Red Poppy Art House

FRESH Exchanges: Alternative Conservatory ft. Brontez Purnell
2017-01-05 19:30 - 21:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Red Poppy Art House, 2698 Folsom St., San Francisco, CA, 94110, United States
In collaboration with FRESH Festival 2017, the Red Poppy Art House is pleased to present FRESH Exchanges, free and by-donation events made to cultivate, cross-pollinate, invigorate, create access, and generate outreach within and outwith the dance, music, and performance communities. These interactive exchanges include Alternative Conservatory on Thursdays, January 5, 12, 19. Hosted by FRESH artists notorious for disarming paradigms and thinking outside the box, Alternative Conservatory is a time to unwind, connect, absorb, consider, listen, and discuss. On January 5th, Brontez Purnell presents What he’s having.
There’s something about Brontez Purnell. Whatever he’s into or up to, you want to get a taste, a fix, a gander. With his chilled-out-manic-inviting-provoking-matter-of-fact manner, he shares his disruptive skills and offers vicarious thrills as he hosts us, serving up ​his current fascinations in art, culture, dance, music, writing, etc. in the context of FRESH 2017.

ABOUT THE ARTIST:
Brontez Purnell is a writer, musician, dancer, and choreographer. Since founding the Brontez Purnell Dance Company (BPDC) in 2010, Purnell has presented original dance and movement theatre works at the Berkeley Art Museum, CounterPULSE, the Garage, KUNST-STOFF arts, the LAB, SOMArts, YBCA, and the Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts. He is the recipient of the 2015 Creative Work Fund Media Arts Grant to create an experimental documentary on the postmodern Bay Area choreographer Ed Mock. Brontez holds a BFA in Theatre + Contemporary Dance from California State University/East Bay.

ABOUT FRESH FESTIVAL:
FRESH Festival 2017, the 8th annual Festival of Experimental Dance + Performance in San Francisco, celebrates and showcases the abundance of embodied art, action, innovation, and inclusion in the Bay Area from January 2-22, with three immersive weeks with intensive practices, cutting-edge performances, and interactive exchanges. Produced by ALTERNATIVA, FRESH 2017 is curated by Kathleen Hermesdorf, Abby Crain, and José Navarrete, and hosted by Joe Goode Annex, Red Poppy Art House, F8 Nightclub in San Francisco, and CTRL+SHFT in Oakland.
To view the full schedule of FRESH Exchanges at the Red Poppy Art House, click here.

EVENT DETAILS

Time: Doors 7:00PM / Event 7:30PM
Admission: Free; by donation

FRESH Exchanges: Social Practice/Potluck ft. Rachael Dichter & Jesse Hewit
2017-01-04 19:30 - 21:00 | Red Poppy Art House, 2698 Folsom St., San Francisco, CA, 94110, United States
In collaboration with FRESH Festival 2017, the Red Poppy Art House is pleased to present FRESH Exchanges, free and by-donation events made to cultivate, cross-pollinate, invigorate, create access, and generate outreach within and outwith the dance, music, and performance communities. These interactive exchanges include Social Practice/Potlucks on Wednesdays, January 4, 11, 18. FRESH Social Practice/Potlucks are collaborative meals and interactivities co-hosted by artists notorious for generating situations of connectivity, improvisation, inclusivity, and direct action.
On January 4th, artists Rachael Dichter and Jesse Hewit co-host a gentle evening of warm food and shared care – one on one but also all together.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:
Rachael Dichter is a San Francisco-based dancer, performer, choreographer, and curator. She studied dance and art history at Mills College and was a 2015 Danceweb Scholar. Her work has shown at Dock 11 Berlin, Ponderosa Tanzland Berlin, Joe Goode Annex San Francisco, On the Boards Seattle, and she has collaborated with artists Laura Arrington, Mica Sigourney, Ruairi Donovan, Allie Hankins, Sara Kraft, Abby Crain, Jesse Hewit, Marten Spangberg, Keith Hennessy, and Jess Curtis. For four years she co-curated San Francisco’s live arts festival THIS IS WHAT I WANT.
Jesse Hewit is a three-way cross between a diabolical valedictorian fratboy at a therapy intake session, a fussy-but-useful little baby bear who can make a fierce sandwich, and a really old and mostly unremarkable leather shoe. He makes art and discourse actions in order to move societies toward equity, complexity, and other poetic and impossible clouds and ghost-like things. “His” work, curations, collaborations, and teachings have happened in various parts of the US and Europe, and his upcoming offering called FAITH MATERIAL: Activism will happen first in San Francisco in February 2017 and later next year in Los Angeles and Portland. Jesse works as a cook and lives precariously in San Francisco.

ABOUT FRESH FESTIVAL:
FRESH Festival 2017, the 8th annual Festival of Experimental Dance + Performance in San Francisco, celebrates and showcases the abundance of embodied art, action, innovation, and inclusion in the Bay Area from January 2-22, with three immersive weeks with intensive practices, cutting-edge performances, and interactive exchanges. Produced by ALTERNATIVA, FRESH 2017 is curated by Kathleen Hermesdorf, Abby Crain, and José Navarrete, and hosted by Joe Goode Annex, Red Poppy Art House, F8 Nightclub in San Francisco, and CTRL+SHFT in Oakland.
To view the full schedule of FRESH Exchanges at the Red Poppy Art House, click here.

