[Locals Only is a regular feature where the Stranger Dance staff focus on the best and brightest of the San Francisco Bay Area music scene. Feel free to hit us up with any information on local bands, musicians, shows, and other music-related events and projects.]
In continued dedication to Bay Area music, the folks over at [...]

[Locals Only is a weekly feature where the Stranger Dance staff focus on the best and brightest of the San Francisco Bay Area music scene. Feel free to hit us up with any information on local bands, musicians, shows, and other music-related events and projects.]
It’s show time, friends and foes. Here’s what’s happening this week [...]

[Roundup of the best Bay Area concerts this weekend.]
Friday:
Band of Horses w/ Drones and A Decent Animal @ Fox Theater Oakland
Paul Weller (of The Jam) @ Warfield Theatre
Tea Leaf Green w/ Or, the Whale @ The Fillmore
Devendra Banhart w/ The Healing Curse @ Mystic Theatre (Petaluma, CA)
Saturday:
Morrissey w/ Kristeen Young, The Courteeners @ Paramount Theatre
Noah [...]

Today marks the first full day of Noise Pop concerts, following yesterday’s kickoff party. Tonight’s shows have a little bit for everyone, with plenty of rock (Stephen Malkmus, Deerhunter), folk (The Mountain Goats), pop (Matt Costa) and everything in between (The Pains of Being Pure at Heart).
We’re also happy to see a healthy dose of [...]

This month’s mixtape is Part Two of our “Best of the Bay Area” mix that we started last month (find Part One here). We had set out to make a single mix that encapsulated the local scene, but there’s just too much depth of talent in San Francisco to reduce down to an 80-minute primer. [...]

We gave a full rundown of 2009 upcoming album releases a few weeks ago, but there are so many great albums coming out today that we thought it deserved a special reminder.
We’ve gushed about A.C. Newman, Andrew Bird and Bon Iver plenty of times before, and Or, the Whale are on a very short list [...]

As 2008 comes to a close, we at Stranger Dance are starting to look forward to what 2009 holds. A number of our favorite artists (Andrew Bird, Bon Iver, Jason Isbell, M. Ward, Wilco, etc.) have confirmed upcoming albums and even more are flirting with the idea.
A few things stuck out to us while compiling [...]

We’re having a very pirate-themed week here with a Lambchop-endorsed National Talk Like a Pirate Day yesterday and the Treasure Island Festival today and tomorrow.
Here’s a preview of some of the festival’s talent, including a lot of great Bay Area bands.
Saturday:
Justice – “Planisphère (Part 2)”
CSS – “Let’s Make Love and Listen to Death from Above”
TV [...]