Betsayda Machado y La Parranda El Clavo: Yerba Buena Gardens Festival | SF
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Yerba Buena Gardens (Esplanade) | 773 Mission St., San Francisco, CA
Event Details
Submitted by the Event Organizer
SF’s Yerba Buena Gardens Festival 2026
The 2026 Yerba Buena Gardens Festival hosts a full lineup of free outdoor music, theater, circus, dance, poetry, and children’s programs. The Festival opens on Saturday, May 9, 2026 with Hermán Olivera y Orquesta Taíno to kick off its 26th season. The Festival features over 100 free performances from May to November in Downtown San Francisco.
While Venezuela’s devastating political crisis continues to deepen, it’s important to remember the country’s extraordinarily rich culture, an intricate skein of musical traditions embodied by this double bill. A rising force on the world stage, powerhouse Afro-Venezuelan vocalist Betsayda Machado y La Parranda El Clavo and her percussion/vocal ensemble Parranda El Clavo play tambor, a celebratory tradition that evolved to accompany parties, parades and processions. Hailing from a central coast village founded by people escaping slavery during the colonial era, their lapidary harmonies flow over thickly textured rhythms tracing directly back to Senegal. Caracas-born, Oakland-based Jackeline Rago, a master of the four-string cuatro, opens with her VNote Ensemble (and special guests), a group with an intoxicating fusion of Venezuelan styles and jazz, reflecting new Bay Area-cultivated roots.
Disclaimer: Please double check event information with the event organizer as events can be canceled, details can change after they are added to our calendar, and errors do occur.
Cost: FREE
Categories: *Top Pick*, Live Music, Outdoors