EVENT DETAILS

Time: Doors 7:00PM / Event 7:30PM
Admission: Free; by donation

FRESH Exchanges: Experimental Structures ft. Chani Bockwinkel & Keisha Turner
2017-01-03 19:30 - 21:30 | Red Poppy Art House, 2698 Folsom St., San Francisco, CA, 94110, United States
In collaboration with FRESH Festival 2017, the Red Poppy Art House is pleased to present FRESH Exchanges, free and by-donation events made to cultivate, cross-pollinate, invigorate, create access, and generate outreach within and outwith the dance, music, and performance communities. These interactive exchanges include Experimental Structures on Tuesdays, January 3, 10, 17. Hosted by Abby Crain and José Navarrete, Experimental Structures invite artists working on the edge of their form to speak about their work, share excerpts of current projects, and lead group discussions.
On January 3rd, artist Chani Bockwinkel presents Justin Bieber Ted Talk, while Keisha Turner presents We.Here.Now, an intermittent performance/ritual project that asserts the inherent value of black life and black liberation; this iteration addresses the dehumanization of poverty through a black American lens. All ritualized performances that take place via We.Here.Now rely on the richness of Afro-Diasporan cultural practices to acknowledge, heal from, and begin to dismantle the various manifestations of generational, racialized violence.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:
Chani Bockwinkel is a performer and filmmaker. She makes interdisciplinary-collaborative-feminist imagery for the stage, gallery, and internet. She is also a founding member of SALTA collective.
Keisha Turner is an Oakland-based performer and educator with roots in Chicago and Brooklyn. She is a creative change-maker with growing ties to the many resistance movements taking place in the Bay Area. In her artistic practice, she values the ability of African-American/African diasporic traditions of dance and improvisation to intersect with contemporary performance art to tell stories that probe issues of politics, culture, and identity. Keisha is also a certified yoga instructor, and is committed to offering body-positive, life-affirming classes that create space for participants to prioritize self-care and self-awareness as an entry point to engaging with their communities.
Abby Crain is an Oakland-based artist who makes dances and other structures for performance. She also works in the field as a teacher, performer, writer, and curator. Her curatorial projects include the NO THANK YOU SHOW, which asked artists to represent or stage work that has been rejected by granting organizations, theaters, collaborators, or the artist herself; the NON MAJOR SHOW, which asked artists to show work not in their primary medium; as well as being on the curatorial panel of FRESH Festival.
José Navarrete is a native of Mexico City where he was first exposed to theater and dance, choreographing and performing in parks, hospitals, and children’s parties as a clown and dancer. He studied dance at the National Institute of Fine Arts in Mexico and has a BA in Anthropology from UC Berkeley and MFA in Dance from Mills College. Currently, he leads the Guerilla Performance Group and curates and produces the Live Arts in Resistance (LAIR) initiative at Eastside Arts Alliance, which provides residencies and performing opportunities for artists of color in East Oakland. José has been participating in FRESH since 2015 and acting as a curator for 2017 + 2018.

ABOUT FRESH FESTIVAL:
FRESH Festival 2017, the 8th annual Festival of Experimental Dance + Performance in San Francisco, celebrates and showcases the abundance of embodied art, action, innovation, and inclusion in the Bay Area from January 2-22, with three immersive weeks with intensive practices, cutting-edge performances, and interactive exchanges. Produced by ALTERNATIVA, FRESH 2017 is curated by Kathleen Hermesdorf, Abby Crain, and José Navarrete, and hosted by Joe Goode Annex, Red Poppy Art House, F8 Nightclub in San Francisco, and CTRL+SHFT in Oakland.
To view the full schedule of FRESH Exchanges at the Red Poppy Art House, click here.

EVENT DETAILS

Time: Doors 7:00PM / Event 7:30PM
Admission: Free; by donation

FRESH Exchanges: Dis[rupt]·co·theque ft. Vagittarius Rising
2017-01-02 19:30 - 21:30 | Red Poppy Art House, 2698 Folsom St., San Francisco, CA, 94110, United States
In collaboration with FRESH Festival 2017, the Red Poppy Art House is pleased to present FRESH Exchanges, free and by-donation events made to cultivate, cross-pollinate, invigorate, create access, and generate outreach within and outwith the dance, music, and performance communities. Get down, get loose, and get refreshed at the start of FRESH 2017 with Dis[rupt]·co·theque on Monday, January 2. Hosted by FRESH artists notorious for creating unique gatherings, spectacle, noise, and revelry, the Poppy’s program features live music from Berlin-based band Vagittarius Rising.
Vagittarius Rising is a feminist fake band duo. Since 2015, they have been performing regularly throughout Berlin and recently in Finland and Lithuania. At moments a rave, a mosh pit, a sanctuary, and a girl’s bedroom, Vagittarius Rising utilizes the band and concert as experimental forms.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:
Lithuanian Agnė Auželytė is an Aries, a performer, and a chef based in Berlin. Her current collaborations include the co-authoring and publishing of the Ponderosa cookbook, running the pop-up bar and performance platform Poodle Bar, and performing with Vagittarius Rising.
Israeli-American Shelley Etkin works between realms of dance, performance, ecology, queer feminisms, curation, and community organizing. Based between Berlin/Ponderosa and Helsinki, she is currently pursuing her M.A. in Ecology & Contemporary Performance.

ABOUT FRESH FESTIVAL:
FRESH Festival 2017, the 8th annual Festival of Experimental Dance + Performance in San Francisco, celebrates and showcases the abundance of embodied art, action, innovation, and inclusion in the Bay Area from January 2-22, with three immersive weeks with intensive practices, cutting-edge performances, and interactive exchanges. Produced by ALTERNATIVA, FRESH 2017 is curated by Kathleen Hermesdorf, Abby Crain, and José Navarrete, and hosted by Joe Goode Annex, Red Poppy Art House, F8 Nightclub in San Francisco, and CTRL+SHFT in Oakland.
To view the full schedule of FRESH Exchanges at the Red Poppy Art House, click here.

