The Poppy warmly welcomes Ryan McKasson and Eric McDonald, masters of tradition who purposefully explore the dark corners floating on its edges. Pulling from parallel strands of influence, the duo […]
This Canadian quartet explores instrumental music that draws inspiration largely from film scores, jazz, rock, surf, and elements of Eastern European, African, and South American music. At the Poppy, the […]
Ready for authentic storytelling, original compositions, and selections from the Great American Songbook? Globetrotting Arizona native and Los Angeles resident Kathleen Grace brings a pure sound and her honest and […]
Led by bansuri flutist John Wubbenhorst, a composer influenced by decades of studying classical Indian music, Facing East combines Hindustani and Carnatic sounds with modal jazz in the vein of […]
Written, directed, acted, and produced by San Francisco Youth Theatre students, Homegrown is a brilliant collection of original, one-act plays that tells stories of having an incarcerated parent, Black Lives […]
With songs emphasizing lyrics and storytelling, as well as world-class musicianship that prizes spontaneity and dialogue, this highly adaptable ensemble led by trumpeter/composer Darren Johnston brings poetry, interplay, vocal harmonies, […]
Performance artist Naina Shastri and visual artist Salma Arastu collaborate on a show that uses Indian classical dance, poetry, video projection, and live music to connect 13th-century Persian mystic Mevlana […]
Often-rambunctious Balkan quartet Édessa, known for playing intricate time signatures and highly ornamented modal music with authority and joy, brings to the Poppy a night of wide-ranging, non-dance repertoire and […]
Music, poetry, history, and future converge powerfully when three poets–Tongo Eisen-Martin, Bonnie Kwong, and Josiah Luis Alderete–explore themes of immigration, migration, language, cultural identity, social justice, revolution, and love through […]
Dina Maccabee performs lush, ethereal music using viola, vocals, and electronic processing. Taking an experimental approach to folk sensibilities, she crafts a singular, intimate sound world around each of her […]
Standout Bay Area producer/songwriter/guitarist/vocalist Pamela Parker brings her trio to the Poppy for a dynamic performance that will feature selections from her upcoming album, Fantastic Machine, a fresh rock & […]
Best known for being co-frontman of The Head and The Heart, Josiah Johnson heads an evening of songwriting based in a folk tradition that emphasizes connection to the internal source […]
Rumba music originated in the Afro-Cuban neighborhoods of Havana and Matanzas as the soundtrack to community, partnered dancing and get-togethers as a means of cultural expression. Its global diaspora means […]
New York City-based musicians and visual artists Ali Dineen and Hannah Sassoon present an evening of music and shadow puppetry, telling personal and historical tales of healing and resistance. They […]
Saxophonist Tom Griesser and his longtime collaborators, bassist Ollie Dudek and drummer Dan Foltz, present selections performed during their three-year stint at the Burritt Room in San Francisco, as well […]
Returning to the roots of improvisation, saxophonist Richard Howell reunites with fellow improvisers from the acclaimed group RHQ, which featured phenomenal pianist Frederick Harris and spirited bassist Gary Brown. Elé […]
Launched in 2003, the Mission Arts & Performance Project (MAPP) is a homegrown bi-monthly, multidisciplinary, intercultural happening that takes place in the Mission District of San Francisco. On the first […]
“Nosotros, los de a pie” Homenajeando a los ciudadanos de a pie, a los ambulantes, los invisibles a la sociedad. Al inmigrante europeo, latino, africano, a ellos y ellas, los […]
Songwriter and producer Nino Arobelidze, born in the formerly Russian republic of Georgia and raised in Chicago, boasts a sound influenced by jazz, soul, indie rock, her time in a […]
Ready for an easygoing evening of friendly, familiar jazz tunes? Local quintet Zona Blu, whose Italian name is a nod to Milanese jazz club “blue zones” and Miles Davis’ iconic […]
Bay Area performance troupe Opera on the Spot celebrates intense and passionate love, the sublime, the morbid, the beautiful, and the strange with a show dedicated to art songs and […]
Bay Area-based Brazilian guitarist Ricardo Peixoto welcomes São Paulo pianist/arranger/composer Felipe Senna for an evening of original compositions, as well as selections of Brazilian classics, including choro, samba, baião, and […]
Oakland-based Redwood Tango Ensemble presents a concert of new works written by bandoneonist Charles Gorczynski. The sextet focuses on writing that is both fundamentally based in tango and reaching towards […]
Singer/songwriter Alicyn Yaffee makes her Red Poppy debut with an evening of indie-pop sensibilities, punk, jazz guitar, and soulful vocals. Her trio includes Santana bassist/musical director Benny Rietveld, who produced […]
Multistyle violinist and champion fiddler Mari Black comes to the Poppy with a spirited musical adventure featuring dance music from around the globe: Celtic, American, and Canadian fiddling, jazz, tango, […]
Kylland and Cinnamon Lips present a night of all-original music that promises to take listeners from the green knolls of Ireland to the golden hills of Laurel Canyon. These two […]
Kenyan singer-songwriter/guitarist Naomi Wachira comes to the Red Poppy from her home in Seattle for an evening of folk music influenced by gospel, the music of Tracy Chapman and Miriam […]
Bandleader Adam Theis and this five-piece ensemble will present a night of new original compositions and arrangements, as well as tributes to artists who have influenced them. Expect a wide […]
David James (Afrofunk Experience, Beth Custer Ensemble) brings his rhythm-horns-and-strings sextet back to the Poppy for an evening of stylistic border-crossing. This performance will feature songs from the acclaimed album […]
Vocalist/composer Molly Holm, with her all-star jazz trio, makes her Red Poppy debut exploring the multicultural crossroads of improvised music through original compositions, straight-ahead and modal jazz tunes, and traditional […]