season, they’ll encounter famed choreographer Mark Morris in the novel role of conductor.
They’ll also catch the first sight of the whimsical caricatures by Tom Bachtell that will be gracing the Cal Performances programs this season.
Bachtell’s style is well known from his illustrations for The New Yorker‘s Talk of the Town, which he has … Continue reading »
Local Hero, the latest Berkeley band, issue their first EP
Local Hero, an aspiring Berkeley group, has just released their first extended play album, The Aldgate, with five tracks. Three of the group are connected with Berkeley High while the fourth attends College Prep in North Oakland.
“This is the first time we’ve had something for sale,” said Alex MacKay, lead singer and guitarist for the group. MacKay graduated from BHS in June and has deferred admission to the University of Toronto for a year to pursue his … Continue reading »
Berkeley High’s Kehlani Parrish performs in AGT finals
Kehlani Parrish, a 16-year-old Berkeley High junior, performed Tuesday night with her band Poplyfe in the finals of this season’s NBC show America’s Got Talent.
After a stunning run-up to the show’s finals in Las Vegas, Poplyfe got mixed reviews from the judges for their medley of Queen songs last night, and Parrish was in tears after the performance.
“I thought some of the performance of the singing was a bit off,” said judge Piers Morgan. “But you [Parrish] … Continue reading »
Baez joins Aya Omac for “memorable night” at Ashkenaz
Richard Nagler sent in the following report and the photo above: “Joan Baez performed at Ashkenaz last night to a sell-out crowd. Joan was the guest artist for the extraordinary American debut of singer-songwriter Marianne Aya Omac who stunned the crowd with her brilliance and virtuosity. Marianne performed with percussionist Gabriel Harris, who is the son of Joan Baez. It was a memorable night in Bay Area music history.”
To find out what is going on in Berkeley and … Continue reading »
Birdland Jazz finds a new home at Café Yesterday
Late last year Michael Parayno, the founder of arguably the hippest garage jazz club and barbecue joint in town, was having some serious run-ins with the city — as first reported on Berkeleyside.
Parayno was operating a very popular supper club, then called the Multi Culti Grill and Birdland Jazz, out of his Sacramento Street residential address across from North Berkeley BART. Almost 150 people commented on the three posts we wrote about his situation, the vast majority … Continue reading »
World music comes to Telegraph at LastSundaysFest
A three block stretch of Telegraph Avenue will be transformed Sunday into an international music festival featuring live indie bands, chamber orchestras, and jazz ensembles.
It’s the third annual LastSundaysFest, Telegraph Avenue’s street party, done in a way that only Telegraph can do. The festival’s motto is “The World Comes to Telegraph.” In addition to a plethora of bands, there will be delicious street food, crafts, and offerings from the dozens of shops that line the street.
The festival … Continue reading »
More than 30 years of “thinking sound” in Berkeley
Meyer Sound factory off Heinz Avenue. Photos: Meyer Sound
Sound is life at the Meyer Sound facility on San Pablo. The 32-year-old Berkeley business continues to churn out professional sound products for concert halls, churches and traveling bands from around the world.
“We’re a family-run company, privately owned still,” said Helen Meyer, executive vice president of Meyer Sound. “We’re still private to this day. That’s kind of a unique feature of our company.”
I sat down with the Meyers to discuss sound, local lifestyles and new technologies.
CEO John Meyer founded the company in 1979 after he and Helen attended an inaudible Donovan concert at the Oakland Coliseum. When they sat down to take in the performance from one of their favorite folk singers, the couple soon realized they couldn’t hear a thing.
“It was barely louder than if someone was just there without anything,” John said. “Everyone in the audience was dead quiet and we still couldn’t hear. We said, ‘there’s got to be a better way.’ ” … Continue reading »
Has the Edible Schoolyard been in a rap song before?
Look what the dueling Whole Foods parking lot videos has spawned.
The original, by Berkeley-raised David Wittman, aka DJDave (now in LA), inspired local LaeCharles’ Berkeley remix. (It also prompted Berkeley-born Delia Brown to make ”Revenge of the Black Prius“).
Now, in fine style, DJDave has come back with DJDave, U Not BERKELEY Enough, featuring LaeCharles. Have a listen, and see how many Berkeley references you can spot.
Do you think this should be the … Continue reading »
Berkeley’s Summer Cinema event kicks off on Center St
The night was less than balmy, but that didn’t deter around 250 people making their way to Center Street Saturday evening for the first of four Summer Cinema free outdoor screenings.
Some participants brought their own chairs and blankets, others rented fold-up chairs at the booth of the organizers, the Downtown Berkeley Association. Radiant Brand’s Steven Donaldson was spotted carrying in a whole selection of seating possibilities, including a wooden chair wrenched from the ground in his garden.
Pre-movie entertainment … Continue reading »