EVENT DETAILS

Time: Doors 7:00PM / Event 7:30PM
Admission: Free; by donation

Alex Hand Band: A Balkan Jazz Quartet
2016-12-18 19:30 - 22:00 | Red Poppy Art House, 2698 Folsom St., San Francisco, CA, 94110, United States
With a setlist that ranges from Bulgarian wedding tunes to hot club jazz, the Alex Hand Band mines the common ground between swing and Eastern European folk dance music–the soundtrack of Western music moving across Balkan borders and being changed by European village music.
Featuring:
Alex Hand – guitar
Kevin Gerzevitz – keys, accordion
Gabe Case – bass
Valentino – percussion
Alex Hand, who has traveled to the Balkans to study folk music, is involved with various projects in the Bay Area’s Balkan and jazz manouche scenes, including Istanbul Connection. He holds a bachelor’s degree in jazz guitar performance from the University of Nevada.
Learn more: ReverbNation | Facebook

EVENT DETAILS

Time: Doors 7:00PM / Show 7:30PM
Admission: $10-15 sliding scale
Tickets will not be sold in advance for this event – please arrive at the Red Poppy when doors open to purchase tickets. All ages are welcome.
Join the conversation at the Poppy – volunteer for this event!

Makrú: A Night of Rumba Flamenca, Ska, Reggae & Cumbia
2016-12-17 19:30 - 22:00 | Red Poppy Art House, 2698 Folsom St., San Francisco, CA, 94110, United States
Makrú’s unifying ethos is more than just talk: This pan-cultural five-piece uses Spanish and English lyrics to blend reality and fiction, and their signature mix of rumba flamenca, reggae, cumbia, and ska promises to bring everyone to the dancefloor.
Featuring:
Jenny Rodriguez – vocals
Raúl Vargas – cajón, vocals
Haluk Kecelioglu – oud, violin
Bob Sanders – guitar
OriAche – percussion
Learn more: Website | Facebook | Bandcamp

EVENT DETAILS

Time: Doors 7:00PM / Show 7:30PM
Admission: $10-20 sliding scale
Tickets will not be sold in advance for this event – please arrive at the Red Poppy when doors open to purchase tickets. All ages are welcome.
Join the conversation at the Poppy – volunteer for this event!

Miles Jay ft. Axon Orchestra: Post-Punk Balkan Marching Band
2016-12-16 19:30 - 22:00 | Red Poppy Art House, 2698 Folsom St., San Francisco, CA, 94110, United States
Ready to forget everything you thought you knew about marching bands? Don’t miss the eight-piece Axon Orchestra’s dazzlingly electrified Red Poppy debut, which promises to use urban and rural musical styles of the Balkans and Middle East to take listeners on a post-punk, postmodern sonic journey like no other.
Featuring:
Miles Jay – buzuk, bass
Paul Bertin – saxophone
Fabrice Martinez – violin
Morgan Nilsen – clarinet
Dusty Brough – guitar
Andrew Cohen – tuba
Marco Peris – tapan
Ian Jay – drumkit
Founded by brothers Miles and Ian Jay at Burning Man 2016, the Axon Orchestra features musicians from celebrated bands such as the Nile Project, Inspector Gadje, Fishtank Ensemble, and Giant Kelp.
Learn more: Website | Facebook

EVENT DETAILS

Time: Doors 7:00PM / Show 7:30PM
Admission: $15-20 sliding scale
Tickets will not be sold in advance for this event – please arrive at the Red Poppy when doors open to purchase tickets. All ages are welcome.
Join the conversation at the Poppy – volunteer for this event!

Charles Xavier: Jazz Standards and the Music of SATORI
2016-12-15 19:30 - 22:00 | Red Poppy Art House, 2698 Folsom St., San Francisco, CA, 94110, United States
Producer, composer, electronic musician, and percussionist Charles Xavier performs jazz standards, as well as compositions by his former band, ’70s jazz ensemble SATORI. Join Xavier and his quartet, who specialize in “unconventional music for unconventional minds,” as they touch on jazz, new age and ambient music, and holiday classics.
Featuring:
Clifford Brown III – trumpet
Terry Rodriguez – piano
Richard Saunders – bass
Charles Xavier – drums
A jazz drummer from the age of 16, Bay Area resident Charles Xavier (aka “The Xman”) was born and raised in New Bedford, Massachusetts, where the East Coast jazz scene shaped and defined his musical tastes. The latest release on his Happy Note Records label, Happy Note Records Sampler 2016, compiles highlights of his work as a musician and producer over the past two decades.
Learn more: Website | Facebook | YouTube | SoundCloud

EVENT DETAILS

Time: Doors 7:00PM / Show 7:30PM
Admission: $10-20 sliding scale
Tickets will not be sold in advance for this event – please arrive at the Red Poppy when doors open to purchase tickets. All ages are welcome.
Join the conversation at the Poppy – volunteer for this event!

Nicole Stromsoe & Amber Gougis: Vintage Inspirations, Soulful Voices
2016-12-11 19:30 - 22:00 | Red Poppy Art House, 2698 Folsom St., San Francisco, CA, 94110, United States
Songstresses Nicole Stromsoe and Amber Gougis co-headline an evening of original material intermingled with old-school classics. Accompanied only by acoustic guitar and double bass, Stromsoe and Gougis aim to captivate audiences with enchanting vocals inspired by jazz, blues, R&B, and folk.
Featuring:
Nicole Stromsoe – vocals
Amber Gougis – vocals
Dorian Michael – guitar
Ken Hustad – double bass
With a voice that has been described as “nourishing,” “sensual,” and “rich,” Nicole Stromsoe specializes in her own blend of eclectic soul, jazz, and blues. A graduate of Berklee College of Music, she has studied voice intensively for over a decade.
Amber Gougis infuses jazz with soul and brings an improvisation-laced sensibility to Chicago blues and mid-century R&B. Through her original compositions and carefully selected repertoire, she seeks to promote soul music and introduce listeners to the great artists that inspire her.

