From a Neil Diamond musical to Cirque du Soleil’s latest show and trumpet star Chris Botti, there is a lot to see and do in the Bay Area this weekend and beyond.
Here is a partial rundown.
Making some beautiful ‘Noise’
Neil Diamond is all over the Bay Area these days.
That is, people pretending to be Neil Diamond are all over the Bay Area.
There is, of course, “Song Sung Blue,” the biographical film about a pair or real-life/husband-wife performers who make up a Neil Diamond tribute act. It stars Kate Hudson (who is generating Oscar talk with her performance) and Hugh Jackman and is playing in multiple theaters around the Bay Area.
Meanwhile, a touring production of the hit Broadway musical “A Beautiful Noise — The Neil Diamond Musical,” is wrapping up its run in San Jose. Created in collaboration with Diamond, the show follows the iconic singer-songwriter’s life story — his rise from humble Brooklyn beginnings to a pop star who’s sold some 120 million albums, sent untold numbers of women and men into super-swoon and straddled the line between sublime and cheesy as convincingly as any pop music performer in the last 75 years.
Featuring versions of such Diamond classics as “America,” “Forever in Blue Jeans,” “Sweet Caroline,” “I Am … I Said,” the musical plays through Sunday at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts.
Details: 7:30 p.m. Jan. 1-2; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Jan. 3; 1 and 6:30 p.m. Jan. 4; 2 hours, 15 minutes with one intermission; $54-$146 (subject to change); broadwaysanjose.com.
— Randy McMullen, Staff
Still time to see ‘Cirque’
High-flying acrobats, insane puppetry, creative clowns and performers clad in weird animal masks — so many animal masks, from rams to koalas to parrots — you know that Cirque du Soleil is in town.
For its production of “Echo,” on tour since 2023, the Canadian entertainment troupe is settled in San Francisco’s Oracle Park through mid-January. How to describe the plot of this surreal show? Well, the heroes seem to be a woman named Future and Dog, her human-canine hybrid companion. They’re wandering through a world populated by beasts of nature and extraordinary physical savants, and everyone seems to be in thrall of The Cube — a mysterious box hunkered at stage center that will, in time, reveal a stupendous secret.
Does that make sense? Does anything? What is certain is the 125-minute “Echo” provides the thrills people have come to expect from Cirque du Soleil, from tight-rope walking to body-juggling gymnasts to a balancing act that’ll give you new respect for the humble cardboard box.
The show is produced to the fine detail and designed to awe — and it succeeds on multiple levels.
Details: Through Jan. 18; Oracle Park, San Francisco; tickets start at $58; cirquedusoleil.com.
— John Metcalfe, Staff
Botti back in Bay Area
Bay Area Chris Botti fans will have plenty of chances to see him perform at the start of the new year. That’s because the immensely talented trumpeter — who is billed as the “world’s top-selling jazz instrumentalist” — is setting up shop at SFJAZZ Center in San Francisco for nine shows in just seven days during the first full week of January.
Botti plays one show per night — at 7:30 p.m. — Jan. 5-9. He then pulls double duty the next two days, with gigs at 3 and 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 10 and 3 and 7 p.m. on Jan. 11.
That’s a ton of options. So, in other words, if you end up missing Chris Botti this time around then we’re just going to assume that you don’t really like Chris Botti.
But, really, what’s not to like? He’s a wonderful player — especially on those beautiful ballad numbers — with a tone that can melt hearts, bring tears to eyes and cause pulses to race.
And he’s certainly got an amazing resume, having honed his art backing such legends as Frank Sinatra, Buddy Rich, Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell and Sting before becoming an A-lister in his own right.
Botti is accompanied on this run with a great cast of musicians: saxophonist Chris Potter saxophones (Jan 5-8), violinist Anastasiia Mazurok, pianist Julian Pollack, bassist Daniel Chmielinski, drummer Lee Pearson and vocalists Sy Smith and John Splithoff.
Details: Tickets start $64.50-$194.50; sfjazz.org.
Epps set to crack wise in P-Town
He sometimes runs into controversy with his not-quite-politically-correct approach to humor, but Mike Epps has managed to keep his career in motion with his considerable acting and comedic talents.
