Welcome to our calendar feature BIG WEEK, wherein our expert Arts & Culture writers recommend the best things in Arts, Music, Food & Drink, Stage, Film, Nightlife, and more.
GENERAL ARTS
Marke B. is in the arts hot seat.
THU/6-NOVEMBER 23: “ONE BIG ROOM FULL OF BAD BITCHES” Women have a huge hand in graffiti culture and it’s always a gas to see them in the spotlight. This group exhibition celebrating queer, femme, and women-identifying artists in graffiti, featuring contributions from Xara Thustra, Lophi, Schatzi, Kolekt, UHOH, and Misia—all anchored by a solo showcase from Alrad called Everything Bad Comes Something Good. Opening reception Thu/7, 5pm-9pm. SWIM Gallery, SF. More info here.
FRI/7-SUN/9: SF ELECTRONIC MUSIC FESTIVAL As one of the epicenters of electronic music, not to mention tech, we better be at the current forefront of “live electronic performances ranging from real-time generative composition to embodied improvisation, explorations of machine-learning to eradicate the human component of music making, to industrial dub rhythms, processed trance vocals, and oscillating hypnotic drones.” These three days at this always-fascinating fest will prove it. Gray Area, SF. More info here.
FRI/7: MERCURY SOUL Composer Mason Bates, currently triumphant at the Met in NYC with his opera version of Michael Chabon’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, has long combined orchestral fireworks with electronic dance music. This installment of his epic, immersive club night takes over Grace Cathedral, with a DJ set by Garza of Thievery Corporation, a new full-length work by Bates, The Young Women’s Chorus of San Francisco, and tons more. 7:30pm, Grace Cathedral, SF. More info here.
FRI/7: WORLD FOLK JAM Celebrating the awesome diversity of global folk music forms, from Nigerian Highlife and Andalusian flamenco to Chinese pipa and Tuvan throat singing (plus some folktronica in there for good measure, why not, it’s kind of an SF folk music), this blast bursts with tunes. There’s also gong fu tea lounges and even acoustic music in the stairwells. It’s all at new tech-living space Frontier Tower, which could use a better name, especially for an indigenous-celebratory event, so get in there and folk things up. 7pm-3am, Frontier Tower, SF. More info here.
FRI/7-SUN/9: CHITRESH DAS DANCE The venerable dance company premieres “Veil of Janki Bai”: “A Kathak dance-drama and multimedia performance inspired by the life and legacy of one of Hindustani music’s earliest recorded female artists, Janki Bai, aka Chappan Churi (one with fifty-six gashes).” ODC, SF. More info here.
FRI/7 + SAT/8: VOLTI: “SOUND & TRANSFORMATIONS” The ever-forward vocal group opens up its season with some dazzle: Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate’s “Visions of a Child” is based upon Pueblo melodies and rhythms and depicts the imaginings of a child being lulled to sleep; Žibuoklė Martinaitytė’s “Chant des Voyelles,” harkens to the ancient tradition of ascribing sacred, mystical and healing powers and significance to vowels; Marcos Balter’s “Livro das Cores” sets texts by Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa and explores color in both literal and figurative ways. San Francisco & Berkeley, more info here.
Help us save local journalism!
Every tax-deductible donation helps us grow to cover the issues that mean the most to our community. Become a 48 Hills Hero and support the only daily progressive news source in the Bay Area.
FRI/7-MAY 31, 2026: “GOOD FIRE: TENDING NATIVE LANDS” This essential immersive show at Oakland Museum “explores how Native communities in Northern California have used controlled fire—also called ‘good fire’ or ‘cultural burning’—to care for the land and sustain traditions for millennia. Organized in collaboration with Native Northern California fire practitioners, artists, ecologists, and cultural leaders, the exhibition reframes fire as not solely a destructive force, but as an essential tool for supporting healthy ecosystems and vibrant communities.” Oakland Museum of California, more info here.