EVENT DETAILS

Time: Doors 7:00PM / Show 7:30PM
Admission: $10-15 sliding scale
Tickets will not be sold in advance for this event – please arrive at the Red Poppy when doors open to purchase tickets. All ages are welcome.
Join the conversation at the Poppy – volunteer for this event!

Patrick Wolff/Grant Stewart Quintet: Classic Bebop Saxophone
2016-12-10 19:30 - 22:00 | Red Poppy Art House, 2698 Folsom St., San Francisco, CA, 94110, United States
Two highly acclaimed jazz saxophonists, Patrick Wolff and Grant Stewart, light up the night with dexterous and exhilarating renderings of the classic two-tenor groups. Alongside a vibrant trio of experienced musicians, Wolff and Stewart pay tribute to the time-honored compositions of Charles Mingus, Al Cohn, Freddie Redd, and Duke Ellington, brought to life in a magnetic convergence of East and West Coast virtuosity.
Featuring:
Grant Stewart – tenor saxophone
Patrick Wolff – tenor and alto saxophone
Adam Shulman – piano
Eric Markowitz – bass
Phil Stewart – drums
Patrick Wolff is a saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and educator, originally from New York and currently residing in San Francisco. Known for his work with the Marcus Shelby Jazz Orchestra and singer/songwriter Diana Gameros, Wolff has received praise for his original music and explorations of overlooked jazz repertoire.
New York City-based saxophonist Grant Stewart is an international favorite of critics and musicians, having performed all over North America, Europe, Japan, Brazil, and Taiwan. With 16 recordings under his belt as a bandleader, Stewart is admired for his powerful tone and deep swing and respected for his dedication to the art and language of jazz.

EVENT DETAILS

Time: Doors 7:00PM / Show 7:30PM
Admission: $20-25 sliding scale
Tickets will not be sold in advance for this event – please arrive at the Red Poppy when doors open to purchase tickets. All ages are welcome.
Join the conversation at the Poppy – volunteer for this event!

La Mixta Criolla: Latin-Caribbean Grooves
2016-12-09 19:30 - 22:00 | Red Poppy Art House, 2698 Folsom St., San Francisco, CA, 94110, United States
Hard-swinging Bay Area ensemble La Mixta Criolla returns to the Red Poppy with music rooted in the criollo culture of Puerto Rico and the Latin-Caribbean. Performing both originals and funky renditions of classic tunes, the quintet combines a variety of swinging Afro-Caribbean grooves, from plena, bomba, guaracha jíbara, seis, and aguinaldo to merengue, son, cumbia, and salsa.

Featuring:
Héctor Lugo – congas, barril, panderos, vocals
Ayla Davila – bass, vocals
Sandra García Rivera – vocals, güícharo
Roman “Ito” Carrillo – bongos, barril, pandero, vocals
Camilo Landau – Puerto Rican cuatro, vocals
Learn more: Facebook

EVENT DETAILS

Time: Doors 7:00PM / Show 7:30PM
Admission: $10-20 sliding scale
Tickets will not be sold in advance for this event – please arrive at the Red Poppy when doors open to purchase tickets. All ages are welcome.
Join the conversation at the Poppy – volunteer for this event!

StringQuake: Electric Harp Meets Cello & Percussion
2016-12-08 20:00 - 22:00 | Red Poppy Art House, 2698 Folsom St., San Francisco, CA, 94110, United States
Bay Area trio StringQuake uses unusual instrumentation–electric harp, cello, and percussion–to explore far-flung sounds inspired by Greece, India, Africa, and the Americas. With a penchant for improvisation and unexpected meters, the group boasts a wide-ranging repertoire that runs the gamut from contemplative to vigorous.
Featuring:
Amelia Romano – electric harp
Misha Khalikulov – cello
Josh Mellinger – cajón, tabla, frame drum
Composer/arranger Romano, Uzbek cellist/educator Khalikulov, and versatile percussionist Mellinger released their first album together, Take 15, in 2013. The trio, which has toured Mexico, performs extensively in the Bay Area.
Learn more: Website
Photo by: James Dong

EVENT DETAILS

Time: Doors 7:30PM / Show 8:00PM
Admission: $20-25 sliding scale
Tickets will not be sold in advance for this event – please arrive at the Red Poppy when doors open to purchase tickets. All ages are welcome.
Join the conversation at the Poppy – volunteer for this event!

Rumberos de Radio Habana: Community Rumba
2016-12-04 14:00 - 17:00, 2016-11-06 14:00 - 17:00 | Red Poppy Art House, 2698 Folsom St., San Francisco, CA, 94110, United States
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 rumba rhythms have found their way into other genres of music such as country, rock, and blues, and continue to impact the genres of today. Every first Sunday, Rumberos de Radio Habana bring their own contribution to the Red Poppy for a free afternoon of beat-making, hip-shaking, and good company.

EVENT DETAILS

Time: Event 2:00PM
Admission: Free; donations accepted for musicians ($5-10)
All ages are welcome.
Join the conversation at the Poppy – volunteer for this event!

MAPP: Crossover Collaborative Residencies, Cohort II, Final Performance
2016-12-03 19:00 - 21:00 | Red Poppy Art House, 2698 Folsom St., San Francisco, CA, 94110, United States
An interdisciplinary residency program supported by the Kenneth Rainin Foundation and San Francisco Arts Commission, Crossover Collaborative Residencies provides a framework to support the exploration of collaborative processes between artists in dance and music disciplines. Pairing six choreographer/dancers and six composer/musicians, the program follows a four-stage development from preliminary artists gatherings and orientation workshops, to early-stage “raw” presentations of works-in-progress, a middle-stage free community-engaged presentation, and a final performance/presentation.

