Tue 5/06 8:00 PM Little Hill Lounge [10753 San Pablo Ave El Cerrito]
Elihu Knowles/Rent Romus  More...

Thu 5/08 7:00 PM Mr Tipple's [39 Fell St SF]
Astrid Kuljanic

Shows at 7pm and 9pm

Astrid Kuljanic | Vocals
Scott Amendola | Drums
Mat Muntz | Bass  More...

Thu 5/08 7:00 PM The Crown: Royal Coffee Lab and Tasting Room [2523 Broadway]
On the evening of Thursday, May 8th, we're honored to host the inventive Jake Muir from Berlin, alongside local sonicnauts ZZ and Elias FS at The Crown in Oakland for an evening of electronic and acoustic exploration.  More...

Thu 5/08 8:00 PM Peacock Lounge [552 Haight St SF]
Dymaxion, Thea Farhadian, Aaron Oppenheim, Kevin Robinson
May 8, 8pm-11pm Peacock Lounge, 552 Haight, SF
All-ages, $5-$15 notaflof

Thea Farhadian
Celebrating the release of her new album "Tattoos and Other Markings" where she integrates contemporary field recordings from Armenia and Egypt with mechanical sounds from a letterpress and MRI Machine, Farhadian brings classical training in violin to her explorations with electronics and deep forays into Arabic classical music achieving a sound described by critics as a "beautiful grimness."

Dymaxion
Bruce Ackley weilds the sonic sceptres known as clarinet, soprano and tenor sax alongside Dave Brandt on percussion and Pete Schmitt on bass to form the trio Dymaxion.

Aaron Oppenheim
Sound vivisection and heavy DSP processing rooted in raw synthesis, Oppenheim explores hidden chaos at the heart of computer systems and natural systems alike.

Kevin Robinson
Deep tone practitioner, Robinson never met a woodwind he couldn't extend beyond above and below the horizon.  More...

Fri 5/09 7:00 PM Medicine for Nightmares [3036 24th St SF]
Other Dimensions in Sound presents Deciphering Broken Rhythms Collective  More...

Fri 5/09 7:30 PM Noe Valley Ministry [1021 Sanchez St San Francisco]
Earplay - Season Finale

Pre-concert talk at 6:45pm

Program

Benjamin Sabey, Dream Suite for sextet in six, cyclic, attacca movements (2025). World Premiere.

Edna Alejandra Longoria, El bailongo (2023), for flute, cello, violin and piano. Edna is the winner of the 2024 Earplay Vibrant Shores Composition Competition.

Mei Fang Lin, Friction (2009), for flute and viola. Earplay commission.

Carolyn Chen, Stomachs of Ravens (2018), for solo flute.  More...

Fri 5/09 7:30 PM Center for New Music [55 Taylor St SF]
This is a vocal music universe constructed by 8 composers from 6 countries, expanding the boundaries of vocal music. Yifan Shao will collaborate with Lauren Marshall to bring them to life.  More...

Fri 5/09 7:30 PM Community Music Center [544 Capp Street SF]
Ensemble for These Times: Mujeres ahora

SFIAF/More Info  More...

Fri 5/09 8:30 PM Bird & Beckett Books and Records [653 Chenery St. SF]
Streaming and in-person:Click for stream  Click to make donation  
Lisa Mezzacappa 5 - band debut!

Aaron Bennett, tenor saxophone
Mark Clifford, vibraphone
Brett Carson, piano, keyboard, synth
Lisa Mezzacappa, acoustic bass
Jordan Glenn, drums  More...

Fri 5/09 8:30 PM The Lab [2948 16th St SF]
Carla Harryman / Jon Raskin: Scales for the Living Under Duress  More...

Sat 5/10 1:00 PM San Francisco Public Library, Golden Gate Valley Branch [1801 Green St. San Francisco, CA 94123]
Eli Knowles and Rent Romus perform slow music, jazz ballads, and ambient improvisations. This event is part of the San Francisco Public Library Golden Gate Valley Branch's annual Open House, with festive family activities starting at 11am. Concert starts at 1pm.  More...

Sat 5/10 7:00 PM Brava Theatre [2781 24th Street SF]
San Francisco Contemporary Music Players

Schedule
7:00 PM - PRELUDE Concert: Paul Mortilla’s Paradiso: "Weavers of Light"
8:000 PM - Mainstage Concert  More...

Sat 5/10 7:30 PM Bird & Beckett Books and Records [653 Chenery St. SF]
Saki Minamimoto Sextet

Saki Minamimoto (vocal)
Ian Carey (trumpet)
Beth Schenck (sax)
Matt Wrobell (guitar)
Lisa Mezzacappa (bass)
Jon Arkin (drums)  More...

Sat 5/10 8:00 PM Temescal Arts Center [511 48th Street Oakland]
mit Darm

The minus two project of Thingamajigs Performance Group with Edward Schocker on triggering glass, p’iri and shō, Suki O'Kane on contact mics and Jurassic pedals, creating that burst of wurst, as you float in a sea of narcotic noise.

