It’s informative here at Under The Stars, peeps. Zendaya seems to love Arizmendi’s bakery in Oakland. Bliss Festival, “the archetypal gold standard of San Francisco summertime outings,” according to us at 48hills, will take place on August 16 for $25 at the lovely Presidio Theatre, located in the very green confines of Presidio National Park. Lineups will be announced soon, but isn’t it great to know you don’t need to put tickets for this festival on layaway (ahem, Coachella and Outside Lands)? And for food’s sake, Bi-Rite will open its fourth store in SF next year in the Outer Richmond, taking over the former 6001 California Market at the corner of California Street and 22nd Avenue.
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.
MARTIN LUTHER MCCOY, “PEACE OF MIND”
This Bay Area native stays busy year-round. We last reported on him when he headlined Bliss Fest last year. Now that was a good time, people. As McCoy told the crowd before his headlining set, “We’re gonna have some fun and play some good music.” And with that, he launched into a tapestry of songs that pointed backward and forward in time, featuring older rock standards with new hip-hop ideas. That Saturday lineup, mind you, consisted of locally based yet internationally known artists: Orchestra Gold, The Seshen, and McCoy—and all for $35? Let me put it another way: You could easily see these Bay Area musicians featured at Brooklyn’s Afropunk Festival, the Montreux Jazz Fest, or Marfa Myths in Texas for far more than that.
Bay Area naturalness always triumphs over overdoing it.
During the holiday season, you can catch McCoy doing a Christmas-time show at SFJAZZ, another timely seasonal get-down you can mark your calendars for.
But more of-the-moment news: McCoy is returning with Welcome Back Love, his first full-length album in 14 years. It’s due to drop mid-July. It’s always a good day when this Bay Area artist chooses to release new material.
McCoy had a career that always places him at the right place at the right time. He moves between worlds with grace, touring with The Roots, collaborating with artists including Erykah Badu and Saul Williams, appearing in Dave Chappelle’s Block Party, taking on the role of Jojo in Julie Taymor’s Across the Universe, performing with SFJAZZ Collective, and co-founding Moon Medicin, a multidisciplinary performance project that blends music, visual art, and ritual.
“Peace of Mind,” which won the 2025 Gospel Choice Music Award in the Gospel Afrobeat category, is the first single from this upcoming album.
Pre-order here.
SLEATER-KINNEY AND LIZ PHAIR AT THE GREEK THEATER, SEPTEMBER 9
OK, this is dope.
Supposedly, the idea of doing a joint tour with Sleater-Kinney was circling in Liz Phair’s brain for years. It should have happened already. But back in the ’90s, the concept of women sharing a tour bill was just too much. (It was the same mindset that kept Black rock bands separated on tours during that time period.) Bookers and gatekeepers were just like, “Oh, that’s just a bit too much.” But it’s 2026, so gimme that Flannel and Fury tour, Son.
Yes, I want Queen “Fuck and Run” playing on the same bill with Brownstein and Tucker. It’s called context.
Phair’s all-timer of a clapback to The Rolling Stones’ double album Exile on Main Street, Exile in Guyville, was well-received by critics, and Rolling Stone ranked it No. 56 on its list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2020. But the proof lay in the streets. Skinny white boy bars all over the Mission in the ’90s played “Fuck and Run” on jukeboxes day and night. Anthem, Jack.
The bundling of the fierce post-punk aesthetic of these two groups is both too late and right on time all at once. I mean, Jay Som (Melina Duterte) and Japanese Breakfast (Michelle Zauner) toured together, most notably on a West Coast tour in February 2018. One of many examples that those old white man tropes are over. Times, thank goodness, are changing. So, yes. Let’s get Brownstein, Tucker, and Phair, who are all in their fifties, on stage to bring it. The way it should have happened decades ago.
Expect this sucker to sell out quickly.
Buy tickets here.
TSUSHIMAMIRE AT BOTTOM OF THE HILL, JUNE 17
This is a shot call for both said venue closing at the end of the year, and also for a band that all rookies should take in when given the chance. I’m fortunate enough to recall seeing Cheap Trick on television at their peak when I was a kid, and I’ll never forget TsuShiMaMiRe, the all-girl Japanese noise punk band, at SXSW in 2006. The gallant power trio had one main goal: Rip your head off. So damn punk.
Grab tix in advance here.
THE GENERATIONS TOUR: THE HUMAN LEAGUE, SOFT CELL, AND ALISON MOYET AT THE WARFIELD, JUNE 5
When you see these three artists on one bill, it’s immediately plausible that the show will be sold out, just like this one. But in a city built on a wink and a nod, you might still be able to attend. I’m not encouraging any type of fraudulent tactics to gain entry, but you may want to hit up various group chats, hang out at local record stores for the sleek ear-hustling of conversations, or do the dreaded third-party ticket acquisition route.
Why?
All of these artists possess joints. Not hits. I’m talking JOINTS!
Similar to the vibes definition, joints exist in the “you know ’em when you hear/feel em’ category.
Long before we as a society entered the nostalgia economy, in which we’re currently trapped thanks to streaming platforms and films designed to boost artists’ discographies, Human League, Soft Cell, and Alison Moyet were making their specific indentation in the late ’70s and early ’80s. Their walloping credibility was earned. Listen to transformative arrangements such as “Being Boiled” on tinny drugstore speakers, “Mirror Man” in bowling alleys, or even—I’ve heard from others—”Fascination” in colonoscopy exam rooms. (That’s a rough one. Yet, still. A pick-me-up, perhaps?)
Can you imagine having Soft Cell’s driving “Out Comes The Freaks” with Nona Hendryx while having a root canal?
One thing is for sure: that wonky-plinky intro to Yazoo’s “Don’t Go” was a classic in ’80s 98.7 KISS FM in New York via heavyweight DJs like Tony Humphrey, Francios K, and Shep Pettibone. Alison Moyet’s synth-pop-crafted new wave engine of a tone was standard operating procedure.
Joints, people.
This June 5 show, no matter how you get access, is assured to be full of them.
More info here.
SPACEMOTH, INWARD EYE (GREENWAY RECORDS)
Local engineering wizard Maryam Qudus, a staff engineer at the San Francisco nonprofit Women’s Audio Mission and producer of recent records for psych rock band La Luz and local group Sour Widows, will release a new Spacemoth project in June. Following the No Past No Future record from 2022, the in-demand analog producer kept a tight schedule that saw her working non-stop, touring, and becoming a member of La Luz. Despite a vigorous schedule, Qudus began working on her sophomore project in the back of the van with a small synthesizer and a pair of headphones.
Inward Eye drops on June 26.
Pre-order here.
37 HOUSES, WHEN AND HOW IT HAPPENED ALBUM RELEASE PARTY AT THE EAGLE, MAY 21
Singer/bassist Erin Sydney and guitarist/songwriter Jeremy Rosenblum have a gift for transposing messiness into alt-rock intrigue. This SF band’s origin story gurgled up during lockdown. Being newlyweds in quarantine for four months turned their union into an art project while their relationship evolved.
When and How It Happened keeps that edge and intensity, chronicling the how-to of contending with a polyamorous lifestyle. Need I say this will be a record release party you and your throuple do not want to miss? All quips aside, between Sydney’s vox-humana and Roseblum’s riffs, 37 Houses punches out rippers every time.
Go enjoy this show. More info here.