About the MAPP:
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 Saturday of every even month of the year, the MAPP transforms ordinary spaces, such as private garages, gardens, living rooms, studios, street corners, and small businesses into pop-up performance and exhibition sites for a day/night of intimate-scale artistic and cultural exchange among a kaleidoscope of individuals and communities.

About the Artists (Cohort II):

Byb Chanel Bibene is a choreographer and performer working in theater and contemporary dance. He has toured the world and performed internationally with companies and choreographers from Africa, England, France, and the United States. Artistic Director of Kiandanda Dance Theater, he is pursuing his Master in Fine Arts in dance at Saint Mary’s College of California.

Daniel Berkman has several albums to his credit, ranging from postmodern kora music and a planetarium soundtrack to electronic music under the moniker Colfax. In the spirit of timeless innovation, Daniel’s future albums will include ballets, songs, and soundtracks, all featuring odd combinations of instruments including cello, viola da gamba, ukelin, marxophone, ukulele, esraj, guitar, and Handsonic.

David Molina is an award-winning composer, multi-instrumentalist, sound artist/designer, recording engineer, and instrument inventor. He has created music and sound for the performing arts, film, and multimedia installations for the past 20 years. His music and bands—including Ghosts and Strings, Transient, Impuritan, and Ackamoor/Molina Duet—are available on Resting Bell (Berlin), Dorog Records (Peru), Black Note Music and Distant Spore (USA), or self released.

Dohee Lee, born on Jeju Island in South Korea, learned Korean dance, Korean percussion, and vocals rooted in Shamanism. Her art now focuses on integrating these traditional ritual forms with contemporary elements. Her works emphasize the mythical, experimental, ritualistic, theatrical, historical, and healing aspects of music, dance, and visual which shares the thoughts and ideas on vital issues such as identity, politics, nature and spirituality.

Chris Evans, an Oakland-based interdisciplinary artist trained in music and dance, explores where the lines between dance, music, space, artist, and audience blur. She is a member of Bandelion Dance Theater, Black and White Projects art collective, and regularly collaborates with David Boyce, Byb Chanel Bibene, Sheena Johnson, Ernest Jolly, and Randee Paufve.

José Navarrete is a native of Mexico City, where he studied dance at the National Institute of Fine Arts. He has a B.A. in Anthropology from University of California, Berkeley and an MFA in dance from Mills College. He currently curates and produces the Live Arts in Resistance (LAIR) initiative, Eastside Arts Alliance, which provides residencies and performing opportunities for artists of color in East Oakland.

EVENT DETAILS

Time: Event 7:00PM
Admission: Free
All ages are welcome.
Join the conversation at the Poppy – volunteer for this event!

STOOP: Sounds & Stories of the Mission
2016-12-03 14:00 - 17:00 | CA
Mission Stoop Fest (STOOP) is a civil society arts experiment that transpires on the front stoops of local residences, where traditional and contemporary artists perform and where local residents share stories and histories. The front stoop represents a literal threshold between the public and private spheres and is a historic site of spontaneous community interaction and exchange. Occurring during the day on the same bi-monthly dates as sister-project, Mission Arts & Performance Project (MAPP), STOOP will provide a program and a map of multiple neighborhood stoops where performance and storytelling will unfold simultaneously.

SCHEDULE:
1018 Shotwell & 24th St
2:00-5:00pm: Carlos Cartagena
Interactive installation about changes in the Mission
2:10pm: Eda Zavalla
Stoop Fest opening ceremony
2:30pm: Sounds of the Mission
Live music and performance
3:10pm: Carlos Baron
A story of the Mission
3:30pm: Adriana Camarena
Excerpts of essay “Street Food”
4:30pm: Diana Lara
“Living or Witnessing Life”

EVENT DETAILS

Time: Event 2:00PM
Location: 1018 Shotwell & 24th St
Admission: Free
All ages are welcome.

Redwood Tango Ensemble: New Tango & Chamber Music
2016-12-02 19:30 - 22:00 | Red Poppy Art House, 2698 Folsom St., San Francisco, CA, 94110, United States
Oakland’s Redwood Tango Ensemble presents a set of brand new compositions as well as arrangements of contemporary tango favorites.
Featuring:
Charles Gorczynski – bandoneon
Elyse Weakley – piano
Anton Estaniel – cello
Kendra Vernon – violin
Mia Bella D’Augelli – violin
Daniel Fabricant – double bass
Dedicated to the study and performance of traditional Argentine tango music, Redwood Tango Ensemble has played hundreds of milongas (social dance events) since their inception in 2011. Led by composer/bandoneon player Charles Gorczynski, the ensemble tours regularly as the full sextet, in various trios, or as Maldito Tango Duo, a bandoneon/guitar pair. Redwood Tango Ensemble has also released two albums, including this year’s critically acclaimed Unison.
Learn more: Website | Facebook

EVENT DETAILS

Time: Doors 7:00PM / Show 7:30PM
Admission: $10-20 sliding scale
Tickets will not be sold in advance for this event – please arrive at the Red Poppy when doors open to purchase tickets. All ages are welcome.
Join the conversation at the Poppy – volunteer for this event!