He kicked off his career in the mid-1990s on the Def Comedy Jam tour, which was later featured on an HBO special. Within a few years, he broke into film and TV acting, including key roles in the Ice Cube films “Next Friday” and “Friday After Next,” as well as parts in films ranging from the “Resident Evil” series, two of the “Hangover” movies, and as a bitter, self-hating comedian in the Whitney-Houston-starring, Supremes-inspired “Sparkle.” On TV, his many roles included a NAACP Image Award-winning portrayal of Uncle Julius in the LeBron James-produced comedy-drama “Survivor’s Remorse,” about an emerging NBA player. He also won the starring role in a Lee Daniels biopic about Richard Pryor that has yet to make it to the big screen.
Epps has drawn complaints from those who say he mocks mentally and physically disabled people in his comedy routines; and he was widely criticized after reportedly bringing a live kangaroo with him on stage during a 2017 performance.
His controversies and busy acting career haven’t stalled his standup career too much; Epps is on comedy tour now which lands at Tommy T’s comedy club in Pleasanton this weekend.
Details: Five performances Jan. 2-4; $72-$92; tommyts.com.
— Randy McMullen, Staff
Here’s your freebie of the week
Maybe you were around to witness the fun and energy of downtown San Francisco on New Year’s Eve and want to experience it again. Or maybe you missed New Year’s Eve downtown and want to experience the fun on the first day of 2026. Or maybe you were downtown on New Year’s Eve and are still there on Jan. 1 (we don’t judge, here). In any event, there are several reasons to head to downtown San Francisco for the inaugural 2026 edition of Free First Thursdays. The event runs 5-10 p.m. on 2nd Street, between Howard and Market streets.
If you RSVP on the websites of Downtown First Thursday San Francisco www.dftsf.com or FunCheapSF (sf.funcheap.com/free-events) pretty much everything is free except drinks and food at nearby bars, restaurants or food trucks. That includes a performance by kick-butt Bay Area band the Jazz Mafia, which performs 7 to 9 p.m. at Howard and 2nd Street, or beloved Bay Area crooner Lavay Smith, who performs with her band the Skillet Lickers from 5 to 8 p.m. at Notoma and 2nd Street, with swing dance lessons offered between sets. And that’s not all, there are zones set aside for disco dancing, arts and crafts, a doggie fashion show and pet psychic and more. More information is at the aforementioned downtown websites.
— Bay City News Foundation
A whole lotta Latin goin’ on
Get ready to shake your booty as the Bay Area’s Grammy-winning Pacific Mambo Orchestra, 19 to 20 members strong at last count, convenes onstage at Yoshi’s this weekend for four infectious, energetic concerts of their special blend of south-of-the-border and modern music. Founded 14 years ago by pianist Christian Tumalan and trumpeter Steffen Kuehn, the orchestra is driven by a sensational percussion section and a powerhouse brass contingent. They can put their distinctive imprint on everything from straight-up salsa to Stevie Wonder to Dizzy Gillerspie to, believe it or not, Sergei Rachmaninoff.
Details: Showtimes at the nightclub on the Embarcadero in Oakland are 8 and 10 p.m. Jan. 2 and 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Jan. 3. Find your tickets, $43-$82, through yoshis.com.
— Bay City News Foundation
David dishes it out, in preview
Tickets are going fast, with some shows already sold out for humorist and essayist David Sedaris’ upcoming run at Berkeley Rep’s Roda Theatre, with 90-minute performances that will conclude with Q&A sessions and book-signings. The author of the best-seller “Me Talk Pretty One Day” and The New Yorker and BBC Radio 4 contributor will have a new collection coming out in May from Little, Brown and Company with “The Land and Its People,” his first release since “Happy-Go-Lucky” in 2022. He’ll give audiences a first look at some of its contents, more pithy and thoroughly amusing riffs on his relationships with relatives, friends and strangers he encounters in a series of seven appearances at the Roda. The Jan. 3 opener is already sold out, but tickets were still left at this writing for the 2 p.m. Jan. 4 and a few subsequent performances.
Details: Remaining tickets are $75; find them through berkeleyrep.org.
— Bay City News Foundation
Hence then, the article about bay area arts 7 cool shows and concerts to catch this weekend was published today ( ) and is available on mercury news ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Bay Area arts: 7 cool shows and concerts to catch this weekend )
Also on site :