Beginning next Saturday, the Yerba Buena Gardens will be hosting free outdoor programs over the next six months as part of the 2019 annual festival, which includes more than 100 individual events. Each and every week, the YBG Festival presents a curated lineup of global musicians, dancers, poets, and artists. All events are free and take place outdoors in Yerba Buena Gardens off Mission Street between 3rd and 4th Streets in San Francisco.
The 2019 opening concert, a tribute to Charlie Palmieri by The Uprising All-Stars, takes place Saturday, May 4 at 1pm. Charlie Palmieri, older brother of Latin music legend Eddie Palmieri, was an important, progressive figure in the New York Latin music scene. He joined Tito Puente’s band at the Copacabana in 1947 and stayed relevant up until his death in 1988 at the age of 60. The Uprising All-Stars’ tribute performances will combine New York’s finest purveyors of Latin dance music with world-class Bay Area talents such as trombonist Doug Beavers, conguero Little Johnny Rivero, bongo master Karl Perrazo, and vocalist Frankie Vasquez. The Festival closes with the 19th Annual Halloween Hoopla on Sunday, October 27.
May 2019
- Tribute to Charlie Palmieri by The Uprising All-Stars, Saturday, May 4, 1:00pm-2:30pm
- oghosthaze, Thursday, May 9, 12:30pm-1:30pm
- Embodiment Project, Saturday, May 11, 1:00pm-2:30pm
- Poetic Tuesdays with Litquake, Tuesday, May 14, 12:30pm-1:30pm
- Community Music Center Older Adult Choirs, Thursday, May 16, 12:30-1:30pm
- Let’s Go Salsa@Jessie! with Carlitos Medrano & Sabor De Mi Cuba, Thursday, May 16, 6:00pm
7:30pm - Roma Festival with Dzambo Agusevi Orchestra, Saturday, May 18, 12:30pm-3:30pm
- Afro-Cuban Ensemble of SFSU, Thursday, May 23, 12:30pm-1:30pm
- Michael Doucet & Tom Rigney with Flambeau, Saturday, May 25, 1:00-2:30pm
- Sandy Cressman’s Homenagem Brasileira, Thursday, May 30, 12:30pm-1:30pm
June 2019
- Betsayda Machado, Saturday, June 1, 1:00pm-2:30pm
- The Onyx, Thursday, June 6, 12:30pm-1:30pm
- Tunes of Sudan, Saturday, June 8, 1:00pm-2:30pm
- Poetic Tuesdays with Litquake, Tuesday, June 11, 12:30pm-1:30pm
- Latin Jazz Youth Ensemble, Thursday, June 13, 12:30pm-1:30pm
- Garba in the Gardens, Saturday, June 15, 1:00pm-3:00pm
- Native Contemporary Arts Festival, Sunday, June 16, 12:00pm-3:00pm
- Marcus Shelby Quartet, Thursday, June 20, 12:30pm-1:30pm
- Let’s Go Salsa@Jessie! with Jesús Díaz y Su QBA, Thursday, June 20, 6:00pm-7:30pm
- Circus Bella, Friday, June 21, 12:00pm-1:00pm; Saturday, June 22, 12:00pm-1:00pm & 2:15pm-3:15pm
- Edgar Pantoja & the Afro-Cuban Tribe, Thursday, June 27, 12:30pm-1:30pm
- Jeremy Dutcher, Saturday, June 29, 1:00pm-2:30pm
July 2019
- Aireene Espiritu- Tribute to Sugar Pie DeSanto, Saturday, July 6, 1-2:30pm
- Poetic Tuesdays with Litquake, Tuesday, July 9, 12:30pm-1:30pm
- Sueños, Thursday, July 11, 12:30pm-1:30pm
- Yerba Buena Gardens ChoreoFest, Saturday, July 13 & Sunday, July 14, 1:00pm-2:30pm
- Brooklyn Raga Massive with Martha Redbone Roots Project, Saturday, July 20, 1:00pm-2:30pm
- Murasaki Ensemble, Thursday, July 25, 12:30pm-1:30pm
- SF Uke Jam Summer Uke-Splosion!, Saturday, July 27, 1:00pm-3:00pm
- San Francisco Mime Troupe, Sunday, July 28, 2:00pm-4:00pm
August 2019
- AfroSolo in the Gardens, Saturday, August 3, 1:00pm-3:00pm
- LINES Dance Center, Thursday, August 8, 12:30pm-1:30pm
- Pistahan, Saturday, August 10 & Sunday, August 11, 11:00am-4:00pm
- Poetic Tuesdays with Litquake, Tuesday, August 13, 12:30pm-1:30pm
- Kim So Ra: A Sign of Rain, Thursday, August 15, 12:30pm-1:30pm
- Cabanijazz Project, Thursday, August 15, 6:30pm-7:30pm
- Samora Abayomi Pinderhughes, Saturday, August 17, 1:00pm-2:30pm
- Brazil in the Gardens featuring Fabiana Cozza, Saturday, August 18, 1:00pm-2:30pm
- Rob Reich Swings Left, Thursday, August 22, 12:30pm-1:30pm
September 2019
- American Bon Dancing, Sunday, September 1, 1:00pm-3:00pm
- Poetic Tuesdays with Litquake, Tuesday, September 10, 12:30pm-1:30pm
- Brass, Bows and Beats Hip-Hop Symphony, Saturday, September 14, 1:00pm-2:30pm
- Anita Lofton Project, Thursday, September 19, 12:30-1:30pm
- Let’s Go Salsa@Jessie! with Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loca, Thursday, September 19, 6:00pm
7:30pm - La Misa Negra, Saturday, September 28, 2019, 1:00-3:00pm
Children’s Garden Series
- Yerba Buena Children’s Garden is located at Howard & Fourth Streets. Two performances each day: 11:00am-11:30am and 12:15pm-12:45pm, except Circus Bella and Halloween Hoopla.
- Ka-Hon, Friday, June 7
- Pi Clowns, Friday, June 14
- Unique Derique, Friday, June 28
- Duniya Dance & Drum, Friday, July 5
- Chelle! & Friends, Friday, July 12
- Alphabet Rockers, Friday, July 26
- Māhealani Uchiyama, Friday, August 2
- Dholrhythms Dance Company, Friday, August 16
- Caterpillar Puppets, Friday, August 23
- Red Panda Acrobats, Friday, August 30
- 19th Annual Halloween Hoopla, Sunday, October 27, 12-2:00pm
Visit the festival website for more detailed information.