The Artists Guild of San Francisco is the oldest outdoor art collective in the country. Its mission is twofold: first, to bring art and artists into the community for public interaction and education; and secondly, to help artists sustain themselves with art as a full-time career.

Composer/pianist Jon Jang’s musical language re-contextualizes Chinese folk songs within a contemporary music framework, a metaphor for the changing face of Chinese America. Unbound Chinatown pays homage to Alice Fong Yu, the first Chinese American teacher hired by the San Francisco School District. With his stellar ensemble, including saxophonist Francis Wong and trombonist/music director Wayne Wallace, and guest vocalist Min Xiao Fen, Jang paints musical portraits of Yu’s life as a community and political leader during the 1930s.

The 2008 “Film Night in the Park” series kicks off with the 1936 classic “The Wizard of Oz.” Bring a blanket and a picnic to Dolores Park in the Mission District of San Francisco  and enjoy a film under the stars with 500 of your closest friends. This year’s film series runs from May to October and takes place at nine different parks all over the bay area. $6 suggested donation to keep this great series afloat, but it can be free if you’re too cheap. Complete 2008 Film Night in the Park Scheulce

The Marin Music Chest presents its annual “Young Artists Concert” featuring selected student musicians honored with this year’s award scholarships. Featuring classical solo performances on piano by San Rafael residents Olivia Jew and Toki Migimatsu; on harp by San Rafael resident Elizabeth Zosseder; and Mill Valley residents Mariko Wyrick on cello and Mayumi Wyrick on violin.

The “Young Artists Concert” is co-sponsored by the Mill Valley Chamber Music Society.

The Marin Music Chest was established in 1933. After more than forty years of presenting concerts, the Marin Music Chest made the annual scholarship program its primary mission, providing financial support to promising Marin County students of classical music. The Music Music Chest celebrates its 75th Anniversary this year.

The fifty performers of Gamelan Sekar Jaya, the Bay Area’s acclaimed gamelan ensemble, present the driving rhythms and refined dances of Bali in this beautiful garden setting. Led by one of Bali’s most brilliant artists, I Dewa Ketut Alit Adnyana (guest music director), Sekar Jaya will feature two large percussion ensembles: the 25-player orchestra of bronze gongs, metallophones, and drums called a gamelan gong kebyar, and the ensemble of giant bamboo marimbas, gamelan jegog. The outdoor setup reflects the open-air settings used in traditional Balinese contexts, where groups often play within or in front of temple courtyards. The audience is welcomed to view the performance from various perspectives, to enjoy the complex interlocking rhythms and virtuosic ensemble sensibility of Balinese gamelan and the myriad expressions and delicate movements of Balinese dance.

The Mo’Rockin Project is a brotherhood of kindred North African and jazz musicians traversing the inner experience of the human soul. Handcrafted from traditional Moroccan melodies, and with striking musicianship, salient vision, and immeasurable spirit, the music is alluring, lyrical, creative, funky, spirited and spiritual.

Celebrate the diversity of the Jewish community! The largest Jewish community family festival in the Bay Area includes a variety of activities for teens, young adults and families featuring the hottest new music, theatre, a film festival, resource tables, and freshly prepared ethnic foods. Shop for everything from jewelry to handmade clothing from artisan craft booths!

Direct from Munich, Paco Mendoza offers exciting rock, reggae and dancehall music sung in Spanish, German and English, accompanied by a-cappella scratches, acoustic guitar and beat box.

Top stars of the Caterpillar Puppets are the Three Little Bla-bla-blas, a baby orangutan, and a rainforest monster whom the audience must help sing peacefully to sleep.

