Music
They say if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it but what if your goal is to transform it? After three years of steadily increasing attendance and growing popularity, Oakland Music Festival (OMF) CEO and founder Alfonso Dominguez decided to do something different—change the format of the festively entirely. What started as traditional, one-day music festival has morphed into a nine-day span of performances, panels, workshops and networking events. On Friday, OMF 2016 was officially underway. Over 45 different artists are…
Arrive at the corner of Oakland’s Grand Avenue and MacArthur Boulevard and you will hear the sounds of eclectic music emerging from multiple spots along Lake Merritt. Aaron Davis Warren, otherwise known as “Drummer Boy Aaron,” set up his drum set just before 10 a.m. on a recent Saturday to play for the crowd that comes from all directions. The 18-year-old pounds his drumsticks as he smiles widely at his growing audience. To his right, people carrying mushrooms and cabbage emerge…
Warehouses and industrial parks became the backdrop for some 35,000 hip-hop fans in West Oakland on Monday when a section of 3rd Street was blocked off for the 5th annual Hiero Day music and arts festival.
The third-annual Black-Eyed Pea Festival, a daylong celebration of African-American history and culture, took place at Oakland’s Mosswood Park on Saturday.
On May 7, people gathered in Oakland’s Fruitvale district to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, commemorating the Mexican Army’s victory, despite the odds, against the French at the Battle in Puebla in 1862. The event, hosted by Oakland City Councilmember Noel Gallo (District 5) and the City of Oakland, began with a Mother’s Day mural dedication.
In the early 1980s, the Bay Area was at the center of thrash metal music, one of the many subgenres of heavy metal. During that decade, heavy metal became incredibly popular around the world; kids were growing their hair long, flashing the devil horn sign with their hands, and playing air guitar.
In this week’s episode of the Tales of Two Cities podcast, hosts Brad Bailey and Matt Beagle will be discussing loss, and stories about people moving on when something or someone important is taken away. We’ll hear about a lost Oakland bus stop so important to bus riders that they’re trying to bring it back. We’ll listen as some surprising guests in the East Bay share their favorite memories of Prince. We’ll also hear the story of an Oakland woman…
Oakland does not attract big record labels but it “wakes your game up.”
Some 1,600 people filled the Fox Theatre for this year’s Notes & Words concert. The concert, in its seventh year, benefited the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital in Oakland and featured local talent like the Oakland School for the Arts choir, as well as high-profile authors and musicians, such as actor BJ Novak and Coldplay’s front man Chris Martin.