Nightbeats: Bilingual feminist rapper Snow Tha Product in Petaluma

Growing up in San Jose, Claudia Feliciano, aka Snow Tha Product, stands out among the list of talented Bay Area rappers. Her bilingual, freestyle rap flows are unlike any other because she’ll often switch between languages so fast, she blurs the lines between English and Spanish.

Though she’s since moved away from the Bay, she’s back in the area this week for a show in Petaluma. It’s refreshing to see a female rap artist stand strong in a musical genre dominated by male artists, a theme she’s mentioned in songs like “I Don’t Want to Leave,” where she speaks of being called too pretty to rap fast and of dropping verses faster than men.

The Mexican artist is known for more than just her rapid rhymes, though. Felicano’s not afraid to talk about real issues in her songs, and her verses are deep, witty and fearless in a way that hits you like a runaway train.

Though you’ll find yourself bobbing your head to her beats, once the lyrics digest, you’ll realize they’re often full of messages questioning society, modern-day racism and women being over-sexualized.

A perfect example of this is her song “Snooze” where Snow says “A brown person would be called colored but then not brought up in conversations about race because the world is black and white, but that happened like literally yesterday ” and a couple of verses later adds “America’s obsessed with making things so big except the clothes.”

If party songs are more your speed, she also has a number of more danceable songs, like “Hola,” with a chorus that says to break out the Patron and Vodka.

Details: 8 p.m. tonight; Phoenix Theater, 201 Washington St. Petaluma; $20-$60; thephoenixtheater.com

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PROM MEETS THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE: When I was 16, I skipped my high school prom to catch a concert. At the time, I thought the tradition was outdated and I preferred to spend the night surrounded by a sea of punk kids than pay for a fancy dress I’d never wear again. While I skipped the dance, I’ve attended my fair share of proms since then.

Zombie Prom, a yearly zombie-themed dance, gave me and others who skipped prom a chance to re-do the night with a twist - a chance to spend the night in a room full of Zombies, or well, people dressed like one.

The first event was seven years ago when Sebastopol’s Aubergine After Dark nightclub was up and running. When that venue shut down, the yearly party had enough of a regular audience to move to Whiskey Tip in Roseland where it’s become somewhat of a cult classic for Halloween lovers in the area.

The night is worth attending even if you went to prom and loved it. Instead of spending the night limited by high school rules, or waiting for someone to spike the punch, you’ll get to spend the night with the 21-and-over crowd and buy as many drinks as you want without having to sneak them past a chaperone.

Details: 8 p.m. Friday; Whiskey Tip, 1910 Sebastopol Road, Santa Rosa; $12; http://tinyurl.com/yawodord

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COVER SONG SHUFFLE: As someone who has an eclectic musical library, I’d never thought I’d see a day where a live band would have a set list that could keep up with the different styles of music on my iPod shuffle. Yet, San Francisco band Neon Velvet plays covers of modern tunes from artists such as Justin Timberlake and Kesha, to David Bowie and Depeche Mode.

Blending together a look that screams funk and flash from the ’80s with a little indie-pop swagger, the band puts on a fun show full of new and classic dance hits bound to make you want to party.

Break out your dance shoes and catch the band in Napa.

Details: 8 p.m. Saturday; Silo’s, 530 Main St., Napa; $20-$25; silosnapa.com

Help us keep the beat. Write Estefany at nightbeats@pressdemocrat.com