The Freight

The Freight LIVE MUSIC. GLOBAL ROOTS. Berkeley, CA since 1968 Traditional music performances, classes, and community gatherings for all ages
(1280)

05/29/2026

THU, JUN 11 | Third World + Kumar Fyah - A Tribute To Cat Coore at The Freight

🎟️thefreight.org
2020 Addison St.
Berkeley, CA

The members of Third World pay tribute to Cat Coore, one of their founding members who passed away in January of this year. Third World is an institution in the reggae genre, having toured and recorded with late great Bob Marley.

05/27/2026

SAT & SUN, JUN 6, 7 | The legend is back at The Freight!

🎟️Limited tickets available at thefreight.org

Booker T. Jones is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, record producer, and arranger. Best known as the frontman of the band Booker T. & the M.G.’s, responsible for the 1962 hit “Green Onions,” he’s earned a Grammy Award for lifetime achievement.

JUST ANNOUNCED - Chris Smither | FRI, NOV 13🎟️thefreight.orgFolk-blues stalwart Chris Smither has been contemplating mor...
05/26/2026

JUST ANNOUNCED - Chris Smither | FRI, NOV 13

🎟️thefreight.org

Folk-blues stalwart Chris Smither has been contemplating mortality throughout his decades of songwriting; at 80, he’s more convincing than ever” - New York Times

Having distilled his own signature sound of blues and folk for over 50 years and twenty records, Chris Smither is truly an American original. A profound songwriter, Chris continues to draw deeply from the blues, American folk music, modern poets and philosophers. From his early days as the New Orleans transplant in the Boston folk scene, through his wilderness years, to his reemergence in the 1990s as one of America’s most distinctive acoustic performers, Chris Smither continues to hone his distinctive sound. He has always traveled his own road and stayed true to his musical vision. He has developed and maintained loyal friendships over the years with kindred-spirited musicians like Bonnie Raitt, Jorma Kaukonen, and Tim O’Brien, while at the same time throughout his career been inspired by and inspiring to today's next-generation of musicians like The Suitcase Junket and Peter Mulvey. He may be best known for writing "Love You Like A Man" which Bonnie Raitt and, more recently, jazz great Diana Krall have covered. His music has been covered by numerous artists and featured in soundtrack albums, independent films, television, and commercials. Reviewers continue to praise his dazzling guitar work, gravelly voice and songwriting.

Sonny Rollins, the great “Saxophone Colossus,” has transitioned at the age of 95.Widely considered to be one of the grea...
05/26/2026

Sonny Rollins, the great “Saxophone Colossus,” has transitioned at the age of 95.

Widely considered to be one of the greatest and most influential jazz musicians who ever lived, Rollins’ impact on music over the last seven decades is truly immeasurable. He received a GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004.

Born in New York City to parents from the Virgin Islands, his best known song “St. Thomas,” is a nod to those roots, purportedly based on the traditional English tune “The Lincolnshire Poacher.” Just “St. Thomas” alone (which pianist Randy Weston recorded under the name “Fire Down There”) is worth a deep dive - with inherent lessons related to world history, the psychology of nostalgia, colonialism, immigration, war, regional pride, hunting, and class-based struggle, as well as the technical and creative aspects of arranging and melodic/harmonic re-contextualization.

Check out the 1986 documentary “Saxophone Colossus” for what is considered to be one of the definitive films on this legend of jazz. It is currently streaming for free on Tubi.

-PC Muñoz, Director of Programming

📢 NOW ON SALE! thefreight.org➞ The Complete Unknowns: A Tribute to Bob Dylan | THU, JUL 23➞ Linda Tillery & The East Bay...
05/22/2026

📢 NOW ON SALE!
thefreight.org

➞ The Complete Unknowns: A Tribute to Bob Dylan | THU, JUL 23
➞ Linda Tillery & The East Bay All Stars | THU, SEP 3
➞ Bettye LaVette | FRI, SEP 4 & SAT, SEP 5
➞ Michael Cleveland | THU, SEP 24
➞ Holly Near with Tammy Hall, Jan Martinelli, & Emma’s Revolution | SUN, OCT 4
➞ Emmet Cohen Presents: Miles and Coltrane at 100 | SUN, OCT 11
➞ Meshell Ndegeocello | SAT & SUN, OCT 17, 18
➞ Vienna Teng | SUN, DEC 27

05/21/2026

Donor presale is live!

Current Friends of The Freight have an early opportunity to purchase tickets for:

➞Michael Cleveland | SEP 24
➞Holly Near with Tammy Hall, Jan Martinelli, & Emma’s Revolution | OCT 4
➞Emmet Cohen Presents: Miles and Coltrane at 100 | OCT 11
➞Meshell Ndegeocello | OCT 17 & 18

Make a gift today and get access to tickets before they go on sale to the general public on Friday at 3PM! If you join the Friends of The Freight during the presale, you will receive an email to access the presale within an hour of your qualifying gift.

thefreight.org

Still waiting to book your memorial weekend plans? The Freight has a special weekend of shows for you!🎟️thefreight.org ◆...
05/18/2026

Still waiting to book your memorial weekend plans? The Freight has a special weekend of shows for you!

🎟️thefreight.org

◆︎ MON, MAY 18 Freight Singers Community Chorus with Special Guest Tony Lindsay
◆︎ FRI, MAY 22 [SOLD OUT] Ramblin' Jack Elliott & Friends at The Freight
◆︎ SAT, MAY 23 Tony Trischka's EarlJam - A Tribute to Earl Scruggs Featuring Michael Daves at The Freight
◆︎ SUN, MAY 24 Marjan Vahdat & Sahba Motallebi at The Freight
◆︎ TUE, MAY 26 Jazzschool Studio Band and Dave Eshelman's Jazz Garden Big Band

Another great Andrew Gilbert piece about our upcoming show featuring Marjan Vahdat & Sahba Motallebi on Sunday, May 24!T...
05/13/2026

Another great Andrew Gilbert piece about our upcoming show featuring Marjan Vahdat & Sahba Motallebi on Sunday, May 24!

Tickets are still available at thefreight.org

Trio of concerts feature Iranian exiles performing in NorCal venues

05/12/2026

JUST ANNOUNCED | Your favorite T Sisters are back on September 19! ✨

It’s always a great show - get your tickets now before it sells out!

🎟️thefreight.org
2020 Addison St
Berkeley, CA

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2020 Addison Street
Berkeley, CA
94704

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