Welcome to our calendar feature BIG WEEK. Each week, our expert Arts & Culture writers recommend the best things for you to do in the best city on earth: Arts, Music, Food & Drink, Stage, Film, Nightlife, and more. Big news of the week: PORTOLA 2025 has just released its stage lineup and set times for the September 20 and 21, with some of the big-big names in dance music, including Chemical Brothers, Moby, Underworld, The Prodigy, Peggy Gou, Dom Dolla, Blessed Madonna, and Horse Meat Disco—check out the whole Portola megillah here.
GENERAL ARTS
Marke B. guides you right. There’s tons more to do and support right here.
THU/31: A CELEBRATION OF LOU WELCH Bay Guardian music writer Garrett Caples and Brad hosts this evening of discussion and readings about the life and work of the beloved Beat poet who disappeared into eternity. Presented by City Lights in Jack Kerouac Alley off the Vesuvius Bar in North Beach, the tribute includes readings by Kai Snyder, Judy Halebsky, Peter Coyote, and Patrick James Dunagan. 7pm, Jack Kerouac Alley, SF. More info here.
THU/31-AUGUST 17: POMPEII Detour Productions’ Bob Fosse-inspired immersive theatrical production “reimagines the fall of a legendary city as a fever-dream nightclub—an opulent yet doomed space where queers seek refuge, revel in the present, brace for the inevitable, and dance into oblivion.” Wear something fabulous, obvs. Storek, SF. More info here.
THU/13-AUGUST 3: THE AMAZING ACRO-CATS Why am I such a sucker for this kind of thing? Do I really want to watch troupe of trained domestic house cats, all rescues or orphans, perform daring feats such as ball-rolling, hoop-jumping, skateboarding, and much more—building up to a grand finale with “the only all-cat band in the world: Tuna and the Rock Cats!” Yes, yes I do. And see our Film section below for the CatVideoFest, too. So many kitties on display. Cowell Theater at Fort Mason, SF. More info here.
FRI/1: TRANSGENDER DISTRICT HISTORY AND BLACK ELDER STORYTELLING Hosted by Ms. Billee Cooper and Megan Rohrer, this event honors the rich history of the Transgender District in the Tenderloin, highlighting captivating stories “from our beloved elders as they share their experiences and wisdom with us.” 6pm, Transgender District Office at 1067 Market, SF. More info here.
FRI/1—JANUARY 4: “MAKIBAKA: A LIVING LEGACY” Curated by SOMA Pilipinas and Trisha Lagaso Goldberg, this powerhouse art show celebrates “the rich cultural contributions, enduring spirit, and fierce political activism of SF’s Filipino community,” featuring artists Erina Alejo, Kimberly Acebo Arteche, England Hidalgo, Johanna Poethig, Weston Teruya, Lucille Tenazas, Jenifer Wofford, Rea Lynn De Guzman, and more. Opening party will be blast, with local wonder and Tiny Desk winner Ruby Ibarra on the mic. Show runs though January 4. Opening party: 6:30pm. YBCA, SF. More info here.
FRI/1: DOLLY PARTON’S THREADS: MY SONGS IN SYMPHONY The Almighty Dolly is not here in person, but she’s still leading a singalong, onscreen, at the Summer at the Symphony series. Jack Everly conducts Dolly Parton’s Threads: My Songs in Symphony, “an innovative multimedia symphonic experience featuring Parton on screen, leading audiences in a visual-musical journey of her songs, her life, and her stories.” Accompanied by guest vocalists and musicians, this program features new orchestrations of Parton’s hit songs, including “Jolene,” “Coat of Many Colors,” and “I Will Always Love You,” woven together into a full evening of storytelling. 7:30pm, Davies Symphony Hall, SF. More info here.
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SAT/2: “THE ART OF HOMELESSNESS” / “CRUSHING WHEELCHAIRS” FUNDRAISER Theater of the Poor’s incredible “Crushing Wheelchairs” play is now being turned into a movie (watch the trailer here), confronting the reality of homeless sweeps and government-led displacement with voices of those affected, many of whom have lost everything. Get a sneak peek at “The Art of Homeless” exhibition at Swim Gallery. 6pm, Swim Gallery, SF. More info here.
TUE/5: ROSALI The North Carolina guitarist-songwriter’s latest album Bite Down made space for her to “sink my teeth into the flesh and bone of being in the world, devouring the obstacles in my path and gloriously savoring all that is on offer”—but the winsome, roots-influenced songs she crafts are more transcendent than blood-soaked. 7pm, all ages. Rickshaw Stop, SF. More info here.
MUSIC
Hit up John-Paul Shiver’s Under the Stars column for great musical picks every week.
