SF’s Free “Kids Music Festival” at Golden Gate Park Bandshell

Performances in Golden Gate Park Announced for 2024 Season. Season 4 will bring 125+ free live performances at Golden Gate Park Bandshell.

After several months of renovations, Illuminate is beginning its robust performance season with 125+ diverse free concerts at historic landmark venue, the Golden Gate Bandshell in Golden Gate Park, the  arts nonprofit and the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department announced.

Related Story: 122-Year Old Golden Gate Park Bandshell Closed Until 2024 – 11/17/23

The series, Illuminate LIVE, kicks off its 2024 season March 1 and continues through mid-November with shows every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.  The free concerts attract more than 250,000 music lovers throughout each season. To honor International Women’s Day – the entire month of March will feature women or women-fronted musical groups. In total, 14 women-focused shows are planned during the month.

The full lineup of performers is as diverse and local as it was in its first three seasons.  The 2024 concerts will feature R&B, soul, jazz, funk, big band musicians, string ensembles, indie and psychedelic rock bands, and many singer-songwriters. In addition, the series will include reggae, salsa, and some EDM and electronic music.

The free, all-ages concerts will run through mid-November, and echo the previous format:

• Singer/Songwriter Wednesdays 4 – 7 p.m.
• Friday Happy Hour 4:30 – 7:30 p.m.
• Crucial Reggae Sundays 4:20 – 7:30 p.m.  (+ select Saturdays)

See the full schedule which will be updated regularly, including special events.

The Illuminate Live series is funded through private support, spearheaded by gifts from The John and Marcia Goldman Foundation, Carla and David Crane and Leslie and Keith Blodgett.

The free concert series was originally launched as part of Golden Gate Park’s 150th anniversary in 2020, a yearlong celebration put on by the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department. The activation followed Illuminate’s nearly $1 million renovation of the space, which included a new stage, built-in theatrical lighting and a state-of-the-art sound system.

The 122-year-old Golden Gate Bandshell is the oldest structure in Golden Gate Park’s Music Concourse, an open-air plaza built for the California Midwinter International Exposition of 1894. Also called the Spreckels Temple of Music, the Bandshell was a gift to San Franciscans from sugar magnate Claus Spreckels.

2024 Free Bandshell Concert Schedule

Catch live music in the park every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday (plus select Saturdays) through November.

See the upcoming schedule (subject to change)

March 2024 (Celebrating International Women’s Month):

• Friday 3/1 (4-7pm) – Special Kick-Off Show 4:00 pm – DJ Nocean Beach (opening and playing the breaks) 4:30 pm – Jane the Message, 5:30 pm – Cardboard People
• Sat 3/2 (12:00 to 4:00 pm) – All the Things I Can Be! – Teacher Barb and Teacher Daniel, The Music is First Band featuring Zareen Poonen Levien and Bryan Dyer
• Sun 3/3 (4:30 – 7:30 pm) – Crucial Reggae Sundays with Irie Dole, DJ Guidance and special guest Estrella (full band) (5:30 to 6:30 pm)
• Wed 3/6 (4-7pm) – Market to Bandshell – All-Female Singer/Songwriter Wednesday – 4:00 pm – Joyce Lee, 5:00 pm – Trixie Rasputin, 6:00 pm –Frances Ancheta Becker
• Fri 3/08 (4:30-7:30pm) –Friday Happy Hour – Marlina Teich Quartet (2 Sets)
• Sun 3/10 (4:30 – 7:30 pm) – Crucial Reggae Sundays with Irie Dole, DJ Guidance and special guest DJs Green B. – (5:00 – 6:00 pm) and Ay Que Linda (6:00 to 7:00 pm)
• Wed 3/13 (4:00 – 7:00 pm) – All-Female Singer/Songwriter Wednesday –    4:00 pm – Eva J. Fortune, 5:00 pm – Essie Thomas, 6:00 pm – Keepers of Humanity
• Fri 3/15 (4:30 to 7:30 pm) – St. Patrick’s Day Celebration at GGP Bandshell featuring Shana Morrison and Caledonia (2 sets)
• Sun 3/17 (4:30 to 7:30 pm) – Crucial Reggae Sundays with Irie Dole, DJ Guidance and special guest DJ Sep/Dub Mission (5:30 to 6:30 pm)
• Wed 3/20 (4:00 – 7:00 pm) – All-Female Singer/Songwriter Wednesday –    4:00 pm – Amy Obenski, 5:00 pm – Sara Rodenburg, 6:00 pm – Michelle Lambert
• Fri 3/22 (4:30 to 7:30 pm) – Friday Happy Hour with Stephanie Woodford Quartet (2 sets)
• Sun 3/24 (4:30 to 7:30 pm) – Crucial Reggae Sundays with Irie Dole, DJ Guidance and special guest DJ Outlaw Yoko (5:30 to 6:30 pm)
• Wed 3/27 (4:00 – 7:00 pm) – All-Female Singer/Songwriter Wednesday –    4:00 pm – Ants, 5:00 pm – Aireene Espiritu, 6:00 pm – Deborah Crooks
• Fri 3/29 (4:30 to 7:30 pm) – Friday Happy Hour with Tracy Cruz (2 sets)
• Sun 3/31 (4:30 to 7:30 pm) – Crucial Reggae Sundays with Irie Dole, DJ Guidance and special guest DJ Leydis (5:30 to 6:30 pm)

April 2024:

• Wed 4/3 (4-7pm) – Market to Bandshell – Wednesday – 4:00 pm – Out of Town Couple, 5:00 pm – Normcore, 6:00 pm – Good Twin 
• Fri 4/5 (4:30-7:30pm) –Friday Happy Hour – Thùy Linh and Jazz is You (2 Sets)
• Sat 4/6 (12:00 to 4:00 pm) – A Tribute to the Past – featuring Bond Girl and Jean Genie
• Sun 4/7 (4:30 – 7:30 pm) – Crucial Reggae Sundays with Irie Dole, DJ Guidance and special guest DJ Polo Rein (5:30 to 6:30 pm)
• Wed 4/10 (4:00 – 7:00 pm) – Singer/Songwriter Wednesday –    4:00 pm – Ben Lang, 5:00 pm – Drew Martin, 6:00 pm – Jaeger & Reid
• Sun 4/14 (12:00 to 4:00 pm) – (Daytime) GGP Bandshell Psychedelic Rock Show 2024 The Love Dimension, My Dallas Teen, and The Spiral Electric
• Sun 4/14 (4:30 to 7:30 pm) – (Evening) Crucial Reggae Sundays with Irie Dole, DJ Guid8nce and special guest DJ Moi (5:30 to 6:30 pm)
• Wed 4/17 (4:00 – 7:00 pm) – Singer/Songwriter Wednesday – 4:00 pm – Sony Holland, 5:00 pm – Julietta Hay, 6:00 pm – Peter Lindman and Roger Rocha
•  Fri 4/19 (4:30 to 7:30 pm) – Bicycle Day with Live Performances by Wiskerman and special guests
• Sat 4/20 (12:00 to 4:00 pm) – Poetry and Strings in the Park (More info TBA)
• Sun 4/21 (10:00 to 2:00 pm) – Golden Gate Park Bandshell Kid’s Fest 2024 with Melita Doostan – 10:30 AM to 11:15, Charity and the JAMBand -11:30 – 1:30 pm
• Sun 4/21 (4:30 to 7:30 pm) – Crucial Reggae Sundays “Earth Day Special Event” with Irie Dole, DJ Guidance and special guest Deuce Eclipse and DJ El Kool Kyle plus many special guests (5:00 to 7:00 pm)
• Wed 4/24 (4:00 – 7:00 pm) – Singer/Songwriter Wednesday – 4:00 pm – Matt Jaffe, 5:00 pm – Anna Karney, 6:00 pm – Evan Wardell
• Sun 4/28 (4:30 to 7:30 pm) – Crucial Reggae Sundays with Irie Dole, DJ Guidance and special guest Lionize – Blessed Coast Sound (5:30 to 6:30 pm)

May 2024:

• Wed 5/1 (4-7pm) Market to Bandshell – Like Planes– 4:00 pm, Tacomosh– 5:00 pm, The Wyatt Act – 6:00 pm 
• Fri 5/3 (4-7pm) – Friday Night Happy Hour – Erik Jekabson Ensemble (2 Sets) 
• Sat 5/4 (2-6pm) – SF Live Kick-Off at the Bandshell “Electric Fields” in association with Great Northern and Monarch
• Sun 5/5 (4:30 pm-7:30pm) – Crucial Reggae Sundays with Irie Dole, DJ Guidance and Cinco De Mayo Special Guests Los Bahianatos (5:30 to 6:30 pm)
• Wed 5/8 (4-7pm) – Singer/Songwriter Wednesday – Louiza 4:00 pm, Scatter Brained Uncle 5:00 pm, Uncle Grape 6:00 pm 
• Fri 5/10 (4:30-7:30pm) – Friday Happy Hour – Local Music Night featuring Laser Beam (4:30 to 5:30 pm) and The Getz (5:45 to 6:45)
• Sat 5/11 (3-7pm) – Special Mother’s Day Show TBA
• Sun 5/12 (4:30 to 7:30) – Crucial Reggae Sundays Mother’s Day Dance with residents Irie Dole and DJ Guidance 
• Wed 5/15 (4-7pm) – Singer/Songwriter Wednesday – Middle Dog – 4:00 pm, Migrant Pickers – 5:00 pm, Stray Muse – 6:00 pm
• Fri 5/17 (4:30-7:30pm) –An Evening with Nina Causey (2 Sets) 
• Wed 5/22 (4-7pm) – Singer/Songwriter Wednesday, An Evening with Tom Finch (5:30 to 7 pm) with special guest opener Chris Peck (4:15 to 5:15 pm)
• Fri 5/24 (4:30-7:30pm) – Friday Night Happy Hour – Key Elements Latin Jazz Ensemble (2 Sets)
• Sat 5/25 (12 pm-4:00pm) – Past/Future Tradition/Innovation Day 12:00-12:30 Often Easy, 12:45-1:15 Mitch Rocket, 1:30-2:00 Super Cassette, 2:15-3:00 Katsy Pline, 3:15-4:00 Country Risque
• Sun 5/26 (4:30 pm-7:30pm) – Crucial Reggae Sunday with Irie Dole and DJ Guidance and special guests Native Elements (5:30 to 6:30 pm)
• Wed 5/29 (4-7pm) – Singer/Songwriter Wednesday, An Evening with Jenerator (5:30 to 7:00 pm) with The Real Sarahs opening (4:15 to 5:15 pm)
• Fri 5/31 (4:30-7:30pm) – Friday Night Happy Hour – Ariel Marin Band (2 Sets)

See updated listings

 

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