Celebrate the true heart of the neighborhood at Fish Tank Gallery for North Beach First Fridays. Located on Grant Avenue, Fish Tank Gallery—curated by the renowned Jeremy Fish—is a space dedicated to the creative pulse of North Beach, making it the perfect venue for an artist defined by his proximity and dedication to the area....
The Lisa Kindred Band carries on the spirit and repertoire of beloved Mill Valley–based blues, folk, and rock singer Lisa Kindred, whose roots stretch from the 1960s Greenwich Village folk scene to decades shaping the Bay Area blues community. At The Saloon, the band keeps her legacy alive with sets steeped in classic blues, roots,...
Katy Stephan’s residency at Comstock Saloon turns the room into a small, candlelit listening space. At the piano she blends jazz‑inflected originals with reimagined standards and art‑pop tunes, her clear, expressive voice sitting right on top of the clink of glassware and low conversation. It’s an intimate, song‑forward set that feels equally at home as...
Gaea Schell and Jordan Samuels perform at Biordi Imports, bringing jazz with Latin accents and a vibrant, soulful energy. Join them for an engaging performance that blends Schell’s mastery of flute, piano, and vocals with Samuels’ expressive guitar playing. Experience a night of sophisticated jazz, rich harmonies, and Latin-inspired rhythms, making for a memorable musical...
Tori Roze and Johnny Alexander bring a taste of San Diego's acclaimed soul-jazz scene to The Grove, performing as an intimate duo drawn from their six-piece band Tori Roze and The Hot Mess. Roze is a vocalist of rare range and imagination, weaving together influences from Michael Jackson, Erykah Badu, Ella Fitzgerald, Björk, and musical...
Experience the unique sound of San Francisco-based guitarist and educator, Ned Boynton. Recognized in Scott Yanow's book, “The Great Jazz Guitarists the Ultimate Guide”, Ned brings a distinctive and highly respected approach to the instrument. His impressive career includes performances with jazz legends like Les Paul, Bucky Pizzarelli, Howard Alden, and Bruce Forman, showcasing his...
The Magic School Busk holds weekly residency directly in front of The Red Window at the corner of Stockton and Columbus. This high‑energy busking collective has become one of North Beach’s unofficial “resident joy‑makers,” blurring the line between band and audience as people pause, sing along, or dance on the sidewalk. Whether you are enjoying a...
Pop by Live Worms and Professor Seagull’s Smartshop for the North Beach First Fridays Art walk featuring work by various local artists. Inside the Smartshop, the gallery walls are covered in psychedelic light green and yellow wallpaper — vibrant, but still perfectly balanced to receive and highlight artwork of all kinds. Rotation is every 1–2...
The Golden Sardine hosts local poets Jennifer Barone and Ingrid Keir. Barone, an Italian-American North Beach resident and author of collections including Saporoso, Poems of Italian Food & Love, brings lyrical work often exploring heritage, memory, romance, and sensory detail. Co-featured poet and literary curator Ingrid Keir, founder of the independent feminist publisher Feather Press,...
Join us at Sweetie’s Art Bar for an unforgettable night with the Vince Lateano Trio! Experience the masterful jazz drumming of Vince Lateano, a San Francisco jazz legend who has played alongside icons like Cal Tjader and Stan Getz. The trio brings a lively mix of classic and contemporary jazz in an intimate setting that’s...
Acoustic roots trio The Faux Paws brings their genre-defying sound to Specs' Twelve Adler Museum Cafe for North Beach First Fridays. Featuring brothers Andrew and Noah VanNorstrand alongside Grammy-nominated saxophonist Chris Miller, the ensemble draws from decades of contra dance, bluegrass, old-time, Celtic, and jazz traditions. Their live set pairs intricate guitar work, saxophone improvisations,...
San Francisco bassist, composer, and bandleader Leela Paymai brings her Persian jazz fusion project, ZHENIIA, to Mr. Tipples. Paymai's compositions draw on the traditional modal systems of Persian dastgah and the melodies of vintage Iranian pop, arranging them through modern jazz harmonies, polyrhythms, and improvisation. Featuring an ensemble that integrates acoustic instruments like oud, violin,...
Hipsteria is one of San Francisco’s favorite jazz, soul and party bands! Members of Hipsteria have included some of music’s legendary musicians! Featuring “Tender Tim” on drums and some vocals Hipsteria plays every Friday at Etcetera Wine bar.
Soul, funk, pop, and deep groove inspired by two icons - and reimagined through Courtney Knott’s own voice. Courtney Knott brings her powerhouse vocals, electrifying stage presence, and original artistry to the music of Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson. Across three nights at Black Cat, she blends beloved songs from two of the most influential...
Jessica Loos poetry series 7pm, art by Edward Millet. Poetry reading by Bob Fitch, Karen Poppy, Richard Ivanhoe, Tim and Xonnelly. Music by Kitten on the Keys and Scott Bird. in front of Macchiarini Creative Design. Follow the poets up to Coit Tower at 9pm. Want to know more about the North Beach Poetry Crawl?...