Also on the bill: Matthew Daher sharing The Wisdom To Know The Difference.  More...

Sat 5/10 8:30 PM The Lab [2948 16th St SF]
Carla Harryman / Jon Raskin: Scales for the Living Under Duress  More...

Sun 5/11 7:00 PM West Oakland Sound Series [2201 Poplar Street Dresher Ensemble Studio Oakland]
SFSOUNDGROUP performs two iconic sound works for ensemble and tape: ALVIN LUCIER'S "Two Circles" (2012) and ROBERT ERICKSON'S "Pacific Sirens" (1969).

Visting from Los Angeles, percussionist ADAM LION explores the sonic possibilities of the vibraphone, investigating perception, acoustics, repetition, surprise, and coincidence. Lion believes sound speaks for itself- its raw materiality is its living body and its strength is the unique ability to manipulate the perception of time.  More...

Sun 5/11 7:30 PM SIMM Series @ The Musicians Union Hall [116 9th St @ Mission SF]
Outsound Presents @ SIMM Series **Mother's Day Special**
A night of mythic explorations and ethereal soundscapes
Rent Romus' Otherworld Ensemble & David Michalak's Ghost Dub Sextet
Featuring: Heikki Koskinen - e-trumpet/tenor recorder; Elihu Knowles - drums/percussion; Joshua Marshall - tenor/soprano saxophone, flute; Joseph Noble - alto/bass flutes; Pete Schmitt - double bass; Karen Stackpole - gongs; Ben Davis - cello; Darren Johnston - trumpet; Cindy Sawprano - saw; Kersti Abrams - alto saxophone, flutes

**Mothers get free admission!  More...

Mon 5/12 7:00 PM Lloyd's Records [3824 Telegraph Avenue Oakland, California 94609 USA]
Wilson Shook (Pasadena) and T.J. Borden (Brooklyn) join local improvisers Fred Lonberg Holm, Chris Cooper (Angst Hase Pfeffer Nase), Aine Nakamura, and Kevin Corcoran for an evening of serene cacophony and cacophonous serenity.  More...

Mon 5/12 8:00 PM Little Hill Lounge [10753 San Pablo Ave El Cerrito]
Rewards Program

An evening of instrumental improvisation by Zekarias Thompson, Skyway Man, and Miles Lassi, and vinyl selections by DJ Andy Cabic, every second Monday at Little Hill Lounge.  More...

Tue 5/13 8:00 PM Temescal Arts Center [511 48th Street Oakland]
flatways is a rhythm band made up of no strings guitar (Sudhu Tewari), drum set (Jordan Glenn), and drum machines + live sampling (Matt Robidoux). Sudhu makes instruments for the band, such as a one stringed electric bass ("slap thwacker") that Sudhu and Matt both play. flatways is drum n bass, with numerous rhythms meshing, clashing, and nudging up against one another.

T.J. Borden (cello) + Jacob Felix Heule (percussion) + Matt Ingalls (clarinet) + Kanoko Nishi-Smith (koto) quartet

Alexandra Buschman-Román  More...

Wed 5/14 8:00 PM Tom's Place [3111 Deakin Street Berkeley]
Scott Looney (piano)
Nathan Corder (guitar, electronics)
T J Borden (cello)
Matt Robidoux (electronics)  More...

Thu 5/15 7:00 PM Wyldflowr Arts [809 37th St Oakland]
RootStock @ Wyldflower: Buchla Electronic Music Festival Day 1

Buchla Electronic Music Festival Day 1
RSVP + PRESALE TIX  More...

Fri 5/16 7:00 PM 405 Shrader [405 Shrader San Francisco]
Terry Riley 90th celebration  More...

Fri 5/16 7:00 PM Medicine for Nightmares [3036 24th St SF]
Other Dimensions in Sound presents Jordon Glenn/Warren Huegel drum duo  More...

Fri 5/16 7:00 PM Wyldflowr Arts [Oakland]
Buchla Electronic Music Festival Day 2  More...

Fri 5/16 7:30 PM Hillside Community Church [1422 Navellier St, El Cerrito]
Quartet Mixus Mundi makes its East Bay debut in “Skylark: jazz, world and contemporary improv for recorder and jazz trio.” Mixus Mundi (Latin for “blended world”) is an ensemble whose voice stretches the boundaries between jazz, early music, world music, new music and improvisation. This eclectic combo unveils the jazz side of recorder, played by early music specialist Frances Feldon, in collaboration with Joyce Todd McBride, keys; Todd Larson, bass guitar; and Jeff Pera, drums. Music by JS Bach, Bela Bartok, Hoagy Carmichael, John Coltrane, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Steve Kuhn, Joyce Todd McBride, Thelonius Monk, Hermeto Pascoal, Horace Silver and others, as well as an arrangement of an Egyptian melody. The show takes place at Hillside Community Church, 1422 Navellier St, El Cerrito, Friday May 16, 2025. Doors open 7:00, show begins at 7:30. Cash donations gratefully accepted at the door only. For more info: (510)527-9029.  More...