THU/31-SUN: SUN RA ARKESTRA Listen, SFJAZZ has a fantastic 2025-2026 season of programming ready and on sale now that will blow your mind. However, this week, they have the globally renowned orchestra that has carried on their mission since Sun Ra’s passing in 1993. The esteemed Sun Ra Arkestra will perform Cosmic Space Jazz on 7/31, Big Band Swing on 8/1, a Marshall Allen 101 Salute on 8/2, and Space Is The Place / The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra on 8/3. Come for the interstellar mission and leave with the Afro-futurist pageantry. So many worlds of music and schools of philosophy from just one band. SFJAZZ, more info here.
THU/31: BRIDGET EVERETT AND THE TENDER MOMENTS In defiance of all the nasty, big-government tomfoolery happening this summer, I’ve been revisiting Bridget Everett’s award-winning show Somebody, Somewhere on HBO/MAX, strictly for the humanity. It’s a quiet, cozy, seemingly low-stakes but real emotional snapshot of life in the Midwest, a fish-out-of-water story of sorts, which tells the tale of how chosen family can be just as important as blood relatives. Bridgett Everett is stunning. One moment, she’s larger than the moon singing “Gloria” at a wedding or doing leg kicks and Pilates with confused ferocity, then on a dime can get small, quiet, and float out that tender, sensitive heart… I’ve heard the live show captures all that goodness in song and blue jokes. We could use it these days. 7pm, Palace of Fine Arts, SF. More info here.
FRI/1: COFFEE COWORK + DJS It’s a freakin’ big SF weekend, so you want to tie up all the work you can before Friday night, cause who knows, maybe you don’t stop partying on Sunday. OG San Franciscians know exactly what I’m talking about. So come down to Underground SF in the Lower Haight on Friday from 10 am–1:30 pm for coworking vibes, great drinks, and mostly chill music to help you stay lock in. It’s free and everybody there is focused, cause that weekend is looming large, in and outside of Golden Gate Park, Holmes. 10am-1:30pm, Underground SF, 424 Haight Street.
SUN/3-AUGUST 31: CRUCIAL REGGAE SUNDAYS Just about every Sunday from 4:20 pm, heh, to 7:30pm at the Golden Gate Bandshell, you can get your cool runnings in order amidst the trees and breeze for no cost. Crucial Reggae Sundays brings free, family-friendly reggae music to the historic bandshell at Music Concourse in Golden Gate Park. Hosted by residents Irie Dole, Guidance, and DJ Sep, the day party features special guest live performances and DJ sets every week. Coming up, look out for Skadanks, the NYC progressive roots band with a live show, plus special guest DJ King I-Vier(August 3), no show August 10, DJ Shortkut with DJ Irie Dole(August 17), Residents Day featuring Irie Dole, Guidance, and DJ Sep(August 24), Irie Rockerz with DJ Guidance (August 31). 4:20pm, Sundays, Golden Gate Bandshell, SF. More info here.
TUE/5: SADGIRL & THE MCCHARMLYS SoCal rock bands take center stage at GAMH next Tuesday, blending experimental, gritty garage pop with doo-wop, surf, and 60s-style rock ‘n’ roll. Headliner LA’s SadGirl continues exploring sensory textures, balancing opposites through lo-fi tape machines to create a raw, punk-inspired euphoria. Meanwhile, the opening band, the bold and lively The McCharmlys from Santa Ana, celebrate the charms of various past eras through the playful attitude of lead singer and founder Angie Monroy. They have earned fans among punk, New Wave, and rockabilly audiences with their unique mix of retro styles that come together perfectly. 7pm, Great American Music Hall, SF. More info here.
FOOD & DRINK
Tamara Palmer’s weekly Good Taste column tells you where to stick your fork.
THUR/31 RED BAY COFFEE REOPENS IN FERRY BUILDING Even though it was still poured from a truck in back, it was a bummer to see Red Bay Coffee leave a permanent space inside the Ferry Building some months back. Fortunately, the Black-owned specialty coffee company is back in a new space, and this one has a patio, sandwiches, pastries, assorted light bites and, in late summer, coffee cocktails such as the Bay Pandan Latte, Port of Espresso Martini, and Fillmore Fog. This Thursday’s grand opening is the day to catch the ribbon cutting, tunes from singer Ariel B and DJ “BlckSpkz” Collins, and a free cup of coffee. 12-3pm Suite 46, Ferry Building, SF
THUR/31-SUN/3 V FOUNDATION WINE CELEBRATION POURS IN NAPA If you’re looking for a Napa Valley food, wine, and music splurge that actually benefits an ever more crucial cause, consider the 27th Annual V Foundation Wine Celebration, a four-day, multi-venue food and wine charity event and concert that assists the V Foundation for Cancer Research to provide hundreds of millions in cancer research grants. GRAMMY-nominated singer Maggie Rose headlines the live music programming, and there’s also dinners and wine/food tastings to consider. Hosts Estate Yountville and Nickel & Nickel Winery in Oakville are about a 10 minute drive apart. More info here.
STAGE
Charles Lewis III hits up theaters and performance spaces every week for his Drama Masks column.
