It’s busy! Here at Under The Stars, summertime shows are being announced. From Jeff Parker to Altın Gün. Outside Lands released its 2026 lineup for SOMA, the festival’s dedicated stage for house and techno, located in Marx Meadow August 7-9, which you can take a look at here. A 48HILLS Best of the Bay Editors’ Pick returns with a triple album and an international tour to support it. You can see what Eki Shola is up to; more info will be revealed in the coming weeks.
But in the meantime, you know the drill, lovers of music and culture. We are Under the Stars, a quasi-weekly column that stays on message with strong-ass opinions, presenting new music releases and upcoming shows. We keep hustling with the changes, thinking outside the margins. Hop in. And thanks for spending some time with us.
OM RECORDS 30 YEARS DAY PARTY AT EMBARCADERO PLAZA, MAY 9
According to the IMS Business Report 2025, presented at the 2025 International Music Summit the global electronic music industry was valued at $12.9 billion.
Count Om Records as a day-one contributor to that figure.
Launched In 1995, Om helped fuel that financial prosperity right here on Haight Street, in a space directly above Tweekin’ Records (which is currently home to Vinyl Dreams). In those salad days, the imprint was a direct reflection of what took place musically at DJ nights and band venues around the city. Whoever was selling out Elbo Room consistently, and whatever records got proper rewinds at The TOP (now Underground SF), that was the particular sound that NorCal cool Om sold to the masses. Before labels like Dirtybird, Experts Only, and Monstercat… there was Om.
Now, with over 800 releases to their credit, this imprint is synonymous with San Francisco’s innovative take on eclectic dance music. As they’ve proudly declared in the press, Om Records “has withstood 9/11, the Dot Com bubble and burst, Napster, the birth and impending death of downloads, the recession, a global pandemic, and political trials & tribulations, all the while still releasing great music.”
They will be celebrating their 30th anniversary in San Francisco on Saturday, May 9, with two major events.
A free daytime party, produced by Another Planet Entertainment in partnership with SF Rec and Parks (RSVP here for entry) from 1 to 5 pm, at Embarcadero Plaza, with an announced lineup featuring Mark Farina, Colette B2B DJ Heather, Shiny Objects, and J Boogie. Followed by a night party, 9pm-3am, featuring Derrick Carter, Mark Farina, and others at The Great Northern. More info here.
DIRECTIONS IN STEREO AT 540 BAR: FRI/24
Join resident DJ Circuit73 with special guests Chulada and Subtext on the last Friday of the month at 540 Bar as Directions In Stereo cues up, an eclectic, sonic backdrop for the evening. It’s gonna be an all vinyl, variety mix to the max! Grab a drink and listen. With the theme wide open this month, expect to hear it all: Funk, soul, jazz, rock, pop, reggae, and more, spanning all eras past and present. Directions In Stereo is a human-curated, sound and vision event going down in the heart of the Inner Richmond at 540 Bar in San Francisco, purveyors of local craft beer, seasonal cocktails, quarterly art shows, and vintage pinball machines. 540’s inclusive nature and community vision are a perpetual favorite for both residents and tourists alike. See ya on Friday!
SHABAZZ PALACES AT THE CHAPEL, MAY 1
King Britt—the former touring DJ for Digable Planets and now the assistant teaching professor of music at the University of California, San Diego, where he instructs the undergraduate course Blacktronika: Afrofuturism in Electronic Music—shared with us at 48 Hills that when he met Ishmael “Butterfly” Butler in Philly during the early ’90s, the demo tape “Ish slipped Britt” was closer to Shabazz Palaces in terms of sonic exploration than Digable Planets. Looking back at that quote is quite a revelation.
See, Butler has never really publicly discussed the metamorphosis from the Digable Planets’ bohemian, free-jazz sound collage to the interplanetary thwack and pliable alliteration happening in Shabazz Palaces; he just did it. It’s like going from fifth gear in a fancy automobile to completing the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs; consult your handy Star Wars nerd for the gist of it. But you get my meaning. Butterfly was already one of the elite, original, off-kilter, brilliant emcees of his generation. No notes. And then he said, “Naah, I’m going there.”
These days, he’s taken on the moniker Palaceer Lazaro and records as the lead voice in Sub Pop’s first-ever hip-hop signing. Catching a rare live performance is truly an honor, where you can witness the mystery unfold on its own. Cerebral science-fiction hip-hop, with Afro-futurist soundscapes. Why would you ever pass on this? Grab those tickets here.