AZA Band with Arouna Diarra & Biko Casini: Balafon & Ngoni Music
2016-11-27 19:00 - 21:30 | Red Poppy Art House, 2698 Folsom St., San Francisco, CA, 94110, United States
The Red Poppy Art House warmly welcomes the AZA Band–with Arouna Diarra, Biko Casini, and special guest Yacuba Diarra–for an evening of traditional music from Burkina Faso.
Inspired by the pulsing melodies and infectious dance grooves of the balafon, Tennessee native Biko traveled to Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso’s second-largest city, to study djembe in 2007. Five years later, Arouna, born into a family of musicians in Bobo-Dioulasso, moved to Asheville, North Carolina, where he established himself as the bandleader of Mande Foly. Upon meeting in Asheville, Biko and Arouna began playing music together, and they are now touring the West Coast with Rising Appalachia. Arouna’s older brother Yacuba, a Bay Area resident and master kamele ngoni builder/player, joins them for their show at the Poppy.
Featuring:
Biko Casini – djembe, calabash, kamele ngoni
Arouna Diarra – dioula balafon, kamele ngoni, talking drum
Yacuba Diarra – kamele ngoni

EVENT DETAILS

Time: Doors 6:30PM / Show 7:00PM
Admission: $10-15 sliding scale
Tickets will not be sold in advance for this event – please arrive at the Red Poppy when doors open to purchase tickets. All ages are welcome.
Join the conversation at the Poppy – volunteer for this event!

Fátima Santos: Fado & Beyond
2016-11-26 19:30 - 22:00 | Red Poppy Art House, 2698 Folsom St., San Francisco, CA, 94110, United States
With soaring vocals that tell dramatic tales of love, loss, and redemption, Fátima Santos breathes life into fado, Portugal’s passionate, soul-stirring version of the blues. Her repertoire, a mix of original compositions and traditional songs, showcases her command of Coimbra fado style, an operatic vocal technique seldom practiced by women.
Featuring:
Fátima Santos – vocals
Full lineup TBA
Portugal native Fátima Santos began singing in church, inspired by composers such as José Afonso, Luiz Goes, and Fernando Rolim. Now one of the only female performers of Coimbra fado, Fátima participates in cultural programs implemented by the Portuguese Arts Organization and is a member of the New Jersey Association of Verismo Opera. In 2014, her song “Enquanto as Pedras Me Falam” won “Song of the Year” at the International Portuguese Music Awards.
Learn more: Website

EVENT DETAILS

Time: Doors 7:00PM / Show 7:30PM
Admission: $15-20 sliding scale
Tickets will not be sold in advance for this event – please arrive at the Red Poppy when doors open to purchase tickets. All ages are welcome.
Join the conversation at the Poppy – volunteer for this event!

RPAH Speaker Series: Community-Engaged Arts Presenting ft. Regina Y. Evans
2016-11-21 19:30 - 21:00 | Red Poppy Art House, 2698 Folsom St., San Francisco, CA, 94110, United States
Anti-trafficking activist Regina Y. Evans headlines the Poppy’s November professional development session with a performance and discussion on fighting sex trafficking in the Bay Area. The second-generation Oakland native will perform excerpts of her 52 Letters, a theater piece that looks at the fight against trafficking through the lens of slavery. The play, which won a Best of the San Francisco Fringe Festival Award in 2013, serves as a community call to action against trafficking. Her performance will be followed by a discussion/talk-back.
Regina Y. Evans is a social justice playwright/actor/poet and a modern-day abolitionist in the fight against sex trafficking. She is the owner of Regina’s Door, a vintage boutique, artistic performance space, and sanctuary for at-risk youth and young Oakland artists.
Learn more: Website
Photo by: Sian Taylor Gowan

About the Professional Development Track Program:
On the third Monday of every month, the Red Poppy Art House invites guest artists, arts leaders, community organizers, and other creative thinkers to share their experience and ideas on the work they are doing and the questions that we are exploring at the Red Poppy Art House. We like to open these presentation-discussions to artists, arts professionals, and others seeking to develop their skills and understanding of the arts ecosystem in relation to socially-engaged arts presenting.
The Poppy’s Professional Development program centers around inquiry in:

How can we best facilitate a space of encounter, an environment that connects both artists and people from different communities?
What is the relationship/tension between art as a force for social transformation and art as a form of cultural entertainment that follows a consumer relationship (i.e. you buy a ticket and consume a show)?
What are the different practical needs in different disciplines (i.e. dance as opposed to a music production), and how can we familiarize ourselves with them to better anticipate the needs of a particular collaboration? In other words, how do we become cross-disciplinary in our thinking?
Seeing that social/professional relationships in the arts tend to fall along the dividing lines between artistic disciplines and genres, what are some strategies that can help intersect and cross-pollinate respective communities?
How do we find new and creative ways of addressing issues around equity and access, particularly as we see them play out in our immediate community?

Click here to learn more about the program.

EVENT DETAILS

Time: Session 7:30PM
Admission: Free
All ages are welcome.

LOAN: Revolutionary Poetry & Music ft. Tongo Eisen-Martin & Peck the Town Crier
2016-11-20 19:00 - 21:30 | Red Poppy Art House, 2698 Folsom St., San Francisco, CA, 94110, United States
Music, poetry, and history converge powerfully in LOAN, a collective of artists integrating new-generation, African-American avant-garde poetry and jazz-influenced musical exploration. The quartet, founded by poet Tongo Eisen-Martin and guitarist Peck the Town Crier, aims to give musical shape to the longing for revolution by way of word and chord.
Featuring:
Tongo Eisen-Martin – poet
Peck the Town Crier – guitar
Jon Rogers – drums
Miles Wick – upright and electric bass
Tongo Eisen-Martin is a poet, movement worker, and educator who has organized against mass incarceration and extrajudicial killing of black people throughout the United States. Originally from San Francisco, he has taught in detention centers all over the country, and his work in New York’s Rikers Island was featured in the New York Times. His latest curriculum, “We Charge Genocide Again,” has been used as an educational and organizing tool throughout the country. His latest book of poems, someone’s dead already, was nominated for a California Book Award.
Chris Peck The Town Crier has been recording and performing “hist-hop” and “song-rap” since 1994. His music has been featured on MTV UK, Current TV, and the Wall Street Journal online. Peck’s homemade album Ancient Baby will soon be released on vinyl, and he is currently working on his first novel, I Wish the King. Peck teaches guitar in San Rafael and can often be found crying a capella on the corner of 16th & Mission.
Learn more: Tumblr | Bandcamp | SoundCloud

EVENT DETAILS

Time: Doors 6:30PM / Show 7:00PM
Admission: $10-20 sliding scale
Tickets will not be sold in advance for this event – please arrive at the Red Poppy when doors open to purchase tickets. All ages are welcome.
Join the conversation at the Poppy – volunteer for this event!