EXTENDED THROUGH AUGUST 3: “LES BLANCS” Oakland Theater Project’s take on Lorraine Hansberry’s radical play features a cast of Black women playing every role, resulting in one of the best shows of the year. The white settlers off fictional country Zartembe feel the only thing keeping “their” home from true greatness is the dark-skinned savages who have been there since time immemorial. Well-intentioned white American Charlie Morris (Champagne Hughes) is there to write a story about a supposedly kind-hearted white priest in the area, but arrives just as displaced rebels begin guerilla warfare. It’s also when Zatembe native Tshembe (Jeunée Simon) returns to bury his father. Tshembe lives in Europe with his white wife and newborn. He’s seen Eurocentrism from every conceivable angle. What scares him isn’t the idea of returning to Zatembe, but the possible realization that he may have never really left. FLAX art & design, Oakland. More info here.
EXTENDED THROUGH AUGUST 17: “THE SEARCH FOR SIGNS OF INTELLIGENT LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE” The eccentric homeless woman at the center of Jane Wagner’s classic 1985 show is, at the risk of understatement, loquacious. She has no shortage of opinions on our wicked world. What’s more, she can recite by heart the curious observations of the extra-terrestrials whom she says come to her for advice. Beloved local comic Marga Gomez is the perfect person to inherit the proverbial shoes once filled by Lily Tomlin, bringing her own unique, multi-personality take on the character that softens some of the more creaky edges. Aurora Theatre, Berkeley. More info here.
FILM
Dennis Harvey’s long-running Screen Grabs has tons more flicks to recommend.
PLAYING FRI/1: CATVIDEOFEST 2025 The latest edition of this annual showcase for kitty clips will be playing the Roxie, Alamo Drafthouses, Elmwood, Rafael Film Center, and other venues nationwide as of Fri/1. We see felines battle appliances, tipping objects off tables and shelves, making uninvited guest appearances on the athletic field, high AF on catnip, scratch DJ-ing, dallying with other creatures (dogs, rabbits, a swan, babies), demonstrating acrobatic abilities, striking contortionist resting positions, etc.. Among the more substantial segments: the chronicle of a mange-addled puss’ rehabilitation to health. There’s another short “documentary” about a rather wild-acting woman who’s turned a Mongolian monastery into a cat refuge. Probably my favorite bit was the portrait of Cheddar, who “has an emotional support bikini that he takes everywhere,” dragging that hot-pink fashion item through life. More info here.
OPENING FRI/1: ARCHITECTON Footage of bombed-out Ukrainian cities provide a striking start to Russian documentarian Viktor Kossakovsky’s Architecton. Our nominal hero is Italian architect Michele de Lucchi, who’s designed and restored buildings around the world, often for major corporation. He isn’t interviewed here—mostly we see him putter around as workmen lay a simple stone circle on the property outside his rural villa. We also visit the massive temple ruins of Baalbeck in Lebanon, an enormous quarry, and see the industrial process of turning stone into cement. Many of these images are hypnotic, the film speed often slowed down to a degree where the minute becomes monumental—though there are plenty of actual monuments, too. At Bay Area theaters on Fri/1, including SF’s Roxie, as well as the Alamo Drafthouse New Mission and Mountain View.
NIGHTLIFE
Marke B. usually knows what’s up.
SAT/2: CELEBRATION OF LIFE FOR DAX PIERSON One of the most brilliant figures in indie, hip-hop, and electronic music—local, but also everywhere—passed away earlier this year. I was so proud to call Dax Pierson a friend, and so privileged to write about him. His story is incredible, and this celebration of life (on his 55th birthday) turns up an awesome gathering at Gray Area, with special performances by M.Sayyid of Antipop Consortium, Jel of Anticon, Golden Champagne Flavored Sweatshirt of Ratskin, and Mars Kumari of the Handsmade collective. 7pm-12am, Gray Area, SF. More info here.
SAT/2: MIKE SERVITO She is the acid queen! The New Yorker studied hard at the storied underground raves of 1990s Detroit, and went on to dominate with marathon sets that are breathtaking in their wibbly-warbly selection and appeal. He’s appearing with Narciss, who knows how to get an old school shuffle outta ya. 9:30pm-3am, Public Works, SF. More info here.
SUN/5: MAYA JANE COLES Coldest summer ever in San Francisco? Pshaw. Join the UK house prodigy with some local favorites around the pool at the Phoenix Hotel, and let her masterful, upbeat mixes switch on the inner sunshine. 1pm-6pm, Phoenix Hotel, SF. More info here.
SUN/5: FLOATING POINTS One of Outside Lands cute live night shows, this Fox Theater rave will tickle the mind as well as other extremities. Manchurian Sam Sheppard, aka Floating Points—who recently stunned with score at the SF Ballet—isn’t afraid to get jazzy and heady in his pursuit of sonic euphoria. 6:30pm, Fox Theater, Oakland. More info here.
