You have to get up early to get the good seats in Stern Grove’s outdoor concert series, but for this Sunday’s free 2 p.m. show the wait is worth it. South African trumpeter and activist Hugh Masekela leads his band through songs from his forty-year career, from “Grazing in the Grass” to “Mandela” and “Stimela.” It’s powerful jazz-pop politics with those irresistible South African rhythms (which inspired Paul Simon to hire Masekela’s band for his Graceland tour in 1987). Opening the outdoor afternoon is Oakland’s own larger-than-life singer Goapele, who — like Masekela — uses her music to bring up social issues. SternGrove.org
.Waiting in the Grass
Hugh Masekela and Goapele at Stern Grove.