Free live music will return to Golden Gate Park this weekend, when the sixth season of Illuminate Live kicks off at the Bandshell, San Francisco officials announced.
The opening show is set to take place Sunday, March 1, as part of the closing weekend of San Francisco’s second annual SF Music Week — launching more than eight months of free performances at the historic bandshell near the Music Concourse.
Organizers plan more than 125 concerts through mid-November, with shows most Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, plus select Saturdays.
“From last summer’s Summer of Music in Golden Gate Park to free concerts in Civic Center and Union Square, San Francisco is a music city,” Mayor Daniel Lurie said in a statement Tuesday, Feb. 24. “I’m thrilled Illuminate Live is returning for a sixth season — transforming Golden Gate Park into a stage for our city’s incredible talent.”
Illuminate Live draws more than 250,000 attendees each year, according to the mayor’s office.
Since its launch in 2020 during Golden Gate Park’s 150th anniversary, the series has presented more than 700 free concerts and welcomed nearly 1 million people.
The Golden Gate Bandshell, also known as the Spreckels Temple of Music, reopened in 2020 after renovations led by Illuminate, a San Francisco nonprofit. It installed a new stage, lighting and sound system in partnership with the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department.
Sunday’s lineup includes Lucky Break, Grooblen and Gloomy June.
The afternoon show will be followed by the season opener of Crucial Reggae Sundays, featuring resident DJs Irie Dole, Guid8nce and DJ Sep.
Throughout March, organizers say the series will highlight International Women’s Month with 14 female-fronted shows featuring more than 25 local female artists.
All concerts are free and open to all ages at the bandshell at 75 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive.