About - Mike's List

Event listings with a point of view

I'm Michael Baker, a music freak in Oakland.

I've been attending concerts in the Bay area for the last 30 years or so. While technology has changed somewhat, I still learn about which musicians have upcoming shows the same way I did back then: via The List and KALX. Of course, a few things have changed since then: Steve Koepke printed-out sheets of paper are now available in web formats, and KALX's event calendar has found its way online as well.

But that's not to say that this method could not be improved — or at the very least customized to my preferences! This website is my attempt to build on what others have provided while also including useful context about the musicians and venues featured here.

Site Philosophy

Shows first The spotlight stays on the artists. The site keeps its public surface focused on artist-backed performances without a bunch of ads and ticketing junk gumming up the works.

Context matters Sources stay visible. I'm proud of what I've built here, but it would be nothing without the underlying data provided by the site's sources.

Sources

An eye on the region The List The List is Steve Koepke's long-running Bay Area concert calendar with venue-based music listings, helpfully organized by Jon Luini.

Open The List

Local flavor KALX 90.7 FM The UC Berkeley–adjacent college radio station KALX 90.7 FM is always worth a listen. Their calendar digs deeper on what's up in the East Bay.

Open KALX Events

A very helpful API Spotify I don't love everything about Spotify, but Mike's List would be significantly less colorful and interactive without their data. I plan to add Bandcamp integration as well.

About Spotify CEO Daniel Ek