Enjoy a free, all ages concert featuring 3 extraordinary Bay Area female musicians at the new Golden Gate Park Bandshell stage!

About this event

Illuminate, the SF Parks Alliance in Association with Value Culture present:

Neferttiti (Oakland, CA)

Awarded|Published|Runway|Model | Musician

Fo Fera (Oakland, CA)

Alt-folk Soul Artist, Storyteller between music and prose

Essence (San Francisco, CA)

Award winning singer-songwriter Essence has been immersed in art and music since childhood. Her birth name really is ‘Essence’ – she was raised by quintessential flower children. As a sixth generation native of San Francisco, her parents were two free spirited bohemian artists from the Haight-Ashbury ‘Summer of Love.’ Essence has released 6 CDs (with a 7th slated for release in 2020!) on both independent and major labels. She has toured nationally, opening for Jason Mraz, Shawn Colvin, Tom Petty, Sarah McLachlan, Natalie Merchant, Chrissie Hynde, Steve Miller, Pat Benatar, and Linda Perry. Her sound nods to songwriting legends like Tom Petty and Lucinda Williams, Dolly Parton and Gillian Welch. In addition to writing folk/Americana, country, pop and rock songs, Essence has produced a very much loved children’s album called “A Dog Named Moo".

Celebrate International Women's month!

Free outdoor all ages live music concert in Golden Gate Park on the new stage at the Bandshell aka Spreckels Temple of Music at the Music Concourse.

Live music has returned to the Golden Gate Bandshell’s iconic stage with a series of free outdoor concerts in Golden Gate Park, courtesy of Illuminate and the San Francisco Parks Alliance.

The lineup of performers returning to the stage is diverse and local—rock and reggae bands, jazz players and R&B singers, West African and South Asian drummers and dancers, as well as homegrown stars like DJ Shortkut and Lavay Smith and her Red Hot Skillet Lickers.

The free, all-ages concerts will run all year in 2022, with Singer-Songwriter Wednesdays, Jazz and Soul Fridays, Cultural and Community groups on Saturdays, and Reggae Sundays, as well as many special events!

The events will strictly follow all current guidelines and recommendations from the Department of Public Health and will adapt accordingly as guidelines change.

The free concert series was planned for Golden Gate Park’s 150th anniversary in 2020, a yearlong celebration put on by the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department and the San Francisco Parks Alliance. While the series kickoff was delayed by the pandemic, the Golden Gate Bandshell was upgraded with a new stage, built-in theatrical lighting and state-of-the-art Meyer sound system.

The 120-year-old Golden Gate Bandshell is the oldest structure in Golden Gate Park’s Music Concourse, an open air plaza built for the 1894 World’s Fair. Also called the Spreckel’s Temple of Music, the Bandshell was a gift to San Franciscans from sugar magnate Claus Spreckels.

This concert is in association with California 501c3 non profit Value Culture. The mission of Value Culture is to produce and support artistic, educational, charitable, and spiritual events to inspire individuals to give back to their communities. Value Culture removes barriers to arts, culture, and philanthropy. Follow on IG @ivalueculture for future events or get on the list at valueculture.org.

Click here to register for the event.