Tenor saxophonist Howard Wiley has been a major force on the Bay Area music scene since his teenage years in the mid-90s. A protégé of the dynamic Miss Faye Carol, he’s steeped in a vast array of African-American idioms, from gospel, blues and jazz to R&B, funk and hip-hop. All of these currents flow into […]
This children’s program repeats at 12:15–12:45pm. Over the past decade, the Alphabet Rockers have honed a supremely engaging hip-hop act designed for children and families. With singer/songwriter Kaitlin McGaw and beatboxer/b-boy/rapper Tommy Shepherd, this powerhouse group makes the world come alive through beats, rhymes, songs and dances. https://youtu.be/jepxZWR3EH0?list=PL_C6KeCoAO6PG1vIKN0l7qppM-5QUX3Xo
As the leader of the Grammy Award-winning ensemble BeauSoleil fiddler Michael Doucet has been in the vanguard of the Cajun cultural revival for more than four decades, earning an international following for an almost lost body of music. In 2014 he joined his longtime friend, Bay Area fiddler master Tom Rigney and his turbo charged […]
Philippine-born, Bay Area-raised Aireene Espiritu is a veteran singer/songwriter who’s created an extensive book of original songs combining Afro-Caribbean and African rhythms, American folk forms, bluegrass techniques and gospel music fervor. As a young musician she absorbed the sounds of Alan Lomax's field recordings from the South, as well as her uncles' Filipino folk guitar […]
This children’s program repeats at 12:15–12:45pm. Led by New Orleans-native Michelle Jacques, a soul-steeped vocalist with a big, bold voice, Chelle! & Friends bring to the Gardens a family-friendly taste of the Crescent City, the cradle of so much essential American music. Chelle! & Friends is made up of some of the most distinguished and […]
Yerba Buena ChoreoFest highlights the spectacular strength, diversity, and vibrancy of the Bay Area contemporary dance scene through a three-day mini festival of site specific work. Curated by RAWdance’s Co-Artistic Directors Ryan T. Smith and Wendy Rein, the inaugural ChoreoFest will feature nine local companies in three truly special performances throughout the Gardens' lawns and […]
Yerba Buena ChoreoFest highlights the spectacular strength, diversity, and vibrancy of the Bay Area contemporary dance scene through a three-day mini festival of site specific work. Curated by RAWdance’s Co-Artistic Directors Ryan T. Smith and Wendy Rein, the inaugural ChoreoFest will feature nine local companies in three truly special performances throughout the Gardens' lawns and […]
Yerba Buena ChoreoFest highlights the spectacular strength, diversity, and vibrancy of the Bay Area contemporary dance scene through a three-day mini festival of site specific work. Curated by RAWdance’s Co-Artistic Directors Ryan T. Smith and Wendy Rein, the inaugural ChoreoFest will feature nine local companies in three truly special performances throughout the Gardens' lawns and […]
Lines and lyrics from Litquake Nation! Enjoy line breaks during your lunch break, as some of the Bay Area’s best poets and musicians share their work in the great outdoors. Tria Blu Wakpa is a 2017-2018 President’s Postdoctoral Fellow in the Dance Department at UC Riverside. She will receive her Ph.D. in Ethnic Studies from […]
With her multi-octave range and soul-drenched sound, Berkeley-raised vocalist Destani Wolf is one of the most exciting singers to emerge from the Bay Area scene. Mentored by masters such as percussionist John Santos and Oakland Blues/Funk Guitarist Johnny Talbot, she recorded with Machete Ensemble, O-maya and The Pharcyde. Moving down to Los Angeles a decade ago opened […]
The Bay Area doesn’t boast a large Puerto Rican population but what the community lacks in numbers it makes up for with fervent spirit. No group has done more to bring the island’s verdant culture to Bay Area stages in recent years than La Mixta Criolla. Featuring Camilo Landau on the four-string cuatro, bassist Ayla […]
This program's location has changed. Please check back here for the most up-to-date information. This children’s program repeats at 12:15–12:45pm. Combining exceptional athletic skills, traditional Chinese music, dazzling costumes and a fast-paced show sure to amaze viewers of all ages, the Red Panda Acrobats bring the ancient art of Chinese acrobatics into the 21st […]
Founded in New York City seven years ago by Colombian-born guitarist/percussionist Camilo Rodriguez, M.A.K.U SoundSystem is an eight-piece band that distills cumbia grooves and jazz improvisation, punk energy, psychedelia and folkloric Colombian cadences into a dance-floor shaking sound. The self-described “immigrant band” is drawn mostly from New York’s extensive Colombian expat community, and the group’s […]
A beloved Father’s Day tradition celebrating the creativity of North America’s indigenous peoples, the 20th annual Native Contemporary Arts Festival showcases a diverse program of native music, dance, spoken word, artist vendors and native crafts. The NCAF showcases California native talents with songstress L Frank (Tongva Ahachmem) singing a beautiful opening prayer; dance and song […]
The annual Jenny Lind Concert is a beloved and long-running Yerba Buena Gardens Festival tradition that showcases the most extraordinary young sopranos from Sweden. This year’s program introduces Ylva Stenberg, who has spent the last six years training in Hanover, first at the College for Music Theater and Media and then at the Hanover Opera’s […]
This program repeats at Noon on Saturday, 6/24/17 and again at 2:15pm on Saturday, 6/24/17. Welcome to Bay City Rhapsody! Experience the energy of Beat-era San Francisco through its latest arrival, a poet and hopeful dreamer, as he discovers the daring artists that truly make the city one of a kind. Circus Bella translates the […]
This show takes place at Noon and repeats again at 2:15pm this day only. This program is a repeat of the Friday, 6/23/17, Noon program. Welcome to Bay City Rhapsody! Experience the energy of Beat-era San Francisco through its latest arrival, a poet and hopeful dreamer, as he discovers the daring artists that truly make […]
Young, energized and politically conscious, The Jamming Nachos are a hard-charging rock ‘n’ roll band straight outta Oakland. Launched as a family combo in 2011 by the siblings Rioz (vocals/guitar), Messiah (guitar/keyboards) and Rey Aceves (bass), the group took shape when they added powerhouse lead vocalist Elena Ruiz and drummer Jeremiah Cobbs. The band put […]
This children’s program repeats at 12:15–12:45pm. What’s in that box, you ask? In the hands of Ka-Hon, a gentle spring shower, a flamenco troupe, a galloping stallion and a rumba circle. Drawing on a pan-American array of rhythms, the high-energy ensemble displays the astounding versatility of the humble cajón, a simple wooden box usually played […]
This program repeats at 2:30–3:45pm and is also a repeat of the 7/2/17 program. Occupy A site-specific journey through an urban garden Directed and Choreographed by Stephan Koplowitz Original score by Pamela Z Performed by AXIS Dance Company with an integrated cast of 20 dancers Occupy is a site-specific journey inspired by the history, design […]