LoCura: From Spain to the Caribbean and Back
2016-11-19 19:30 - 22:00 | Red Poppy Art House, 2698 Folsom St., San Francisco, CA, 94110, United States
With music that’s equal parts flamenco, reggae, cumbia, Cuban son, and ska, LoCura happily crosses borders to bring back the goods for your soul and your dancing feet. Their Red Poppy show will feature a new lineup, new songs, and remixed classics.
Featuring:
Featuring:
Kata Miletich – vocals
Bob Sanders – guitars
Melissa Cruz – cajón, flamenco dance
Juan Manuel Caipo – bass guitar
Katiana Vilá – percussion, cuatro
Inspired by the Spanish phrase “ida y vuelta (round trip),” which describes flamenco influenced by African and indigenous populations on its way to Latin America and back, LoCura’s mix of driving rumba flamenca and exuberant Caribbean music is the sound of people, ideas, and cultures colliding and recombining.
Learn more: Facebook | YouTube

EVENT DETAILS

Time: Doors 7:00PM / Show 7:30PM
Admission: $10-20 sliding scale
Tickets will not be sold in advance for this event – please arrive at the Red Poppy when doors open to purchase tickets. All ages are welcome.
Join the conversation at the Poppy – volunteer for this event!

María Volonté: Blue Tango Project: Tango and the Blues Embrace
2016-11-18 19:30 - 22:00 | Red Poppy Art House, 2698 Folsom St., San Francisco, CA, 94110, United States
Bewitching echoes of tango’s forbidden pleasures and the lament of the solitary blues soul meet in Blue Tango Project, a collaboration between Buenos Aires-born vocalist/guitarist María Volonté and harmonica player Kevin Carrel Footer, a native Californian. Their exploration of the emotional and musical crossroads where tango and the blues embrace celebrates the deep spiritual bond that joins the two genres.
Featuring:
María Volonté – vocals, guitar
Kevin Carrel Footer – harmonica
María Volonté is a Carlos Gardel Prize winner, a Latin Grammy nominee, and a member of the Tango Hall of Fame. Dubbed “tango’s shimmering star” by Global Rhythm magazine, María has released several award-winning albums, and her current projects explore the mixture of Argentine music with other Latin American rhythms, jazz, and the blues.
Learn more: Website | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube
“Maria Volonte is an Argentine singer whose refreshing interpretation of tango stole my heart… Her music is a potent brew. Consume responsibly.”
– NPR National Public Radio

EVENT DETAILS

Time: Doors 7:00PM / Show 7:30PM
Admission: $15-20 sliding scale
Tickets will not be sold in advance for this event – please arrive at the Red Poppy when doors open to purchase tickets. All ages are welcome.
Join the conversation at the Poppy – volunteer for this event!

Matt Renzi’s Arm Sized Legging: Cinematic Chamber Jazz
2016-11-17 19:30 - 22:00 | Red Poppy Art House, 2698 Folsom St., San Francisco, CA, 94110, United States
Arm Sized Legging gets its signature sound both from its unusual instrumentation–woodwinds (saxophone/oboe/clarinet), cello, bass and drums–and an all-original repertoire. Using both free-form improvisation and traditional song forms as the basis of collective soloing, composer/bandleader Renzi’s music explores textures, colors, and sonorities while adding a contemporary classical touch to the mix with cello.
Featuring:
Matt Renzi – saxophone, oboe, clarinet
John Wiitala – bass
Hamir Atwal – drums
Helen Newby – cello
Multi-reedist Matt Renzi has been performing professionally for the past 20 years at international jazz festivals and music venues worldwide. For the past decade, he has been recognized multiple times for his advanced concepts in spontaneous group composition and collective improvisation. Renzi, who holds a Bachelor’s in Music (Performance) from Berklee College of Music and a Master’s in Arts (Classical Composition) from San Francisco State University, has performed and recorded with Marc Johnson, Bob Moses, Eddie Marshall, Herbie Lewis, Ben Monder, Eberhard Weber, Bobo Stenson, and the Berlin Philharmonic String Quintet.
Learn more: Website

EVENT DETAILS

Time: Doors 7:00PM / Show 7:30PM
Admission: $10-20 sliding scale
Tickets will not be sold in advance for this event – please arrive at the Red Poppy when doors open to purchase tickets. All ages are welcome.
Join the conversation at the Poppy – volunteer for this event!

