A fantastic wave of musical diversity is about to wash over the Bay Area (and surrounds) with loaded lineups from How Weird Street Faire, Yerba Buena Gardens Festival, Outside Lands, and more. Check it all out, and happy listening:
DOWNTOWN FIRST THURSDAYS MAY 2, SAN FRANCISCO
This is a brand new free monthly party coming to downtown SF through April 2025: open-air beer gardens operated by 111 Minna and Natoma Cabana with dance floors in alleys and stages for bands. Aiming to attract 10,000 people from San Francisco from 5pm to 10pm, this event gives you disco in the streets, DJs, live music, drag, martial arts, fashion, street performances, and the type of magic that comes from evening adventures fueled by community and culture. It takes place on Second Street (between Market and Folsom) and along neighboring alleyways on Jessie, Minna, and Natoma Streets, just right for public transport.
More info and RSVP here.
YERBA BUENA GARDENS FESTIVAL, MAY 4-OCTOBER, SAN FRANCISCO
Get downtown, get outdoors, get down: This free homegrown series at Yerba Buena Gardens spans half the year and brings out an incredible geographic and cultural range of talent each Saturday (but don’t miss the fun stuff on weekdays, too). Getting right into it on Sat/4 is the Pedrito Martinez Group, shining up some classic Cuban music sounds. Other performers featured are Eastern European vocal sensations Kitka, Ethiopian supergroup QWANQWA, the Community Music Center neighborhood choirs, and more.
Click here for more info.
HOW WEIRD STREET FAIRE, MAY 4
If any event can stew the low-hanging fruit of “May the Fourth” Star Wars references into a comic psychedelic potion, it’s this annual paean to the bizarre. How Weird Street Faire is “the longest-running dance festival on the West Coast” (now celebrating 25 years) with colorful costumes, tons of vendors, live entertainment, and nine DJ and performance stages down, yes, Howard Street. It all celebrates peace, creativity, and the weird and wonderful soul of the SoMa neighborhood. Think Folsom Street Fair meets Burning Man, but totally less stressful. Subwoofers pumping out house, techno, drum, and bass, and trance while human space ships float by, and a random dude dressed in Crocs and not much else chills over in the corner, having the time of their life.
Trippy San Francisco is back in the house for sure. Tap here for a full rundown on this freakiness happening downtown.
SF LIVE, MAY 4-OCTOBER
Claiming to “amplify the power, love, and legacy of music in San Francisco,” SF LIVE, a new outdoor concert series, aims to bring arts and culture into SF’s parks and plazas through free performances. The debut event is May 4’s “Electric Fields” at the Golden Gate Park Bandshell. It will be presented by The Great Northern and Monarch and will feature performances by Doc Martin, Galen, and DJ M3. Other events will also be held throughout the summer at Fulton Plaza, Union Square, and the Jerry Garcia Amphitheater.
Check out the myriad venues and upcoming acts here.
BHANGRA & BEATS, FRIDAY MAY 10
Happening over four Fridays in 2024 from 5pm to 10pm, this wildly successful free event even celebrating Indian music and culture “transforms three City blocks into a vibrant marketplace for the delight of locals and visitors alike.”
It’s a delight for neighborhood gourmands and beatheads, who get to dabble in wholesome street food, sip divine libations, shop from the best uncommon makers, and find purpose to rave on about this city’s never-ending artistic depth. With DJ Umami and Proof holding down the sonics on May 10, moving from sunset to nightlights without pause? Prepare for that seamless transition. Make your way to Clay and Battery St, where the fun is endless and the weekend gets launched.
More info here.
MILL VALLEY MUSIC FESTIVAL, MAY 11-12
Pack up the blankets, rinse the cooler, wash the car, and don’t forget the dog’s leash. After last year’s smashing success, when Oakland’s Orchestra Gold and Jerry Harrison and Adrian Belew dazzled attendees with their Remain in Light tour, Noise Pop organizers and the Mill Valley Chamber of Commerce have decided to run this fest back again.
Fleet Foxes will star as Saturday headliners, while Greensky Bluegrass will groove fans off into a new sunset, bringing home the festival on Sunday evening. Other performers include Thee Sacred Souls, Fruit Bats, Danielle Ponder, NorCal native Elliott Peck, Margo Price, St. Paul & the Broken Bones, Rebirth Brass Band, and Eric Lindell.
In addition over 50 locally-owned businesses and NorCal artists will be onsite, with plenty of wine, records, massages, craft workshops, and delicious food. There’s even a dedicated “Mama’s Lounge” for Mothers’ Day.
For more info and tickets, click here.
TREASUREFEST, MAY 25-26
Want to take part in a monthly, locally curated festival that features the best of the Bay Area? Treasurefest, located on Avenue N on Treasure Island and happening 11am to 5pm is for you. 300+ vendors of antiques, and crafts, 35+ top-rated food trucks and eateries, a vast amount of local libations, live music, and games and entertainment…. Welcome to your new last weekend of the month obsession.
Find out more here.
HIGH SIERRA MUSIC FEST JULY 4-8
The 32nd edition of the High Sierra Music Festival is held in a scenic mountainous location situated in Quincy, approximately 80 miles northwest of Reno, Nevada. The festival will feature some amazing headlining acts such as Ziggy Marley, Primus, and the disco-funk trio Say She She promising to bring a fun-filled and family-friendly experience to the campgrounds this summer.
More info and tickets here.
DEFTONES, SYSTEM OF A DOWN, AND THE MARS VOLTA, AUGUST 17
A one-day concert from the Outside Lands producers Another Planet will take place in Golden Gate Park’s Polo Fields on August 17, for a capacity audience of up to 65,000 people. Deftones, System of a Down, and The Mars Volta will inaugurate this new annual event located on the same site as the Outside Lands music festival a week later. The lineup also includes Swedish punks Viagra Boys and Australian industrial rockers VOWWS, and the whole shebang will utilize much of the infrastructure from the weekend before.
Grab tickets and more info here.
OUTSIDE LANDS, AUGUST 9-11
For their Golden Gate Park event August 9-11, organizers of Outside Lands have chosen to focus on popular themes and things that have proven successful in the past. Tyler, the Creator—hot off his Coachella performance with Uncle Charlie Wilson from The Gap Band and cameos with Frank Ocean—headlines: He was a winner with his appearance here back in. 2021. Post Malone will perform a country music set, hoping to cash in on the popularity boost that he received from appearing on Beyonce’s Cowboy Carter.
Other lineup standouts include ultimate reshaper of American culture Grace Jones, Sacramento-based Grammy winner Victoria Monét, Canadian instrumental band BadBadNotGood, Haitian-Canadian music producer Kaytranada, Colombia-based indie psyche-soul trio BALTHVS, house and techno producer and DJ Seth Troxler, and actor Idris Elba stepping in to flex his electronic music talents.
Speaking of all things house and techno, the SOMA area returns with a brand new, open-air format in Marx Meadow, and Dolores’ is back with more local artists, DJs, and drag performers to celebrate the queer-trans communities and the DIY spaces that are vital to San Francisco nightlife and culture.
For the entire festival line-up and purchase tickets click here.
