Noise Pop Festival, San Francisco’s unprecedented celebration of independent music and art, will return for its 32nd year February 20 through Sunday, March 2. The panoply of associated events now includes local label happy hours, 100 concerts, and events across a dozen landmark SF venues blending music, film, art, and authentic Bay Area culture. What started as a one-off in 1993 as a “5 bands for 5 dollars show” at the Kennel Club (now The Independent) has become the spark that officially ignites music festival season nationwide.
That’s right. Before SXSW in Austin cracks its first Shiner Bock or Miami’s Ultra Music Fest brings out its first EDM cake-tossing DJ, or even Treefort Music Fest in Boise, Idaho makes 30,000 festival-goers familiar with… Boise. It’s Noise Pop, Jack. Packs 10 days of Karl-foggy mornings and unbelievable nights when patrons must choose between the Bay Area’s most popular music venues such as Great American Music Hall, Bottom of the Hill, The Chapel, Rickshaw Stop, SFJAZZ, August Hall, Gray Area, Bender’s, 1015 Folsom, Swedish American Hall, Grace Cathedral—and a return to those iconic SF haunts The Independent and Kilowatt. As we call it around these parts, the all-inclusive, crosstown, downtown, around-town music party that reads vast and feels personal.
This year’s lineup features an edgy mosaic of cross-cultural tuneage: alternative indie sensation Soccer Mommy, influential emo rapper Earl Sweatshirt, rock band Chat Pile from Oklahoma City, foundational British group Cymande, San Francisco’s latest shoegaze sensation Aluminum….
We would like to offer some suggestions; sit back and let us guide you through it. You can find all the info you need at www.noisepop.com.
OPENING NIGHT PARTY AT NIGHTLIFE WITH DĀM-FUNK, FEBRUARY 20
LA’s DāM-FunK is the progenitor, point man, and ambassador for the modern funk and boogie movement, with his distinct interpretation, attitude, and philosophies on life. Over the past 15 years, he’s given agency and support to next-gen producers who look like him. It makes no difference if he’s performing live or delivering one of his “you have to see it to believe it” DJ sets; you will never hear funk the same again. Noise Pop chose the correct ambassador to kick off its 2025 campaign. Yuka Yu—who was born in Taiwan and started DJing in London’s Camden Town, trained at the London Sound Academy and says that she started spinning to connect people through music—will open for DāM-FunK along with 3kelves.
HOTEL ZEPPELIN HAPPY HOUR, FEBRUARY 22
Slide into your Noise Pop Festival weekend the right way. From 4pm-7pm, KEXP’s Gabriel Lopez, co-host of Vinelands, will be playing tunes while festivalgoers swing by to pick up Noise Pop Festival badges. So hang out, nibble on some complimentary snacks, and sip from a Negroni fountain. Free with RSVP.
FLAMIN’ GROOVIES, FEBRUARY 22 AT 4 STAR THEATER
Let it be known that the culty and influential band Flamin’ Groovies started right here in San Francisco in 1965, pre-dating that other SF band with the tie-dye shirts from the Haight-Ashbury who generated over $400 million in ticket sales from 1965 to 1995. See, the Flamin’ Groovies have always been just a bit out of step; that’s the charm. Despite the fact helped to invent power pop and was one of the forerunners of punk rock, first one through the wall catches all thee splinters, will bring their legacy to the buzzy live venue happening right now in San Francisco, the newly renovated 4-Star Theater.
CARDBOARD PEOPLE, FEBRUARY 22 AT KILOWATT
Noise Pop remains the poster child for going to see one specific artist and being blindsided by somebody you never heard of before, but after the live performance, you are sold. That built-in, of-the-moment energy dust happens several times over. Be ready for it. Cardboard People, a charismatic Bay Area group—yep, they got that rizz factor—founded in 2020 by Chicago native singer Yunoka Berry and Bay Area producer Jim Greer, have been stealing crowds, piling up those “oh my gawd” moments on the bills with Angelo Moore (Fishbone), Afterthought, Juicebumps, and a bunch more. So on this gig, they are opening for power-pop maestro Paul Collins, but you may get gobsmacked by this gotta-see band making waves.