HOLLIE COOK, SHY GIRL IN DUB! (MR BONGO RECORDS)
It’s about that time again. When that 21st-century pressure is about to crush you, stir fry your soul, fillet all the feels. Then you reach for that always-healing, traveling-without-moving City album. You know the one. Keeps you company when people, well, need to leave you alone. At times, it seems difficult to exactly determine what engenders a “city” album—you know it when you hear it. Something so dignified, like a classic Paul Weller fit. Cool, streetwise.
Well, put your trust in this British singer and keyboardist who makes rooted-type arrangements. Hollie Cook is phenomenal, a former member of the punk/reggae band The Slits, she’s released this dubwise wonder, Shy Girl in Dub!, constructed via analog tactics. It allows producer Ben McKone to reconstruct past sounds, ancient vibes, and the deepest root work of experimentation with voice, reverb, organ, bass, and that wafty character all dub projects find success with. Breathe in on this one; catch those feels traversing through Fog City. Pick it up here.
JEFF PARKER ETA IVTET AT THE FREIGHT, AUGUST 22
Jeff Parker and his long-running ETA IVtet, featuring drummer Jay Bellerose, bassist Anna Butterss, and saxophonist Josh Johnson, return with their third record, Happy Today. Released on May 15th via International Anthem / Nonesuch Records, the project was recorded at Lodge Room in Los Angeles in late August of last year. Brimming with minimalist improv joy and mega-jammy dedication to patience, it’s typical collaborative Parker-esque elevated listening.
It’ll be accompanied by a concert film by Charlie Weinmann showcasing the full Lodge Room performance, which will be released May 29, with a handful of pre-release screenings including Chicago on May 3 at The Land School, Los Angeles on April 26 at Vidiots, and Portland on April 30 and May 1 at Mono Space. More details will be announced in the weeks to come.
According to Parker, “2025 was a very difficult year for my family and me. Dealing with being displaced from the Eaton fires for eight months and the kind of toll that instability took on my family’s mental health and general outlook, coupled with Donald Trump being back in office and basically making life miserable for everyone… There was a lot of sadness and despair.
“But feeling the sense of community that we created with our concert, and later hearing the recording, seeing the beautiful footage that had been shot, and seeing the photographs of such joy to be back in that space and to be making music again: It was a very happy moment. So I called the record Happy Today. It’s meant to be a statement of joy.” Pre-order Happy Today here.
ALTIN GÜN AT REGENCY BALLROOM SEPTEMBER 11
This Amsterdam-based band of Turkish-psych innovators has been making big waves since 2018. Enthusiasm for their genre could be seen at the sold-out show last summer of Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek at The Chapel. As previously reported here, amidst a packed-to-capacity showing by mostly the hipster kind, the small and mighty Derya Yıldırım, lead vocalist for the band, spoke very humbly between songs in English, her sparkly shirt glimmering in the stage lights, about how these songs were transposed from folk songs that her people used to sing while working in the fields.
While many SF audience members were steady doin’ it for Tha Gram, that comment stayed with me; it still strikes something in my heart and gut, and gave such a snapshot of how decent these musicians are, connecting. Finding global fame by merely performing songs that have been in their culture for so long.
It’s hopeful that in such a fraught state of the world and affairs, if we could learn something from someone who lives across the world, maybe we could all have a better understanding and respect for life, for all. Now, to keep it a bean, the band, with all that heartfelt-ness, has to bring it.
Grammy-nominated quintet Altın Gün does that. Their sixth studio album Garip is a heartfelt tribute to the legendary Turkish folk bard Neşet Ertaş (1938–2012). This beloved icon of Anatolian music, a gifted singer, lyricist, and bağlama virtuoso, carried the spirit of the aşık folk tradition into the modern era. Garip (“Strange” in English) featured 10 of his compositions, each reimagined and richly expanded through Altın Gün’s psyche-funk-folk forward perspective. To put it bluntly, they can burn and love to let it rip, Jack.
Much like Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek, Altın Gün’s Turkish-influenced rock and roll, which always lands on the hard-driving side of the road, is not a band to miss. Which is why I’m mentioning a show now that happens in September; this SF date will sell out quickly. Grab tickets here.