SAT/8 + SUN/9: 27TH SF INTERNATIONAL HIP-HOP DANCE FEST Groundbreaking choreographer and organizer Micaya deserves all the props in the world for keeping this tremendous event going for almost three decades—even as some of us old school dancers have to reach for the aches and pains reliever watching some of the hyper-energetic talent on display, from North Carolina to Norway and Korea. Get into it. Palace of Fine Arts, SF. More info here.
MUSIC
Hit up John-Paul Shiver’s Under the Stars column for great tunes and shows every week.
FRI/7: FLAMIN’ GROOVIES 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 that they helped to invent power pop and were one of the forerunners of punk rock. The first one through the wall catches all the splinters. Groovies will bring their legacy to the Kilowatt, where The Seagulls will open in support. 8pm, Kilowatt, SF. More info here.
SAT/8: BAR ITALIA You’re familiar with the flick Some Like It Hot, right? The 1959 film is about musicians on the run. Comedic, seductive, lively, and a little bawdy—it’s rewatchable anytime. Well, Some Like It Hot is also the new album by London three-piece band Bar Italia, who deliver jams with upbeat energy and wispy melodies. Nina Cristante, Jezmi Tarik Fehmi, and Sam Fenton create the right kind of crunchy rock chaos. Once a shy, eye contact-avoiding band, Bar Italia has grown into crafting pop songs that energize crowds at festivals like Corona Capital, Glastonbury, and Coachella. SF, get ready. Regency Ballroom, SF. More info here.
WED/12: LOOKING FOR MR GOODBAR Dammit, we lost Diane Keaton on October 11. Fashionable, quick-witted, and always bringing an undeniable amount of light to nearly every role, she led the ’70s. Looking For Mr. Goodbar, almost a parallel to Taxi Driver but told from a woman’s perspective, released a year before Saturday Night Fever, features a disco soundtrack that signals something very bleak (oh so not boogie). It’s a million miles away from white polyester suits. Inspired by gruesome, real-life, tragic events for Theresa Dunn (Keaton), our slender teacher of deaf children who wades into the muck of the twilight world. But it’s Keaton’s believable innocence, even in this dark story, that makes you want to stay, even though you sense grave danger, rooting for this young woman to find her own life. 7:30pm, Balboa Theater, SF. More info here.
FOOD & DRINK
Tamara Palmer’s weekly Good Taste column tells you where to stick your fork. Sign up for the new Good Taste newsletter here!
SAT/8 + SUN/9 THE RETURN LA COCINA’S SF STREET FOOD FESTIVAL! Oh, how we’ve missed this event, which was last held in 2019 and fed over 300,000 attendees over 10 years. It’s now taking place at China Basin Park, which is a fresh location for the party, and features live music, including the utterly charismatic Bululú, who I helped award first place to in a battle of the bands hosted last year by the SF Public Library at SFMOMA. The two-day event spotlights 25 food businesses led by mostly women and immigrant chefs who have grown through the incubatory guidance of longtime nonprofit organization La Cocina. Many have been affiliated for years and now have their own popular restaurants (like Reem’s California, Minnie Bell’s Soul Movement, El Huarache Loco, Peaches Patties, Crumble & Whisk, and Bini’s Kitchen); La Cocina has helped 48 brick and mortar restaurants open in the Bay Area. In short, a dream team lineup and a fun occasion to graze on snacks and drinks from around the world. Tickets start at $14.19 per day and $22.84 for two days, which gets you in; food and beverages are purchased separately. VIP options are available. Saturday hours: 11am-8pm, Sunday hours 11am-6pm at China Basin Park, 1 China Basin Park, SF. More info here.
STAGE
Charles Lewis III checks out theaters and performance spaces every week for his Drama Masks column.
THROUGH NOVEMBER 23: DADA TEEN MUSICAL Our story finds over-achiever Mariah (Chanel Tilghman, whose scene-stealing performance was a highlight of last year’s Evita at SF Playhouse) so close to a Harvard enrollment that she can taste it. Unfortunately, she’s lacking some artsy-fartsy credits to boost her extra-curriculars. As a last-ditch effort to boost those numbers before the end of the school year, she makes a bold pitch to teacher Mr. Dorfman (Alan Coyne): a Dadaist deconstruction of The Sound of Music. Interesting chaos ensues, although the show could use some more music. Berkeley City Club. More info here.
