THURSDAY JAZZ PERALTA, COYLE & WILEY The Sound Room is many things: comedy room, flamenco tablao, blues joint, cabaret. It also offers opportunities for the region’s most exciting young jazz artists to play for interested audiences, artists like Oakland-raised pianist Luis Peralta, who’s making a name for himself on the New York Scene, and El Cerrito bassist Isaac Coyle, who’s studying at Berklee College of Music in Boston. Both players have paid dues in Howard Wiley’s band—the tenor sax great and old-school taskmaster who’s not averse to offering tough love to young players. Wiley holds down the trio’s drum chair, a role he’s played for years with Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers. The pocket will be deep. – ANDREW GILBERT INFO: Thu, 7:30pm, Sound Room, 3022 Broadway, Oakland. $29. 510.708.9691. THURSDAY JAZZ MASON RAZAVI ORGAN QUARTET Guitarist Mason Razavi brings his excellent South Bay organ combo to an intimate setting ideal for enjoying the mighty Hammond B-3, working with organist Brian Ho, a player making a mark with his collaboration with guitar maestro Mimi Fox and redoubtable San Jose drummer Jason Lewis, a player known for his taste and touch. Joining the group as a special guest is saxophonist Charles McNeal, a former Bay Area resident who could be found on bandstands around the region dependably delivering scorching R&B, blazing bebop and soaring soul solos as a sideman. McNeal moved to Vegas about a decade ago and currently plays a series of gigs with Razavi. Sparks will fly. – AG INFO: Thu, 8pm, Back Room, 1984 Bonita Ave., Berkeley. $22. 510.654.3808. FRIDAY BASS SAN HOLO San Holo is widely known by anyone who loves heavy, dripping bass music. For the past decade, the producer and DJ has been at the forefront of the genre, mixing his punk and alt-rock roots with the mind-expanding sounds of EDM. The result has been a career praised by his fellow DJ peers and music icons like Rivers Cuomo (Weezer) and Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine). Earlier this October, San Holo took a deep dive into a fresh era of his music, exploring the boundaries where sound meets ideas to create a whole new reality, with his EP titled, what is life? – MAT WEIR INFO: Fri, 8pm, Fox Theater, 1807 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. $51. 510.302.2250. FRIDAY SKA THE ENGLISH BEAT Ah, ska! Originating in Jamaica in the ’50s, ska proved its longevity as a musical genre as it traveled to England and the U.S. and merged its reggae rhythm with R&B, jazz, pop, Latin and punk music. Bandleader Dave Wakeling’s most recent album, Here We Go Love, is featured on the tour, but fans who’ve followed them for decades won’t complain. Favorite tracks from the band’s prior albums will be included—1982’s Special Beat Service is a keeper and, fingers-crossed, selections from it are on the playlist. The all-star ska band shines throughout, likely causing sheer delight and prompting many folks to say, “Ah, ska.” – LOU FANCHER INFO: Fri, 8pm, Cornerstone, 2367 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. $46. 510.214.8600. SATURDAY INDIE CRIS WILLIAMSON The legendary vocalist lands at the Freight with nine songs from her most recent album, Ravens and the Roses. The occasion also pays tribute to the 50th anniversary of The Changer and the Changed, a half-century-old album with brilliant lyrics that, in 2025, speaks with renewed truth, relevancy and illuminating essentiality. Williamson threads together folk, country and Americana with songs touching on love, independence, spirituality, dreams, sorrow and motherhood. With a honeyed voice like a warm blanket and melodies that glow like stars in a night sky, there’s good reason to ride into the new year on the comfortable chariot of one of our country’s most cherished Americana singer/songwriters. – LF INFO: Sat, 7pm, Freight & Salvage. 2020 Addison St., Berkeley. $54-$79. 510.644.2020. SATURDAY COMEDY DAVID CROSS Writer, author, performer, comedian, Emmy Award-winner and two-time Grammy Award-nominee David Cross returns to the Bay Area, and this time he’s bringing The End of the Beginning of The End. But be warned, anyone who only knows Cross from his painfully oblivious character Tobias Fünke on Arrested Development or as the shy businessman Sy Grossman on The Umbrella Academy doesn’t know Cross at all. For decades, his sharp, witty, dark comedy has cut through the nonsense of lying politicians, religion and the culture war. His material isn’t for the easily offended, but anyone with thick skin and a twisted sense of humor will laugh the night away. – MW INFO: Sat, 8pm, Fox Theater, 1807 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. $54–$156. 510.302.2250. SATURDAY PUNK STAY OUT How about a Gilman show stacked with six Bay Area favorites? Pop-punk trio Stay Out headlines, finishing off the first leg of their West Coast tour, and they’re bringing friends along. The night boasts not one but two solo sets from Bay Area legends Penelope Houston of the Avengers and Eric Din from the Uptones. Then Oakland synthrock outfit Nasty World will drop some beats. Keeping the punks on their toes will be the Otto Quartet. Oh, and did we mention it’s all to celebrate local artist Peter Montgomery’s birthday AND the first 100 people in the door will get free tacos? This year might be less than two weeks old, but it’s already starting off with a bang(er)! – MW INFO: Sat, 6:30pm, Gilman, 924 Gilman St., Berkeley. $15. 510.524.8180. SUNDAY ROCK MUSK Musk’s musicians describe themselves thusly: “Outside of a couple of unfortunate butt rock regressions, Musk sounds like a band possessed by the angry ghost of Scratch Acid.” For those not immersed in the post-hardcore universe of ’80s noise rock, Scratch Acid invented the genre, with multiple members segueing into the Jesus Lizard by the late ’90s. Musk carries on in the unfettered spirit of noise, with vocalist Rob Fletcher bringing the perfect scream-singing cadence to complement Chris Owen’s organized guitar chaos. On their most recent offering, Musk 2: The Second Skumming, they promise they have NOT grown up. – ADDIE MAHMASSANI  INFO: Sun, 6pm, Thee Stork Club, 2330 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. $11. 510.859.8709. SUNDAY ELECTRONIC LANA DEL RABIES In Lana Del Rabies, multimedia artist Sam An created her own monster: An alter ego that brings a maximalist, apocalyptic sensibility to underground dark electronic music. She merges industrial, gothic and metal with primal intensity, immersing listeners in a raw and unrelenting sonic world. With performances that evoke ritual, rebellion and ancient myth, Lana Del Rabies is a vessel for cathartic destruction. After a European tour, she’s back to cast her black magic on the West Coast. – SONYA BENNETT-BRANDT INFO: Sun, 6pm, Eli’s Mile High Club, 3629 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland. $18/adv, $20/door. 510.808.7565. MONDAY R&B PROPHET MARTIAN Prophet Martian orbits the worlds of R&B, jazz and disco, creating ultramodern, zesty neo-soul out of Oakland. The up-and-coming five-piece band, led by Sofie Mae’s rich, funky vocals, always sounds velvety and fresh. They released their first four singles in 2024, and “Whatcha Gonna Do” is a standout with foot-tapping groovy beats and jazzy trumpet accents. In the last year they’ve ramped up operations, opening for various artists and performing at fests across California. This crew is cool and smooth; it’s impossible not to vibe with them. – SBB INFO: Mon, 7:30pm, Ivy Room, 860 San Pablo Ave., Albany. $12/adv, $15/door. 510.526.5888.