Live at Berkeley is a posthumous live album by The Jimi Hendrix Experience released on September 16, 2003. The album documents the band's second performance at the Berkeley Community Theatre on May 30, 1970.

After the Band of Gypsys split up, Jimi's manager, Michael Jeffery, wanted to reunite the original Experience. He announced the re-formation of the Experience, and set up an interview with Rolling Stone magazine (with interviewer John Burks) on March 19, 1970, but 2 weeks later, Jimi had decided he did not want to work with bassist Noel Redding anymore. So with drummer Mitch Mitchell and bassist Billy Cox, the trio formed the new Jimi Hendrix Experience, also known as The Cry of Love, and at this particular concert pushed the boundaries with works-in-progress including embryonic versions of what would become "Straight Ahead" and "Hey Baby (New Rising Sun)". Hendrix didn't tune his guitar down a half step as he usually did at all other shows and on most of his albums. Instead, he stayed in standard tuning.

James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942 – September 18, 1970) was an American musician and singer-songwriter. He is widely considered to be the greatest electric guitarist in music history, and one of the most influential musicians of his era despite mainstream exposure limited to just three years. After initial success in Europe with his group The Jimi Hendrix Experience, he achieved fame in the United States following his 1967 performance at the Monterey Pop Festival. Later, he headlined the iconic 1969 Woodstock Festival and the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival. He often favored raw overdriven amplifiers with high gain and treble and helped develop the previously undesirable technique of guitar amplifier feedback.

Hendrix helped to popularize use of the wah-wah pedal in mainstream rock, which he often used to deliver tonal exaggerations in his solos, particularly with high bends, complex guitar playing, and use of legato. As a record producer, he also broke new ground in using the recording studio as an extension of his musical ideas. He was one of the first to experiment with stereophonic phasing effects for rock recording.^{[citation needed]} He was influenced by blues artists such as B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Albert King and Elmore James,rhythm and blues and soul guitarists Curtis Mayfield and Steve Cropper, and the jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery. Hendrix began dressing and wearing a moustache like Little Richard when he performed and recorded in his band from March 1, 1964 through to the spring of 1965. In 1966, he stated, "I want to do with my guitar what Little Richard does with his voice".

Devendra Obi Banhart (born May 30, 1981) is a singer-songwriter and visual artist. Banhart was born in Houston, Texas and was raised by his mother in Venezuela, until he moved to California as a teenager. He began to study at the San Francisco Art Institute in 1998, but dropped out to perform music in Europe, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Banhart released his debut album in 2002, continuing to record his material on the Young God and XL labels, as well as other work on compilations and collaborations.

Banhart was born May 30, 1981 in Houston, Texas to a Venezuelan mother and an American father. His given name is a synonym for Indra, the Hindu god of rain and thunder, which was suggested by Prem Rawat, an Indian religious leader whom Banhart's parents followed. Banhart's middle name Obi was modeled after the Star Wars character. Banhart's parents divorced two years after his birth and he moved with his mother to Caracas, Venezuela. His mother later remarried and Banhart's stepfather moved the family to Los Angeles, California, when Banhart was 14 years old.

Joseph "Joe" Satriani (born July 15, 1956) is an American instrumental rock guitarist of Italian origin, multi-instrumentalist and multiple Grammy Award nominee. Early in his career, Satriani worked as a guitar instructor, and some of his former students have achieved fame such as Steve Vai, Larry LaLonde, Rick Hunolt, Kirk Hammett, Andy Timmons, Charlie Hunter, Kevin Cadogan and Alex Skolnick. Satriani has been a driving force in music credited to other musicians throughout his career, as a founder of the G3 tour, as well as performing in various positions with other musicians.

In 1988, Satriani was recruited by Mick Jagger as lead guitarist for Jagger's first solo tour. In 1994, Satriani was the lead guitarist for Deep Purple. Satriani worked with a range of guitarists, including Steve Vai, John Petrucci, Eric Johnson, Larry LaLonde, Yngwie Malmsteen, Brian May, Patrick Rondat, Andy Timmons, Paul Gilbert, Adrian Legg, and Robert Fripp through the annual G3 Jam Concerts. He is currently the lead guitarist for the supergroup Chickenfoot. Since 1988, Satriani has been using his own signature guitar, the Ibanez JS Series, which is sold in music stores worldwide.

Joshua Allen (born March 13, 1989) is the winner of the fourth season of So You Think You Can Dance. He had originally auditioned in Dallas, Texas with his friend and fellow contestant, Comfort Fedoke. Allen was announced winner of the show on August 7, 2008, winning $250,000.

Allen was born in Fort Worth, Texas. He first started to dance in third grade, at the age of 8. One of his early influences was Michael Jackson, whom Allen emulated by doing the Moonwalk. He also excelled at sports and played football and track. After changing high schools, however, Allen decided to focus on his first love: dance.

On So You Think You Can Dance, he was paired up with Katee Shean, Courtney Galiano, Chelsie Hightower, and Stephen "tWitch" Boss. Along with Katee, he made the final four without an appearance in the Bottom 3 couples or Bottom 4 contestants. While on the show Allen had done performances in hip-hop, broadway, samba, contemporary, west coast swing, Viennese Waltz, rumba, Argentine tango, disco, lyrical jazz, and jive. It should also be noted that Allen has done the first Bollywood dance and trepak of America's So You Think You Can Dance, with Katee and tWitch, respectively.