Upcoming Summer Music Festivals

Looking to have a relaxing acoustic experience under the sun? We have created a list of some of the major music festivals happening around the Bay Area this summer. The first three festivals can all be attended for free while the last three have a varying price of admission. We recommend taking public transportation to these events since bad traffic and expensive, difficult to find, and remote parking can turn what should be an enjoyable excursion into an inconvenient and frustrating one. Therefore we have also provided public transit directions to each, starting from the Vallejo Transit Center. If you’re under 19 and need to ride on one of our local routes in order to get to the transit center then you can purchase one of our $1 Summer Slice day passes.

Art + Soul Oakland

Jul. 27 – 28

The free, annual Art + Soul Oakland festival will be held in Downtown Oakland. The lineup includes Jazz Mafia Choral Syndicate, Jazz Mafia Bay Revue, Lyrics Born, Alphabet Rockers, Netta Brielle, Kev Choice Ensemble, The Pointer Sisters and more. The festival begins at 12 PM and ends at 6 PM.

To get there, take the Red Line to El Cerrito del Norte BART then transfer onto a Warm Springs/South Fremont BART to the Oakland 12th St station; after leaving the station you should be right at the festival entrance.

Stern Grove Festival

Jul. 21, 28 / Aug. 4, 11, 18

The free, seasonal Stern Grove Festival will be held at the Stern Grove park in San Francisco every Sunday until August 18. Curious about who’s going to be jamming out? Here is the lineup of performers in case you’re curious. Concerts begin at 2 PM and end between 4:30 and 5:30 PM.

There will be very limited parking so the festival recommends taking public transportation. To get there take the Red Line to El Cerrito del Norte, transfer onto Millbrae BART to the Balboa Park station then transfer onto the SFMTA K metro rail to St Francis Circle and walk down to 19th Ave & Sloat Blvd.

Alternatively you can take the San Francisco Bay Ferry then walk to the Metro Embarcadero station, then take the SFMTA K to St Francis Circle and walk down to 19th Ave & Sloat Blvd.

Polk Street Blues Festival

Aug. 17 – 18

The free, annual Polk Street Blues music festival will be held in San Francisco and will feature blues music on two stages, arts and crafts, and food booths. The festival begins at 10 AM and ends at 6 PM.

To get there, take the Red Line to El Cerrito del Norte, transfer onto a Millbrae train to the Embarcadero station, walk to Sacramento St & Davis St then take the SFMTA 1 to the Sacramento St & Polk St stop, you should be within walking distance of the festival.

Concord Jazz Festival

Aug. 3

The 50th annual Concord Jazz Festival will be held at the Concord Pavilion. The lineup includes Dave Koz, Esperanza Spalding, Chick Corea, Count Basie Orchestra featuring Patti Austin and more. The pavilion opens at 2 PM and music begins at 4 PM and ends at 9 PM.

To get there take the Yellow Line to Walnut Creek BART, transfer onto an Antioch train to the Concord station, transfer onto the $5 round trip Bauer Transport Bus* to the Concord Pavilion which runs from 90 minutes before admission and up until showtime; the last bus back leaves 30 minutes after showtime.

*bus info is under the “Public Transportation” heading

San Jose Jazz Summer Fest

Aug. 9 – 11

The 30th annual San Jose Jazz Summer Fest will be held in Downtown San Jose at multiple stages in the area. The lineup includes En Vogue, The Ray Obiedo Group, The O’Jays and more. You can find tickets here. For times please check their lineup page and filter by “date & time”.

To get there, take the Red Line to El Cerrito del Norte BART, transfer onto a Warm Springs/South Fremont train to the Warm Springs/South Fremont Station then transfer onto the VTA 181 to 2nd St & Santa Clara St.

Outside Lands

Aug. 9 – 11

Outside Lands is an annual three day music festival held in Golden Gate Park. The lineup includes Paul Simon, Lil Wayne, Twenty One Pilots, Childish Gambino and more so it’s a good idea to purchase tickets ahead of time. Festival gates open at 11 AM, music ends at 10 PM. 

To get there, take the Red Line to El Cerrito del Norte BART, transfer onto a Millbrae train to the Civic Center BART station then transfer onto the SFMTA N to Golden Gate Park. Alternatively you can take the San Francisco Bay Ferry then walk to the Metro Embarcadero Station and take the SFMTA N to Golden Gate Park. 

Alternatively you can ride a pre-paid shuttle from the Bill Graham Civic Center Auditorium (which is close to the Civic Center BART station) right to the festival gates.