THROUGH NOVEMBER 13: PARSIFAL AT SF OPERA Wagner’s typical gargantuan take on the Arthurian legend of Percival came late in the composer’s life, when he needed money and had swerved into some icky conservative territory. SF Opera musical director and conductor Eun Sun Kim delivers another accomplished musical performance as she checks off another item on her Wagner “to-do” list, but the sprawl may be a bit much for contemporary audiences, despite the lovely Japanese-influence costumes and innovative, often eye-popping staging. War Memorial Opera House, SF. More info here.
FILM
Dennis Harvey’s long-running Screen Grabs has tons more flicks to recommend.
FRI/7-SUN/9: ‘ODE TO JOY: EUROPEAN CINEFEST’ This event is something that has apparently been held in other US cities for some time, but is a newcomer to San Francisco. It’s a showcase for some of the best-liked recent features from EU nations over the last year, including a few that have already played here theatrically or soon will. The selection this inaugural local annum encompasses works from Italy (Diamanti), Sweden (Becoming Astrid), France (Les Choristes), Lithuania (The Southern Chronicles), Latvia (last year’s Oscar-winning ‘toon Flow), Finland (Tove), Ireland (Listen to the Land Speak), Germany (Two to One) and Czech Republic (I’m Not Everything I Want To Be). Taking place at various SF venues this weekend, Fri/7 through Sun/9, it’s entirely free of charge, though online ticket reservation is required. More info here.
OPENING FRI/7: TRAIN DREAMS A great adaptation of Denis Johnson’s 2002 novella: Robert Grainier (Joel Edgerton) is an orphan who becomes a logger, then a railroad builder, then a logger again, all with a span of the middle West—he never quite gets to the Pacific, or gets any further east than Montana. Solitary less by inclination than chance and social inexperience, he finally finds a place for himself in society upon marrying Gladys (Felicity Jones) and fathering a child. But that happiness is all too short-lived, and the world continues to turn faster than Robert can keep up. Will Patton’s narration here informs us at the close that when our protagonist finally dies in his eighties in 1968, he has still never actually spoken on a telephone. It opens in theaters Fri/7, then premieres on Netflix Nov. 21.
NIGHTLIFE
Marke B. usually knows what’s up. Check out his club The Stud for more great Halloween parties.
FRI/7: AS YOU LIKE IT 15-YEAR ANNIVERSARY Hometown techno hero party crew has always brought the stellar lineups, and this celebration of dance floor longevity keeps that beautiful tradition strong with brilliant German industrial rave advocate Helena Hauff, Japanese etherealist Powder (whose sets are like magic, I don’t know how they work), Anthony Rother, and Kudeki. 9pm-4am, Public Works, SF. More info here.
FRI/7: AFRO HABIBI “A queer Black and Arab dance party.” ’nuff said, I’m there. With Subeaux and LBXX. There will be looks. 9:30pm-2am, Oasis, SF. More info here.
SAT/8: DJ LEVI (JK JK?) OK this is kind of an anti-recommendation because I am hoping against hope that this is indeed the most cringe shirtless straight DJ in the world coming to spin. The promotions are super-cagey, with nary a shot of his handsome Swiss face, just big letters spelling LEVI (maybe they, too, are embarrassed)—so I apologize to this Levi if they’re not him, with congratulations. But it’s given me a reason to visit my favorite DJ takedown account on Instagram and relive some true disasters. I kind of want to go and find out fr. No negative vibes. 3pm-8pm, 620 Jones, SF. More info here.
TUE/11: INTERZONE 5-YEAR ANNIVERSARY Dark sounds on a Tuesday night: Is there anything more goth? Only if we were in a Midwestern strip mall. Darkwave and nu goth staple Interzone marks half a decade with DJs Hex Embrace, ImpirumCrypt, Hopelesss. There will be cake! 9pm-2am, F8, SF. More info here.
