Must-See Concerts in the Bay Area This Fall

Charli XCX fans may have declared 2024 Brat summer, but since Bay Area weather stays nice through November — and Charli herself is playing San Francisco in October — the party is continuing well into fall.

Even if huge arena concerts aren’t your thing, there are plenty of other worthy shows in the autumn months: Smaller club gigs from up-and-coming acts, free outdoor concerts and a waterfront festival. Read on for must-see shows to add to your concert calendar.

Dock of the Bay Festival

Sept. 7, 2024
12:30-9:30 p.m.
Mare Island Coal Sheds, Vallejo
$120+

The Solano County waterfront, with its mix of natural and industrial terrain, makes for a special setting at Dock of the Bay. The music festival brings together original disco and funk acts like “Boogie Nights” hitmakers Heatwave, who’ve been sampled by everyone from Michael Jackson to Timbaland and Missy Elliott. They perform alongside The Commodores, who gave us the timeless classic “Brick House;” Average White Band of “Pick Up the Pieces” fame; and Lenny Williams, the balladeer behind soul classic “Cause I Love You.”

El Alfa

Sept. 14, 2024
8 p.m.
SAP Center, San Jose
$92+

There’s no question that El Alfa is the king of Dominican dembow. With each new release, his raps seem to get more hyperactive, weirder and raunchier, with onomatopoeias and double entendres in the pocket of uptempo, percussion-heavy, tropical beats. There’s a reason why Spanish-speaking artists from all over the Western hemisphere — Cardi B, Kali Uchis, Bad Bunny, Wisin & Yandel and Jowell & Randy — have turned to him to inject their tracks with manic energy. Expect nothing less when he arrives stateside for a headlining show at San Jose’s SAP Center.

Portugal. The Man

With Snacktime
Sept. 20, 2024
Civic Center Plaza, San Francisco
Free

Continuing San Francisco’s streak of free concerts this year, Portugal. The Man brings their punchy, groove-laden rock to Civic Center Plaza, just outside of City Hall. The Portland band, best known for 2017’s inescapable “Feel It Still,” are currently touring in support of their catchy, psychedelic 2023 album Chris Black Changed My Life. Philly brass band Snacktime will get the dance party started with their uptempo jazz funk.

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass

Oct. 4-6, 2024
Golden Gate Park, San Francisco
Free

With concert tickets more expensive than ever, a free major festival like Hardly Strictly is truly a gift. Alternative rockers Sleater-Kinney are a huge draw at this year’s family-friendly event, which celebrates bluegrass, country, roots music and eclectic array of other genres in Golden Gate Park. Other standout acts include Nigerian-British electronic pop band Ibibio Sound Machine, Ukrainian folk experimentalists DakhaBrakha, original bluesman Bobby Rush and powerhouse soul singer Mavis Staples.

Omar Apollo

With Kevin Abstract
Oct. 4, 2024
8 p.m.
Greek Theatre, Berkeley
$78+

Tender, touching and at times snarky, Omar Apollo’s expansive pop music blends eclectic influences — folk and new wave, R&B and trap — into something shimmeringly beautiful. The singer-songwriter and guitarist’s latest album God Said No takes us on a ride through desire, pettiness, longing and other complicated emotions that arise during a breakup. Apollo will take the stage at Berkeley’s Greek Theatre with Brockhampton’s Kevin Abstract, another artist pushing queer expression forward.

Shannon and the Clams

Oct. 19, 2024
8 p.m.
Fox Theater, Oakland
$43+

With The Moon Is in the Wrong Place, Oakland rockers Shannon and the Clams made an album about grief whose exuberance is an affirmation of love and life, written in the aftermath of frontwoman Shannon Shaw’s life-changing loss of her fiance, drummer Joe Haener. While grappling with the tragedy, the band transmuted restlessness, anger, sorrow and confusion into a high-energy blend of garage rock, country and psychedelia that’s made for the stage, especially a gorgeous room like the Fox.

Charli XCX & Troye Sivan

With Shygirl
Oct. 20, 2024
7:30 p.m.
Chase Center, San Francisco
$196+

Charli XCX is so hot this year, even Kamala Harris wants to ride her lime-green Brat train to the White House. The U.K. pop star reconnected with her raver roots for her sixth studio album, and the result is a hedonistic yet profound listen that managed to explode into the mainstream while maintaining a solidly grimy, underground appeal. Shockingly honest tracks like “Girl, so confusing” — where Charli and Lorde squashed their beef on record while elucidating how misogyny messes with women’s minds — lend the album its emotional depth. At the Chase Center, Charli will whisk fans away into her 4 a.m. fantasy with “One of Your Girls” hitmaker Troye Sivan and fellow club kid Shygirl.

Kaytranada

With Channel Tres and Lou Phelps
Oct. 31, 2024
6:30 p.m.
Greek Theatre, Berkeley
$78+

It’s a shame hip-house only went mainstream for a few years in the mid-’90s — rapping over uptempo club beats just makes sense. Fortunately, Kaytranada and Channel Tres have revived the sound for a new generation. Hot off his new TIMELESS album (and an extremely lit Outside Lands appearance), Kaytranada will spin groove-laden beats that feature some of today’s brightest pop, R&B and rap talents, including PinkPantheress, Tinashe, Don Toliver and Lou Phelps, the latter of whom is opening the show. “Top Down” rapper Channel Tres promises a live set of dance-floor ready anthems. If you’re trying to turn up on Halloween, this is the place to be.

Seventeen

Nov. 5 and 6, 2024
7:30 p.m.
Oakland Arena, Oakland
$119+

K-pop band Seventeen is a powerhouse. The thirteen-member squad is incredibly versatile: They write and produce much of their own music, and choreograph big, epic live performances that have earned them legions of fans from China to the U.S. Sonically, they have range, too: standout tracks include the vibe-y and mystical R&B track “Spell” and “Maestro,” which showcases their hip-hop influence with a futuristic spin. Expect high-energy dance moves and otherworldly visuals two nights in a row at Oakland Arena.

DB.Boutabag

Nov. 8, 2024
8 p.m.
The New Parish, Oakland
$30+

The Bay has produced plenty of hip-hop greats, but some of the hottest young rappers out of Northern California currently hail from Stockton and Sacramento. South Sac’s DB.Boutabag is one of the leaders of that Central Valley scene, and his deadpan punchlines, gems of wisdom and ruthless roasts of his rivals have attracted an avid fan base that raps along bar for bar at his shows, from Salt Lake City to Boise to Oakland.

Latto

Nov. 29, 2024
7:30 p.m.
Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, San Francisco
$83+

When it comes to Gen Z rappers dominating the charts, Atlanta’s Latto is definitely on the short list. After 2022’s roller disco-ready “Big Energy,” she followed up with 2023’s thrillingly aggressive diss track “Put It On the Floor” and this year’s “Sunday Service,” a cocky and laid-back cruising anthem that got a remix from hot girl-in-chief Megan Thee Stallion and fellow rising star Flo Milli. Yes, she puts her sex appeal out there, and behind her provocative image is a careful attention to craft in the booth and on the stage.