SAN FRANCISCO — Carly Rae Jepsen hardly gave fans at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium a chance to catch their breath on the second night of her tour in support of new album Dedicated. The pop…

OAKLAND — New York synth pop band St. Lucia has always lived up to its name in philosophy rather than sound. The quintet exudes a carefree anything-is-possible glow. But on its current “Intimate & Acoustic…

I think this column is morphing into more of a “my favorite Roman stories” list, but what still holds true is that memorable interviews still lead better stories. I tell the RIFF staff, which includes…

SAN FRANCISCO — A show that began inauspiciously turned worse for St. Lucia frontman Jean-Philip Grobler Monday when he fell and injured his ankle on the second of two shows at August Hall. The fall…

Jean-Philip Grobler still dreams of having the biggest band in the world. The St. Lucia frontman acknowledges that the time may not be right for his earnest, heart-on-sleeve pop music. Even when he was in the…

Enigmatic dance pop has proven a strong suit of South African New Yorker Jean-Phillip Grobler. The St. Lucia frontman built up his classical chops singing in the Drakensberg Boys’ Choir. His training coincided with an ardent side-affinity…

NAPA — In the end, the only thing that could stop the Foo Fighters at BottleRock Napa was a strict 10 p.m. curfew. The rock band that headlined the final night of the fifth annual…

Looking back on my interviews over the past 12 months, the first thing that surprised me was just how busy I stayed: nearly 50 interviews of 10 minutes or longer, about a dozen more than…

This is the final in a three-part series. Read how I’m scoring my list and find out about my “special consideration” acts in PART 1 and 13 through 8 in PART 2. Favorite Shows 2015 | Favorite Shows 2014 Favorite…

As a successful Emeryville-based studio knows all too well, it’s possible to take an inanimate object, give it life and make children and adults alike laugh and cry by telling a good story. That was…