“I’m excited about St. Vincent at Grace Cathedral, how incredible is that venue? And two nights of American Football playing their first album is definitely up there. Definitely Danny Brown at Public Works. I’ve been a fan of Danny for a long time, and he always puts on a great and interesting show. There’s really just so, so much this year.”
That’s Michelle Swing, CEO (and also a big fan) of Noise Pop, the city’s biggest indie music fest, now firing on all cylinders at a dozen independent venues across San Francisco through March 2. The 32nd installment ranges from up-and-coming acts like LA’s zzzahara at Bottom of the Hill through bigtime appearances from influential rapper Earl Sweatshirt at Great American Music Hall and geek-out reunions like The American Analog Set at Gray Area.
A new set of popular Noise Pop happy hours partners with beloved local labels and orgs Text Me Records, White Crate, Bright Antenna, and San Franpsycho. The festival will fold in new SF Live city-sponsored initiative SF Music Week (February 24-March 2), which includes events, panels, an industry summit, and an artist development day devoted to local resources. Add on to all this: The festival donates its proceeds to charitable causes, raising more than $6 million for local charities since 2024.
“Right now we are definitely feeling the flood,” Swing told me about organizing the massive musical monster. “There’s 60 shows, so a lot to do. It’s operationally crunch time. But we’ve got this, and the artists are stoked. Even as we’ve expanded into other exciting areas, independent artists and shows are our bread and butter—ever since we launched with ‘5 bands for 5 bucks’ way back in the first year of Noise Pop, at the Independent [then known as the Kennel Club].
“It’s all about the grass roots music community of San Francisco. The scene here is really special. We’re working to preserve that culture, with what we do as a business. It’s hard for artists to be ‘successful’ in this day and age, and we want to celebrate the music and the community in its own space, to give everyone here a platform to really express themselves as artists and fans. That’s the rewarding part.”
Swing has lived in California since 2012—most of it in the Bay Area. She got her start working for the awesome Bonnaroo fest in Tennessee before moving on to industry giants StubHub and AEG. “I’ve worked in the live events business most of my professional life, and touched on every corner—touring, production, management, promotion, partnerships. When Noise Pop reached out to me a few years ago about taking it in some new directions, I leapt.
“My first reaction was ‘OMG I love Noise Pop.’ I love the Bay Area music scene. I love the Mission, where much of Noise Pop takes place—you just walk around and fall in love with it. Noise Pop’s mission of promoting the city and the music really resonated with me,” Swing said.
Her mission of guiding Noise Pop’s expansion beyond the signature festival has come at a time of big moves for the Noise Pop Industries company—literally. They’ve just moved into the oldest standing house in San Francisco, the gorgeous Abner House at 111 Oak, which was purchased last year for $2 million by local artist management company Brilliant Corners owner (and Noise Pop Industries manager, and Stern Grove Festival board member) Jordan Kurland, who invited them to join in the space.
“We are a really small team, and moving is never fun,” Swing laughs. “But how awesome is it to be in this building? It’s such a cool space, and it makes a lot of sense to be here—it’s a new space, a new neighborhood, and a new environment, but also we’re just right down the street from the Independent on Divisadero where it all began.”
The future for Noise Pop includes expansions like the continuing Mill Valley Music Festival, now in its fourth year and whose lineup (including Garry Clark, Jr. and Nile Rogers and Chic) has just been announced. And there are now Noise Pop concerts and events taking place throughout the year, with more to come.
“We keep asking ourselves, ‘What does the city need’?” Swing said. “What kind of different and diverse events can we bolster that help acts grow as artists. It’s such a really interesting time for music industry on Bay Area. After the pandemic hit, we saw lots of collaborations between artists and venues and brands, we ant to help build on those connections. We’re leaning into economic recovery efforts with the city, pumping up the success and vibrancy of San Francisco. A lot of what we’ve been doing is working on free concerts, festivals, outdoor events, things that support local businesses as well as artists.
“It’s a time when we’re all pulling together to keep the Bay Area scene bright and vibrant, and great things are coming from that.”
NOISE POP runs through March 2 at various SF venues. More info here.