Bay Area R&B icon Booker T. Jones and Detroit’s “Great Lady of Soul” Bettye LaVette kick off the Stern Grove Festival’s 71st Season of free Sunday concerts with an afternoon of soul. Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Booker T. Jones (of Booker T. and the MGs) is a legendary figure with an impressive string of hits, including the million-selling “Green Onions.” He has performed as a session musician on some of R&B’s most seminal songs, including “Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay” and “Try a Little Tenderness.” (more…)

Get ready for an afternoon of African rhythms in the Grove when Nigeria’s prince of Afrobeat, Seun Kuti and Egypt 80, make their San Francisco debut. With blazing horns, unstoppable rhythms, hypnotic dancing, and marathon performances, Seun Kuti and Egypt 80 will have the Grove moving. Opening the afternoon will be local group, Sila and the AfroFunk Experience, who know how to get dance floors around the Bay Area in motion with an exhilarating sound and energetic performance.

Since 1938, Stern Grove Festival has been the Bay Area’s home for outstanding performing arts in a beautiful outdoor setting, completely admission-free. Bring a picnic and arrive early as the main garden often fills up by 1pm.

Public Transportation:
Muni buses: 23 and 28, exit at 19th Avenue and Sloat Boulevard
Muni Metro: K or M, exit at St. Francis Circle

New Orleans legend and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Allen Toussaint brings the Big Easy back to the Grove. With a career spanning forty years as a singer, pianist, songwriter, arranger, and producer, Toussaint is one of America’s greatest musical icons and a captivating performer. Opening is Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue who break down traditional jazz rhythms with funk, pop, and hip-hop. (more…)

Rachid Taha combines Algerian rai music with modern rock, punk, and dance. With a rough vocal style and influences ranging from Johnny Cash and Marvin Gaye, to Kraftwerk and Public Enemy, Taha is a formidable talent with an international reputation. Los Angeles-based MC Rai will lead with a trend-setting mix of edgy Arabic grooves and electronica.

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 Internationally acclaimed local dance ensemble Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet will dazzle with a performance of The Moroccan Project and Migration accompanied by saxophonist Pharoah Sanders and the ensemble Hamideen. The afternoon also features the American premiere pas de deux choreographed by Alonzo King for former San Francisco Ballet principal dancer Muriel Maffre and former LINES Ballet dancer Prince Credell. (more…)

Born in the Mission District, Latin Rock was a defining sound of the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, melding the rhythms of Latin music with funk, soul, and rock. “Voices of Latin Rock” features veteran performers like Jorge Santana and Gabriel Manzo of Malo, Abel Sanchez of Abel and the Prophets, and trumpeter Bill Ortiz from Santana, among others. Local favorite SambaDá will lead the afternoon with a high-powered concoction of Brazilian beats, samba, funk, reggae, and hip-hop.

Since 1938, Stern Grove Festival has been the Bay Area’s home for outstanding performing arts in a beautiful outdoor setting, completely admission-free. Bring a picnic and arrive early as the main garden often fills up by 1pm.

Public Transportation:
Muni buses: 23 and 28, exit at 19th Avenue and Sloat Boulevard
Muni Metro: K or M, exit at St. Francis Circle

Internationally acclaimed Bajofondo, a collective of Argentine and Uruguayan artists blend the drama and passion of tango music with diverse electronic genres ranging from house, trance and trip hop to dub, drum and bass, and more. Opening are New York’s Si*Sé  with their potent mix of Latin rhythms with electronica, soul, and trip hop. (more…)

Escape to the Hawaiian Islands with an all-star line-up performing together for the first time. Performers include Na Leo, the most popular female trio in Hawai’i; guitarist, vocalist, ukulele player and former member of the Ka’au Crater Boys, Ernie Cruz, Jr.; Kaukahi, who toured recently with Jack Johnson; and One Right Turn with Connie Cruz, Tiffa Cruz-Garza, and singer/ukulele player and member of the Opihi Pickers, Imua Garza. (more…)

Stern Grove Festival’s 71^st Season of free Sunday afternoon concerts closes with the renowned San Francisco Opera, featuring an afternoon of highlights and solos from the American opera canon.
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