Pop music writer
Jim Harrington
Jim Harrington is the Bay Area News Group's pop music critic for The Mercury News and the East Bay Times. He began writing about the Bay Area music scene in 1992 and became the full-time pop music critic for the organization's Oakland Tribune in 2006. He is a South Bay native who graduated from San Francisco State University with a BA in Liberal Studies. He also received an MBA degree from Santa Clara University.
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SF Giants buy one of Bay Area’s premiere performing arts venues
San Francisco Giants acquire -- no, not a second baseman -- but rather the Curran Theatre.

The 10 best new Christmas music albums for 2025 holiday season
It's time to turn up the Christmas music, thanks to seasonal offerings from Brad Paisley, Matthew West, Eric Benet, Lady A, Stryper and more.

Top 13 horror movies of 2025: Do you agree with our No. 1 pick?
"Good Boy," "Weapons," "Sinners" are some of the films that make the list.

The 5 worst horror movies of 2025: ’28 Years Later’ tops our list
"Death of a Unicorn," "The Long Walk" also among the worst horror movies of 2025.

Review: Blues artists shine on Day 2 of Monterey Jazz Festival
San Jose's J.C. Smith Band delivered a massively popular set of blues music on Day 2 of the Monterey Jazz Festival.

Review: Monterey Jazz Festival gets off to a fine start on Day 1
Gregory Porter, Christian McBride and Grace Kelly were among the Day 1 highlights at the 68th annual Monterey Jazz Festival.

Music world turns to Bay Area: ‘It feels like San Francisco is back’
San Francisco music scene heats up with Grateful Dead celebration, Outside Lands festival, Zach Bryan at Golden Gate Park.

Superstar rapper set to tip off NBA All-Star Weekend in San Francisco
Act quick to secure free tickets to see Chance the Rapper perform in concert at the NBA on TNT American Express Road Show during All-Star Weekend.

Here are 10 great new Christmas albums to hear this holiday season
Jennifer Hudson, CeCe Winans, Phil Wickham, Dan + Shay, For King + Country are among our picks of the year's top Christmas albums.

The 10 best horror films of 2024 (thus far) — get a jump on Halloween
"Longlegs," "A Quiet Place: Day One," "The Substance" are among the fright flicks that make our list of top horror movies of the year.
