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San Francisco Chronicle​

Summer 2025: Catch these rising stars in the Bay Area

Support emerging new artists this summer throughout the Bay Area. Whether it's music, literature or dance, there's something for everyone. Catch these fresh talents before they're part of the mainstream — because who doesn't love bragging about being an OG fan once the artists hit it big? Festival La Onda Filled with traditional, contemporary and futuristic groups and artists from across the Latin music diaspora, the inaugural Festival La Onda showed that a Spanish-language music festival can thrive in Napa. Organizers answered calls for an encore with a triumphant '¡ Vamos!' as 2025 headliners Marco Antonio Solís, Banda MS, Pepe Aguilar, Carín León and Grupo Firme will grace the Napa Valley Expo stages May 31-June 1. And since this is a BottleRock production, expect food and drink to match the elevated vibes. — Todd Inoue San Francisco Jazz Festival Since becoming only the second male artist to win the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition in 2023, the 25-year-old Haitian American baritone Tyreek McDole has seized his moment. Performing widely in conjunction with the June 6 release of his debut album 'Open Up Your Senses,' he covers a century of jazz history, confidently delivering 90-year-old standards and spiritual anthems like 'The Creator Has a Master Plan.' Listed in the small print on the San Francisco Jazz Festival's program June 15 ($50-$150), he plays two afternoon sets in SFJazz Center's Joe Henderson Lab. Leila Mottley book launch Leila Mottley's writing commands attention. In 2022, ' Nightcrawling,' the former Oakland Youth Poet Laureate's debut novel, was an Oprah's Book Club selection. Her follow-up, 'The Girls Who Grew Big,' a thoughtful depiction of teen mothers, arrives June 24. That evening, Mrs. Dalloway's Bookstore in Berkeley plans to host a book launch discussion featuring Mottley and Ingrid Rojas Contreras, author of Pulitzer Prize finalist ' The Man Who Could Move Clouds.' — Kevin Canfield Stanford Jazz Festival Houston native Paul Cornish, recently in the band of Berkeley tenor sax star Joshua Redman, is rapidly making a name for himself as one of jazz's most poised and exciting young pianists. On the cusp of releasing his debut album for Blue Note Records, Cornish, who now lives in Los Angeles, brings a stellar trio, featuring remarkable Oakland-reared drummer Savannah Harris, to the Stanford Jazz Festival on July 27 ($47). State of Play Festival Now entering its third year, ODC Theater's annual State of Play Festival feels like a big, friendly party where you can catch some of the dance world's most forward-thinking artists. Grouping choreographers under 'Experimenters' (works in progress), 'Curious Creators' (shorter performances) and 'Risk-Takers' (full-evening performances), the Mission District festival on July 31-Aug. 3 encourages audiences to mix and match their viewing adventure by purchasing a festival pass, which are $80-$300. Sure to be highlights this year are San Francisco dancemakers Gizeh Muñiz Vengel and Natalya Janay Shoaf. — Rachel Howard Taylor Tomlinson CBS made a major blunder canceling the delightfully quirky reboot of pop-culture game show 'After Midnight' after only two seasons. Thankfully, the show's host Taylor Tomlinson is taking her infectious brand of cheery barbs and queer observations, which she's showcased on three Netflix comedy specials on the road, with the 'Save Me' tour. Don't miss out on tickets, which start at $50, for one of her two shows on Sept. 12-13, at Oakland's Paramount Theatre.