New year, new outlook on the live music scene.
As more people are becoming comfortable going back to mega concerts to sing along and sweat it out with thousands of fellow music lovers, some of pop’s biggest stars are embarking on ambitious shows that can help fans party like it’s 2019.
Here’s a look ahead at some of the biggest concerts, tours and festivals coming to the Bay Area in 2023.
SZA
SZA, who performed at this year’s Outside Lands Festival in Golden Gate Park, is set to head out on her first headlining arena tour in 2023, with plans to bring her “SOS” North American tour to the Oakland Arena.
The 17-city tour in support of the R&B star’s sophomore album of the same name, which arrives five years after her 2017 debut, “Ctrl,” and features collaborators such as Travis Scott, Don Tolliver and fellow Outside Lands veteran Phoebe Bridgers.
8 p.m. March 14. Oakland Arena, 7000 Coliseum Way, Oakland. www.ticketmaster.com
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode plans to launch its first tour in five years — the first since the death of founding member Andy “Fletch” Fletcher — in Northern California.
The surviving members of the British synth-pop band, which was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2020, are touring in support of their forthcoming 15th studio album, “Memento Mori,” which is set for release in the spring.
7:30 p.m. March 23. Golden 1 Center, 500 David J. Stern Walk, Sacramento; 7:30 p.m. March 25, SAP Center, 525 W. Santa Clara St., San Jose. www.ticketmaster.com
Blink-182
Reunited with original guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge, who left the band in 2015, Blink-182 plans to set off on an extensive world tour that is expected to kick off in March and include a pair of Northern California dates. The group is expected to release a full-length reunion album as well.
Blink-182 last performed in the Bay Area as part of the Outside Lands festival in San Francisco — with guitarist Matt Skiba of Alkaline Trio — in 2019.
7:30 p.m. June 22. SAP Center, 525 W. Santa Clara St., San Jose; 7:30 p.m. June 23. Golden 1 Center, 500 David J. Stern Walk, Sacramento. www.ticketmaster.com
Mosswood Meltdown
Mosswood Meltdown is slated to take over Oakland’s Mosswood Park on July 1-2, with the only Bay Area appearance of 2023 by the feminist electro-pop act Le Tigre.
The bill for the annual underground festival also includes local electro-clash band Gravy Train, indie-pop act the Rondelles, garage rockers Tina & the Total Babes and novelty dance music duo Quintron & Miss Pussycat.
Filmmaker and author John Waters is expected to return as master of ceremonies.
Noon. July 1-2. Mosswood Park, 3612 Webster St., Oakland. www.mosswoodmeltdown.com
Dead & Company
Dead & Company says its summer 2023 outing will be its last. But the members of the group — which include John Mayer and surviving Grateful Dead members Bob Weir, Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann, along with Oteil Burbridge and Jeff Chimenti — are unlikely to take much time off.
“Don’t worry, we will all be out there in one form or another until we drop,” Weir says.
7 p.m. July 14-16. Oracle Park, 24 Willie Mays Plaza, S.F. www.ticketmaster.com
Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift’s highly anticipated return to the home of the San Francisco 49ers is set for July 28-29. The pop star previously performed at Levi’s Stadium during her “Reputation” tour in 2018 and “1989” tour in 2015, packing the outdoor arena with 55,000 fans each night. This time it’s for the “Eras” tour — which short-circuited the Ticketmaster site — in support of her latest chart-topping release, “Midnights.”
Openers for her Bay Area dates are expected to be Haim and Gracie Abrams.
6:30 p.m. July 28-29. Levi’s Stadium, 4900 Marie P. DeBartolo Way, Santa Clara. www.ticketmaster.com
Death Cab for Cutie/The Postal Service
Ben Gibbard plans to perform double duty on an upcoming co-headlining tour by Death Cab for Cutie and the Postal Service. Each act — Gibbard serves as frontman for both — is marking the 20th anniversary of their landmark albums by playing them in full.
For Death Cab, it’s 2003’s “Transatlanticism,” and for the Postal Service, “Give Up,” which was released the same year.
7 p.m. Oct. 9-11. Greek Theatre at UC Berkeley, 2001 Gayley Road, Berkeley. www.ticketmaster.com
Anita Baker
Anita Baker is set to embark on her first full tour in 28 years in 2023, playing 15 cities before closing out the limited run of shows at Oakland Arena next December. The Grammy-winning R&B singer’s tour marks the 40th anniversary of the release of the debut album, “The Songstress” . It marks the first time the 64-year-old has been on a full tour since 1995, and the first time she will perform her classic hits live, including “Giving You the Best That I Got” and “Sweet Love,” since winning back the rights to her masters.
7 p.m. Dec. 23. Oakland Arena, 7000 Coliseum Way, Oakland. www.ticketmaster.com