From a star-studded Contemporary Christian pop show at Oakland Arena to the return of two big holiday shows and an all-world ukulele performer, there is a lot to see and do in the Bay Area this weekend and beyond.
Here is a partial roundup.
A trio of CC stars
Three of the top names in contemporary Christian music are combining forces for one big Bay Area show. TobyMac, MercyMe and Zach Williams — a trio of chart-topping, platinum-selling concert headliners — will share the bill on Saturday at Oakland Arena.
As one of the genre’s premier artists since the late ’80s — first as a member of the groundbreaking hip-hop group DC Talk and later as a solo act — TobyMac deserves the top billing on the marquee. The Grammy-winning vocalist’s best-known numbers include “Gone,” “Made to Love” and “Lose My Soul.”
Then there’s MercyMe, the Oklahoma outfit that touched millions of lives with the landmark single, “I Can Only Imagine.” Released in 2001, “I Can Only Imagine” now stands as the best-selling Christian song of all time.
The song reached new audiences — and new generations — when it was featured in the incredibly popular 2018 biopic film of the same name, which was based on MercyMe singer Bart Millard’s life and focused in large part on the story behind the song.
Rounding out the bill is Williams, who has put together an impressive string of singles in recent years. His top offerings include “Chain Breaker,” “Old Church Choir,” “Less Like Me” and the strikingly beautiful duet with Dolly Parton, “There Was Jesus.”
Details: Showtime is 7 p.m.; tickets start at $31; awakeningevents.com.
— Jim Harrington, Staff
Visit Ye Olde London for the holidays
“Please sir, I want some more” overnight-oats porridge with almond milk? OK, so it might not have the ring of the original “Oliver Twist,” but you can expect things to be a little more upscale at the “Great Dickens Christmas Fair” at the Cow Palace.
Celebrating its 40th year, the fair is total immersion into the Dickensian universe of Victorian London with dozens of costumed characters from the famed books and also history. Father Christmas? He’ll be there. Ebenezer Scrooge, Mrs. Fezziwig and the Ghost of Christmas Present? Them, too. Visitors can explore 4 acres of Victorian-style theaters, pubs, dance halls with live music and – most importantly for holiday shoppers – plenty of lamp-lit shops selling handmade gifts.
For adults, this year there are special add-on events like a port-and-chocolate tasting, a Jekyll & Hyde pub crawl where you solve a mystery and a racy-sounding “Dark Garden Corset Experience” where you are personally fitted by a world-renowned corsetiere. And then there’s a miniature steam train for all the real Tiny Tims (and Tinas) out there.
Details: Open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays (plus the Friday after Thanksgiving); Nov. 23-Dec. 22 ; the Cow Palace, 2600 Geneva Ave., Daly City; $18-$45; dickensfair.com.
— John Metcalfe, Staff
Smuin’s sumptuous Xmas show is back
One of the Bay Area’s most beloved holiday traditions returns this weekend, one that is worth taking in even if you’ve seen it multiple times. That’s because Smuin Contemporary Ballet’s annual Christmas Ballet program changes every year yet never fails to deliver a wide variety of sparkly, sassy and breathtaking nuggets to cherish. The multi-dance production embraces classical and contemporary ballet, jazz, swing and more styles in numbers that range from sassy to heartfelt.
The Christmas Ballet debuted in 1995 and each year reflects the event’s history with the revival of several company favorites, including some created by the company’s late founder Michael Smuin. This year’s program features Smuin’s tropical-themed “Christmas Island” and, of course, the beloved “Santa Baby,” which boasts the “world’s longest feather boa.”
There will also be new works from company artistic director Amy Seiwert, company artist Brennan Wall, and Smuin alum Rex Wheeler. As always, the production is broken into two acts, dubbed “Classic Christmas” and “Cool Christmas.” Performances are 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek; Dec. 5-8 at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts; and Dec. 13-24 at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. On Dec. 20 – LGBTQ night – the company will welcome guest star Lady Camden, of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” with proceeds going to various nonprofits.
Details: Tickets are $25-$119; www.smuinballet.org
— Bay Area News Foundation
A uke champ and an alt rocker
Here are two Bay Area concerts that should be on your radar.
Jake Shimabukuro: You know you are doing something right when you are a musician and people routinely compare you to one of the greatest artists of all time. So, yeah, we’d definitely say that Jake Shimabukuro — widely known as “the Jimi Hendrix of the ukulele” — is definitely worth checking out when he performs Nov. 21-24 at the SFJAZZ Center in San Francisco.
Details: Showtime is 7:30 p.m. Nov. 21-23 and 3 p.m. Nov. 24; tickets start at $35; sfjazz.org.
Tracy Bonham: The Grammy-nominated indie music act has something cool going on at the Catherine Clark Gallery in San Francisco. The “Mother Mother” singer — who is set to release a new album in 2025 — will be performing an hour-long set at the intimate venue with bassist Rene Hart, violinist Ani Bukujian and cellist Saul Richmond-Rakerd as well as participating in a conversation with acclaimed artist Julie Heffernan, who currently is the focus of a painting exhibition at the gallery.
Details: Showtime is 8:30 p.m. and tickets are $100, cclarkgallery.com.
— Jim Harrington, Staff
Classical picks: Mozart, Britten, and Vengerov
The Bay Area’s holiday season gets off to a fine start with three concerts this weekend, featuring music by Mozart, Benjamin Britten and more.
