SF Jazz hosting Black musicians and music
Throughout the month of February, SF Jazz will be hosting many performances by artists celebrating Black music and musicians. Upcoming performances include vocalist Tyreek McDole (Thursday, Feb. 12 and Friday, Feb. 13, at 7 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.). They will also be hosting Dianne Reeves, a 2018 Grammy winner, who will perform vocals on Friday, Feb. 20 and Saturday, Feb. 21 at 7:30 p.m., and on Sunday, Feb. 22 at 7 p.m. Two time Grammy winner Gregory Porter will perform jazz vocals on Sunday, Feb. 22 at 8 p.m. Lastly, on Feb. 21, SF Jazz will host the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir for a family matinee at 11 a.m. This performance centers on celebrating Black History Month and using music to give a history of America and African Americans.
Freight and Salvage Black History Month Performances
Freight and Salvage (The Freight) has filled the month of February with a packed lineup of African Diaspora-related musical shows. The Freight is kicking Black History Month off with a performance by Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir on Feb. 1. This Grammy-nominated group uses voice, percussion, and more to bring to life many songs of the African Diaspora. The doors to the show open at 6 p.m. and the performance begins at 7 p.m. On Feb. 12, The Freight is hosting the eight-time Grammy-nominated duo The Baylor Project. The show begins at 8 p.m and will feature vocals and percussion in order to highlight jazz, gospel, and their own individual roots. Feb. 15 has a show from Cedric Burnside, a Grammy-winning blues and American roots artist, at 7 p.m. On the 21st, Black Uhuru, a famous reggae band from Jamaica and Grammy winner for Best Reggae Album, will perform at 8 p.m. The 22nd has a performance from Melba’s Kitchen at 7 p.m, an all-women's big band that celebrates Black women artists. The Freight will end the month with “Poetry for the People: The June Jordan Experience” on Feb. 24. The performance mixes spoken worlds, music, and movement to honor June Jordan, a poet, activist, and teacher, who was deeply focused on justice and self-determination.
Bay Area Black Comedy Competition
Through the first half of February, the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts is holding the annual Bay Area Black Comedy Competition and Festival. The event lasts multiple days from the 10th to the 15th. The competition includes over 60 comedians and is the largest, longest-running, showcase of comedians of color in the world. It credits itself as playing a major role in launching the careers of famous current comedians such as Jamie Foxx, Nick Cannon, Sheryl Underwood, and more. The first night of the event is on Feb. 10 at 7 p.m. and is called “Unfinished Business.” The first night brings back all five finalists from the COVID-19-interrupted 2020 competition to crown a final winner. Following that, Feb. 11 and 12 are the preliminary rounds, with both nights starting at 6 p.m. Those who make it past that round will be in the semifinals on Feb. 13 and 14 at 8 p.m. Finally, those who make it past the semifinals will move onto the finals on Sunday, Feb. 15, where one comedian will be crowned the winner of the Bay Area Black Comedy Competition and Festival.
Fourth BHM & Lunar New Year Celebration by OACC
On Feb. 7, the Oakland Asian Cultural Center (OACC) is bringing back its Lunar New Year X Black History Month celebration for the fourth year in a row. The event is free and will be hosted from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at OACC’s center in Oakland. The celebration will feature lion dancers, drummers, performers, Black and Asian martial artists, arts and crafts, and a marketplace of local artisans and businesses. The center will also contain a Black- and Asian-centered exhibition.