Yerba Buena festival is returning to SoMa
Yerba Buena Gardens Festival, the 22-year-old free event series, is returning to its eponymous South of Market city park on May 7 with Cuba-born percussionist and singer Jesús Díaz y Su Habana Afro-Cuban Ensamble, which kicks off six months of weekly programming in music, dance, theater and more.
The outdoor event’s lineup also includes Bay Area favorites such as veteran jazz contralto Paula West and San Francisco bassist and composer Marcus Shelby, along with a spate of world premieres.
“The festival is proud to commission new musical and performance programs specifically designed for the Gardens,” Linda Lucero, the festival’s executive and artistic director, said in a statement.
Among the four world premieres are “Sudamala,” to be performed by Berkeley Balinese music and dance company Gamelan Sekar Jaya on May 28, and Alleluia Panis’ “Nursing These Wounds” on Oct. 1. Joti Singh, the artistic director of Duniya Dance and Drum Company, which blends Punjabi and Guinean dance, is scheduled to perform “Ghadar Geet” on Sept. 10. Shelby plans to unveil “Blues in the City” with the Marcus Shelby New Orchestra on Sept. 3.
Other highlights include 14-year-old San Francisco circus company Circus Bella, which presents “Flip * Flop * Fly” on June 25; San Francisco dance company Na Lei Hulu I Ka Wekiu, which specializes in traditional and contemporary Hawaiian dance, with “I Ola!” on June 18; and West’s performance along with AfroSolo Arts Festival on Aug. 6.
The Yerba Buena Gardens Festival also plans to have Salsa at Jessie, an outdoor dance party, on the third Thursday of each month from May to September, and the Children’s Garden Series, with puppets, circus and more on Fridays from June to August.
A Thursday Lunchtime Concert Series will be hosted “most Thursdays,” organizers said, May through September.
For a full roster of free events, visit www.ybg festival.org.