The Best Bay Area Concerts in March
There’s no shortage of excellent music hitting local stages this month as spring tours get underway and bands start to orbit around SXSW and early-season music festivals. Plenty of local acts are in the mix, too.
Here are some of the best Bay Area concerts in March that you can look forward to:
March 3: The Brankas @ The Knockout (LOCAL BAND)
SF duo The Brankas is full of frantic, nervous injury with tracks that glitch, squeal, and groan at you. The band calls it “punk you can’t dance to.” Create your own definition at their return to The Knockout.
March 5: Fast Times @ The Chapel (LOCAL BAND)
SF native Andrew St. James trades in his six-string for bass duties and joins forces with guitarist Duncan Nielson and drummer Cody Rhodes for a bonafide local indie-rock supergroup. Both Nielson and Rhodes were in Geographer’s band before he decamped for LA. Nielson performs solo as DonCat, and you’ll also find Rhodes behind the kit with local surf rockers Sandy’s and other groups.
March 6: Thundercat @ Fox Theater
Regardless if he’s performing solo or gracing the tracks of numerous A-list collaborators, Thundercat unlocks new dimensions of bass with explosive runs, deep grooves, and the occasional future-funk yacht rock jam. He returns to Oakland with his latest single “Dragonball Durag.”
March 8: Terry Malts / Slumberland Records 30th Anniversary Party (LOCAL BANDS)
Slumberland Records celebrates 30 years of excellent indie releases with a good ol’ fashion day party at Rickshaw Stop. The festivities kick off at 2 p.m. with DJs and a lineup that includes Smokescreens, Kids on a Crime Spree, Business of Dreams and what is billed as a reunion of melodic Oakland punk rockers Terry Malts, who last performed in the neighborhood the closing week of Hemlock Tavern (RIP).
March 10: Palehound @ Cafe du Nord
If excellent songwriting and sincere indie rock is what you are looking for, stop at Palehound. The band’s third LP, Black Friday, is a beautiful collection of songs that straddle the line between straight-ahead indie rock, 90s alternative, and lo-fi, but it’s Ellen Kempner’s introspective and socially conscious lyrics that shine here.
March 13: Tame Impala @ Chase Center
Tame Impala is officially arena rock, and we’re not mad at that. After low-key listening sessions at Cafe du Nord and Bernal Hill, the Aussie psych rocker touches down on the big stage at Chase Center with The Slow Rush, one of the most anticipated albums of 2020.
March 14: Dan Deacon @ The Fillmore
After a few quiet years, Dan Deacon finally returns to the Bay Area with his new album Mystic Familiar – and he couldn’t arrive at a better time. We could probably all use a good spontaneously choreographed dance party, and that’s the secret sauce that elevates Deacon’s shows to transcendental experience. Hyperbole aside, it’s an experience you won’t find anywhere else, and it should be all the better under the purple glow of the Fillmore’s chandeliers.
March 19: Sonny & The Sunsets @ Rickshaw Stop (LOCAL BANDS)
Dig into a trio of San Francisco-based bands with Max Gardener and Luke Sweeney setting the pace before Sonny & The Sunsets hits the stage at the Rickshaw Stop. It’s been a busy year for frontman Sonny Smith who has worked behind the scenes and behind the booth at local record fairs to build his locally-focused label Rocks In Your Head Records.
March 21: The Growlers @ The Warfield
Tickets are still available three weeks before The Growlers’ return to San Francisco, which seems amazing considering almost all of the band’s shows over the past few years (if not every show) has sold out well in advance. If you’re still on the fence, consider this quote from The Strokes frontman Julian Casablanca: “The Growlers may be the most interesting band in the world, certainly one of the coolest.” What are you waiting for?
March 28: Sarah Shook & The Disarmers @ Swedish American Music Hall
Sarah Shook & The Disarmers offers a rare jolt of country music in San Francisco outside of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, where it seems 90% of touring Americana bands make their annual stop in the city. Her songs are clearly rooted in classic country and often whiskey-drenched lyrics (just how we like them), but with a few contemporary flourishes.
More March concert highlights:
March 6: American Nightmare and Ceremony @ The Fillmore
March 7: Beach Bunny @ Great American Music Hall
March 8: Neal Francis @ Brick and Mortar
March 10: Shopping @ Rickshaw Stop
March 14: Miami Horror @ Audio
March 14: Pussy Riot @ UC Theater
March 14: Balkan Bump @ Rickshaw Stop
March 19: Free Nationals @ Brick & Mortar Music Hall
March 28: Holy Fuck at Slim’s
Find more concerts with SF Station’s events calendar or subscribe to our newsletter to get the best events each week delivered to your inbox.
Photo Credit: Alex Akamine