Fri 5/16 8:00 PM Mt Diablo Unitarian Universalist Church [55 Eckley Lane, Walnut Creek]
Brett Carson's Substandard Quartet

Brett Carson - piano
Cory Wright - clarinet
Lisa Mezzacappa - bass
Jason Levis - drums

EventBrite  More...

Fri 5/16 8:30 PM The Lab [2948 16th St SF]
TJ Borden / Mari Kawamura: Morton Feldman's "Patterns in a Chromatic Field"

Doors 8pm / Show 8:30pm  More...

Sat 5/17 12:00 PM Center for New Music [55 Taylor St SF]
25 years of mainly showcasing the explosive experimental world of California sounds, with gourmet pancakes!! Bring an appetite, your glassorium blankets, motorhem crashlights, plaid sock rays, & SPACE: 200 B.C.mycosynths. It's a enlightening parade of haybaker yeti scalpiscopes learning to go full nature-thighclops!!  More...

Sat 5/17 2:00 PM San Francisco Public Library, Golden Gate Valley Branch [1801 Green St. San Francisco, CA 94123]
Erika Oba & Scott Oshiro will present a flute duo program featuring flute, pedals, and electronics. Oba & Oshiro will share their original compositions and improvisations drawing on their shared interest in Japanese, Okinawan, and experimental music.  More...

Sat 5/17 7:00 PM Wyldflowr Arts [Oakland]
RootStock @ Wyldflower: Buchla Electronic Music Festival Day 3  More...

Sat 5/17 8:00 PM Adobe Books [3130 24th St SF]
flatways, Grex, Moe Staiano/Jason Levis Duo

Experimental, eldritch, and electrifying sounds with three homegrown Bay Area ensembles:

flatways - Jordan Glenn - drums/percussion, Matt Robidoux - electronics (corn synth), Sudhu Tewari - new instruments

Grex - Karl Evangelista - guitar/voice, Rei Scampavia - keys/voice, Robert Lopez - drums

Moe Staiano, Jason Levis - drums  More...

Sun 5/18 3:00 PM Oyster Bay Regional Shoreline [1600 Neptune Dr San Leandro, CA 94577]
emergent sound practices  More...

Sun 5/18 4:00 PM Chez Hanny [1300 Silver Avenue SF]
Raffi Garabedian Quartet  More...

Tue 5/20 6:00 PM Medicine for Nightmares [3036 24th St SF]
"Lost Letters from Gaza" in association with Gallery Habibi

This experimental performance is an improvised blend of music and choreography, incorporating testimonies from children and residents of Gaza about their dreams.  More...

Tue 5/20 8:00 PM Little Hill Lounge [10753 San Pablo Ave El Cerrito]
Elihu Knowles/Rent Romus  More...

Wed 5/21 6:00 PM Meyer Sound [2832 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley, CA]
Artifact Records showcase

Lorin Benedict will be performing a brief duo set with vocalist Ron Heglin.  More...

Thu 5/22 7:30 PM Wyldflowr Arts [Oakland]
Matt Muntz group: Rootstock at Wyldflowr

Described by the Guardian as “filled with a wild, distorted energy,” and by the Wire as “rare and rewarding,” the music of bassist, composer and multi-instrumentalist Mat Muntz imbues the volatile and the bizarre with an expressive, human immediacy.

with Scott Amendola (drums/electronics) and Ben Goldberg (clarinet), plus Mat's longtime NYC collaborator Xavier Del Castillo (tenor sax).

ticket link here  More...

Fri 5/23 7:00 PM Medicine for Nightmares [3036 24th St SF]
Other Dimensions in Sound presents Johnston/Mezzacappa/Ochs/Kjell/Bruckman  More...

Sat 5/24 8:00 PM Spruce Street Concerts [send email to harry@fullplatemedia.com]
In the intimacy of a house concert, performance artist, singer, movement poet Aine Nakamura will perform the current iteration of a theme she has been pursuing for the past few years, "under a tree". In the second half, Nakamura will move on to moving between and beneath surface boundaries. In both explorations, she will focus on what would be under a tree and under human stories, or beneath surfaces where we cannot see but only sense, & intimately weave these spaces through voice and body.  More...

Thu 5/29 7:30 PM Wyldflowr Arts [Oakland]
Nora Free Liberation Quartet: Rootstock at Wyldflowr

ticket link here  More...

Fri 5/30 7:00 PM Medicine for Nightmares [3036 24th St SF]
Other Dimensions in Sound presents Francis Wong/Nora Free/David Boyce tenor sax trio  More...

Sat 5/31 7:30 PM Bird & Beckett Books and Records [653 Chenery St. SF]
Darren Johnston  More...

Sun 6/15 5:00 PM SFJAZZ Center Festival Tent [Near 201 Franklin Street (at Fell)]
Idris Ackamoor & The Ankhestra

This show is located in the Festival Tent, located two blocks away from the nearby SFJAZZ Center. Standing room with very limited seating.

Tickets  More...