Eamonn Flynn at the Redwood Room brings an intimate, soulful performance from the Dublin-born pianist, organist, singer, and songwriter. Flynn’s music blends Irish soul with blues, R&B, gospel, jazz, and singer-songwriter storytelling, shaped by his work with artists including Elvin Bishop, Maria Muldaur, Evelyn “Champagne” King, Michael Franti & Spearhead, and The Commitments. Expect expressive...
Hammond B-3 organist Wil Blades brings his trio to Keys Jazz Bistro, featuring multi-instrumentalist, producer, and vocalist Joe Bagale performing under his moniker Otis McDonald. A longtime collaborator on the Bay Area jazz and funk circuits, Blades pairs his foot-pedal basslines and classic B-3 organ work with Bagale’s drum pocket and soulful vocals. Joined by...
Experience the authentic sounds of soul and funk with the OG Rhythm & Blues Band at the Sheba Piano Lounge from 7:30-10:30pm. The group is a mainstay of Sheba’s rotation, known for their classic repertoire that honors the neighborhood’s legacy as the "Harlem of the West".
Two-time Latin Grammy nominee Eddy Navia and Quentin Navia are joined by master violinist Georges Lammam, dancers and dancing. Their performances blend the charango (a traditional ten-string instrument), haunting sounds of panpipes (zampoñas) and notched flutes (kena) with high-energy rhythms. You don’t need a plane ticket to experience a "little piece of South American carnaval,"...
Gaucho at the Comstock Saloon plays energetic, guitar-led early jazz that blends 1930s Gypsy jazz with New Orleans swing, ragtime, and gutbucket blues. Led by guitarist Dave Ricketts, the band’s sound is lively, acoustic, and built for a crowded barroom.
The Mina Project brings their repertoire of vintage Italian music to Paris 75 for the North Beach First Fridays monthly art walk. Fronted by vocalist Anne-Marie Russo alongside accordionist Ron Borelli, guitarist Larry Levi, and drummer Josh Schulteiss, the group pays homage to Italian pop icon Mina (Mazzini) and other prominent 1960s and ’70s Italian...
Experience the resurgence of San Francisco’s historic Chinatown nightlife at the Lion’s Den. Tucked away on Wentworth Place, this bi-level lounge and performance space blends modern cocktail culture with the East meets West spirit of the Chinatown’s golden age. Every week, the venue transforms into a unique destination for live music, featuring a rotating roster...
Experience an intimate evening of soulful jazz, blues, and swing at the Royal Cuckoo Organ Lounge featuring Marty Wehner (Trombone), Rob Barics (Tenor Saxophone and Clarinet) & Chris Siebert (Hammond Organ)! Marty Wehner, Rob Barics, and Chris Siebert are veteran San Francisco-based jazz musicians and frequent collaborators. They are most notably members of the Lavay Smith & Her Red...
Fog City Swing was created by Trumpeter Daniel Herrera in 2023, the goal, to become the “world’s smallest big band!” Rapidly becoming one of the preeminent Jazz and Swing bands in the Bay Area, their ongoing Friday night residency at San Francisco’s premier Jazz venue, the Dawn Club, features some of Northern California’s top vocalists...
Koobi Fora w/ Free Moment at Boom Boom Room is a double bill of Bay Area jam and funk. Free Moment opens — a new project built from founding members of Passenger, with guitarist Chris Reale, bassist Bill Becker, drummer Mark Abbott and keyboardist Marshall Luck in a set of rock, funk and improvisation. Koobi...
The Coit Tower Poetry Club dedicates its monthly gathering to the work of Wanda Coleman (1946–2013), the influential South Central Los Angeles writer, performer, and journalist widely regarded as the unofficial poet laureate of L.A. Renowned for pioneering the contemporary "American Sonnet" form, Coleman wrote fiercely lyrical, rhythmically propulsive poetry steeped in African American vernacular...
Grammy-winning co-leaders Steffen Kuehn (trumpet) and Christian Tumalan (piano)—the founders of the Pacific Mambo Orchestra—bring their five-piece ensemble to Mr. Tipple's Recording Studio in San Francisco. Joined by Benny Torres on saxophone, Dan Parenti on bass, and Brian Fishler on drums, the quintet translates big-band salsa, mambo, and Afro-Cuban jazz into a tight, hard-bop small-group...
Soul, funk, pop, and deep groove inspired by two icons - and reimagined through Courtney Knott’s own voice. Courtney Knott brings her powerhouse vocals, electrifying stage presence, and original artistry to the music of Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson. Across three nights at Black Cat, she blends beloved songs from two of the most influential...
Oakland-based instrumental outfit The John Brothers Piano Company brings their high-energy sound to The Deluxe. Formed by UC Berkeley graduates who famously started out hauling a spinet piano to busk at BART stations and street corners across the Bay Area, the group has since performed at Outside Lands, Monterey Jazz Festival, and SFJAZZ. The quartet...
Wendy DeWitt plays boogie woogie and blues on the National and International blues scene. And you can see her at the Saloon. With Kirk Harwood, Wendy is a two-time regional winner, and International Blues Challenge Finalist. Former pianist for Hank Ballard, and 30 years of working with Chicago legend Steve Freund, Wendy has also played...
Mitch Polzak & The Royal Deuces perform at Local Edition. Rockabilly and 60’s country music with the religious fervor of Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash and delivers a Honky Tonk ballad with the sincerity of Merle Haggard and Waylon Jennings.