Labadie conducts Mozart: Acclaimed conductor Bernard Labadie returns to the San Francisco Symphony in an all-Mozart program in Davies Symphony Hall. Joined by English soprano Lucy Crowe, Labadie will lead short works in the composer’s Italian and German-language repertoire, including the first SF Symphony performances of the aria “Schon lacht der holde Frühling.” The program ends with Mozart’s Symphony No. 39 in E-flat major. 2 p.m. Nov. 21, 7:30 p.m. Nov. 22-23, Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco; $49-$179; sfsymphony.org.
Britten’s “Ceremony” in Palo Alto: The classical chamber group, Ensemble Continuo, is ushering in the holidays with a performance of Benjamin Britten’s “A Ceremony of Carols,” composed for three-part chorus, solo voices and harp. Britten wrote the work in 1942 on a sea voyage from the U.S. to England. Works by Bach, Buxtehude and Schütz complete the program. 8 p.m. Nov. 22, All Saints Episcopal Church, Palo Alto; $23.18; ensemblecontinuo.com.
Vengerov, plus one: Award-winning violinist Maxim Vengerov returns to Berkeley on Tuesday evening, joined by his frequent collaborator, pianist Polina Osetinskaya. Their program includes works by Brahms, Prokofiev and Clara and Robert Schumann. 8 p.m. Nov. 23, Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley; $40-up; calperformances.org.
— Georgia Rowe, Correspondent
Latin music superstar heads to Bay Area
Becky G is coming to your block.
Well, maybe not your block, per se. But the Latin music superstar, who first gained attention with the single “Becky from the Block,” is heading to the home of the SAP Center in San Jose.
Bay Area fans can catch the vocalist when her Casa Gomez: Otro Capítulo Tour hits the home of the San Jose Sharks Nov. 21.
The Southern California native, who was born in Los Angeles County and raised in Riverside County, is out on the road in support of the recently released “Encuentros.” It’s Becky G’s fourth full-length Spanish language studio album, following last year’s “Esquinas.”
The singer has experienced much success during her still-relatively young recording career. Notably, her first two full-length studio efforts — 2019’s “Mala Santa” and 2022’s “Esquemas” — proved to be multiplatinum-selling success stories. Her best-known songs include “Mayores” (with Bad Bunny), “Sin Pijama” (with Natti Natasha) and “Cuando Te Besé” (with Paulo Londra).
Details: Showtime is 8 p.m.; tickets start at $106; ticketmaster.com.
— Jim Harrington, Staff
New look at ancient art
For most of us, papercuts are those little nicks that land on your fingertip in the blink of an eye and hang around for several irritating and painful days. But in the art world, papercutting refers to a discipline that is practiced around the world and dates back for centuries – some say the earliest forms of the art emerged even before the invention of paper. The art form’s long and widespread history means a great multitude of varieties have emerged over the years, but in general the practice is defined by cutting an outline or shape out of paper or some other material and transforming the resulting design into a finished image with ink, paint or similar substance.
Now the Olive Hyde Gallery in Fremont is presenting a new exhibit focused on contemporary and traditional papercutting, in its many incarnations. “Connecting Cuts,” curated by Vietnamese American papercut artist Bianca Levan and gallery curator Leah Andrews, runs through Dec. 14 at the gallery on 123 Washington Blvd. The more than 20 artists represented here come from the Bay Area and around the world, and their works range from basic designs with simple shading to intricate creations bursting with color. Organizers say the collection also aims to draw connections between the different approaches to papercutting and the widely varying results.
Details: Gallery hours noon to 5 p.m. Thursday through Sunday; admission is free; www.fremont.gov (search on the home page for Olive Hyde), or www.biancalevan.com.
— Bay Area News Foundation
Season kickoff for SSYO
The San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra launches its 2024-25 season at 2 p.m. Sunday in Davies Hall under the tutelage of a brand new leader. Wattis Foundation Music Director Radu Paponiu takes to the podium after having served five seasons as the associate conductor of the Naples Philharmonic in Florida. His inaugural concert will highlight Amador Valley High School senior Harry Jo, this year’s winner of the SFSYO Concerto Competition. A member of the orchestra’s first violin section, he is also an accomplished pianist but on Sunday afternoon will be featured in performance of Japanese composer Takashi Yoshimatsu’s “Cyber Bird Concerto” playing his other instrument, the saxophone! The program will open with Leonard Bernstein’s lively Overture to “Candide” and conclude with the Symphony No. 4 by Tchaikovsky.
Details: $30-$65; sfsymphony.org.
— Bay Area News Foundation
Gryphon Trio hits Kohl Mansion
A national treasure in Canada and one of the most acclaimed piano trios in the world, the Gryphon Trio – violinist Annalee Patipatanakoon, cellist Roman Borys and pianist Jamie Parker – is in the midst of its 30th year as a performing ensemble. The group comes to the Kohl Mansion in Burlingame Sunday evening, bringing the audience the Bay Area premiere of a 2023 Piano Trio by Paul Wiancko, a prolific composer and cellist from California who joined the renowned Kronos Quartet last year. Also on the program, which begins at 7 p.m., is the Piano Trio in C Major by Joseph Haydn and the No. 2 in C minor by Felix Mendelssohn The Kohl Mansion is at 2750 Adeline Drive in Burlingame.
Details: $30-$60; musicatkohl.org.
— Bay Area News Foundation