MARIKA CHRISTINE, FEBRUARY 23 AT KILOWATT
It just feels right having Kilowatt back in the rotation as a venue for Noise Pop 2025. At this bar with a little stage on one of the busiest entertainment strips in the city, music adventurers will get a true sense of where locals go to grab a drink, catch a game, and see who’s the up-and-coming artist of the week. Marika Christine is one of those San Francisco artists on the upsurge. Inspired by nature, relationships, and the highs and lows of being human, according to a Bandcamp profile description. Classic folk-rock songwriting with a sprinkle of weird psychedelic vibes and whimsical nostalgia pop seems to be Christine’s jam when she’s not giving Elon the what for, moonlighting in the lullaby punk band Secret Secret.
BENDER’S HAPPY HOURS, FEBRUARY 25-MARCH 1
Time for a breakdown. The Happy Hours at Bender’s, a local bar in the bustling Mission District, provide another opportunity to experience the local angle of this festival. This year’s lineup features a curated mix of like-minded, independently owned, and San Francisco-based institutions, including record labels, apparel brands, and music collectives, all reinforcing Noise Pop’s commitment to the local community.
Over the course of five Happy Hours—featuring DoTheBay & San Franpsycho on February 25, White Crate on February 26, Bright Antenna on February 27, Text Me Records on February 28, and Cherub Dream on Saturday, March 1—you can use these events as a meet-up point with friends and colleagues before diving into a night of serious music listening. Alternatively, you can attend to discover which local bands are on the verge of breaking through. These shows are often vibrant, filled with energy and a rebellious spirit, reminiscent of the CMJ vibe. This aspect of the festival adds depth to Noise Pop, making it all the more accessible.
CYMANDE, FEBRUARY 26 AT AUGUST HALL
Ya know, most of the time it’s the Brits doing a trip on Americans, ballyhooing how we missed out on some POC, lost-on-us artist or musical talent that could not catch the light of day, or a cold in fact, here in the States. Welp, in terms of the enigmatic British band Cymande, it was American hip-hop that said, “Hold up, run this one back, it is tea time.”
Spike Lee, Wu-Tang, De La Soul, and for sure the Fugees alerted my young hip-hop ears about Cymande, who had that girth and grandeur to be the British version of Earth, Wind & Fire—horn section, jazz licks, the ability to combine genres into elongated compositions, and when need be, just blow folks away with breezy funk. They had all the tools, including headlining at the proving ground of all time, the Apollo Theater in Harlem, USA.
But back home, no UK TV station would put them on air. So the band broke up. This past January, the band released Renascence, their first album of new material in a decade featuring ten songs, constructed in that classic form that made them such a trivia question in the history books.With a performance at August Hall here in San Francscio, a mecca in itself for obscure vinyl like no other, expect this heartening band, who’s inspired so many artists, trends and boutique DJ nights all over the world, to get their proper homecoming.
SOCCER MOMMY, FEBRUARY 28 AT THE FILMORE
Nashville songwriter and musician Sophie Allison is world-famous for her catchy arrangements and acoustic-forward tracks. It’s what the Soccer Mommy brand has built through a very successful career. But I’d bet the closest we’ve gotten to non-boilerplate material was that Karaoke Night EP, where she covers songs by Sheryl Crow, Taylor Swift, R.E.M., Pavement, and Slowdive. In those moments when she’s channeling the things that caught her ear, and made her believe this whole career thing could be a possibility, is where Allison takes quirky turns like on Crow’s massive hit “Soak Up the Sun” or those grungy country stems connected to her indie heart on Pavement’s “Here” and the Taylor Swift joint “I’m Only Me When I’m With You” with synthy refrains and a steady backbeat. If we can get 30 minutes of that in concert, it’s a wrap.