"Needles in the Camel’s Eye" Artist Reception
2016-11-13 14:00 - 16:00 | Red Poppy Art House, 2698 Folsom St., San Francisco, CA, 94110, United States
The Poppy invites you to join the artists and curators behind its current exhibition, Needles in the Camel’s Eye.
Acquiring its name from the opening song on Brian Eno’s debut solo album, Needles reflects artists Stephani Martinez and Jessica Tang’s needle-related experimentation with the unexpected in an exhibition laced with lyrical, literary, and rhythmic overtones.
Tang’s GIRL series features embroidery rendered onto brightly colored, empty fabric that depicts faceless young Asian women in suggestive poses. The resulting images challenge viewers’ notions of stereotypes, exoticism, and identity. Martinez, meanwhile, tests our sense of permanence by adding, subtracting, and repositioning an organic crochet sculpture that will continuously evolve over the course of the exhibition, which closes on Saturday, December 10.
Curators Modesto Covarrubias and Monica Lundy, who actively seek work that enlivens and engages the space in which it exists, present Needles in the Poppy’s performance space to spark a dialogue between music, voice, movement, and the act of seeing. Covarrubias and Lundy view this exhibition as an opportunity for visual and performing art to come together, to nourish, inform, and challenge one another, and to create an experience that is greater than the sum of its parts.

EVENT DETAILS

Time: Event 2:00PM
Admission: Free
Tickets will not be sold in advance for this event.
Join the conversation at the Poppy – volunteer for this event!

Tiffany Austin & Alex Conde: Flamenco Meets the Blues (Double Show!)
2016-11-12 19:00 - 22:00 | Red Poppy Art House, 2698 Folsom St., San Francisco, CA, 94110, United States
Bay Area blues singer Tiffany Austin partners up with Spanish flamenco jazz pianist Alex Conde for an evening of blues, jazz, and piano flamenco exploration.
Featuring:
Tiffany Austin – vocals
Alex Conde – piano
Tiffany Austin‘s much-anticipated debut recording, Nothing But Soul, has received a warm reception from audiences and critics alike, including a four-star DownBeat Magazine review, a feature on NPR’s Fresh Air radio program, and inclusion on KQED’s Top 10 Bay Area Jazz Releases of 2015 list. She has also been featured in publications such as the San Francisco Chronicle, the San Jose Mercury News, and Oakland Magazine.
Spanish pianist Alex Conde, a student of Danilo Pérez and Chano Dominguez, carves a distinct musical path through bebop language and Andalusian rhythms. His latest release, Descarga for Monk (2015), placed Conde on the best-album lists of prestigious international publications such as DownBeat, All About Jazz, Cadence, and Latin Jazz Network.

EVENT DETAILS

Time: Doors 6:30PM / First Show 7:00PM / Second Show 8:30PM
Admission: $20
Advance tickets available. Additional tickets can be purchased at the door the day of the event.

Join the conversation at the Poppy – volunteer for this event!

Natalie Cressman & Mike Bono: Indie-Rock/Jazz Art Songs
2016-11-11 19:30 - 22:00 | Red Poppy Art House, 2698 Folsom St., San Francisco, CA, 94110, United States
Accomplished indie rock and contemporary jazz journeymen Natalie Cressman and Mike Bono return to the Red Poppy to celebrate the release of their first collaborative album, Etchings in Amber, which captures their intimate, vibrant combination of soulful vocals and acoustic guitar.
Featuring:
Natalie Cressman – vocals, trombone
Mike Bono – guitar
Raised in an eclectic musical household, San Francisco native Natalie Cressman has continued to diversify and expand her musical universe throughout her young career. Still in her early 20s, the vocalist/trombonist/composer has assimilated the full range of her sonic influences into a startlingly mature and strikingly original voice. The result is a sound that melds the sophistication of contemporary jazz with captivating storytelling and intoxicating melodies reminiscent of indie rock’s most distinctive songwriters. Natalie has spent much of the last six years touring the jam band circuit with Phish’s Trey Anastasio, while also performing with jazz luminaries Nicholas Payton, Wycliffe Gordon, and Peter Apfelbaum.
New York City-based guitarist Mike Bono is a performer, teacher, composer, and recording artist. Beginning his musical career at the age of five, Mike went on to audition for Berklee College of Music at age 18 and was the first guitarist in the school’s history to be awarded a Presidential Scholarship. During his time at school, he formed the Mike Bono Group which in 2013 released their debut record, From Where You Are. Mike has toured internationally as a leader and sideman and has performed with notable artists such as Erykah Badu, Aloe Blacc, Chris Cheek, Dayna Stephens, and Julian Lage.
Learn more: Facebook
Photo by: Sharon Marrero

EVENT DETAILS

Time: Doors 7:00PM / Show 7:30PM
Admission: $10-20 sliding scale
Tickets will not be sold in advance for this event – please arrive at the Red Poppy when doors open to purchase tickets. All ages are welcome.
Join the conversation at the Poppy – volunteer for this event!

Red Poppy Art House Presents: Crossover Collaborative Residencies, Cohort II
2016-11-10 19:00 - 21:00 | Red Poppy Art House, 2698 Folsom St., San Francisco, CA, 94110, United States
An interdisciplinary residency program supported by the Kenneth Rainin Foundation and San Francisco Arts Commission, Crossover Collaborative Residencies provides a framework to support the exploration of collaborative processes between artists in dance and music disciplines. Pairing six choreographer/dancers and six composer/musicians, the program follows a four-stage development from preliminary artists gatherings and orientation workshops, to early-stage “raw” presentations of works-in-progress, a middle-stage free community-engaged presentation, and a final performance/presentation.

About the Artists (Cohort II):

Byb Chanel Bibene is a choreographer and performer working in theater and contemporary dance. He has toured the world and performed internationally with companies and choreographers from Africa, England, France, and the United States. Artistic Director of Kiandanda Dance Theater, he is pursuing his Master in Fine Arts in dance at Saint Mary’s College of California.

Daniel Berkman has several albums to his credit, ranging from postmodern kora music and a planetarium soundtrack to electronic music under the moniker Colfax. In the spirit of timeless innovation, Daniel’s future albums will include ballets, songs, and soundtracks, all featuring odd combinations of instruments including cello, viola da gamba, ukelin, marxophone, ukulele, esraj, guitar, and Handsonic.

David Molina is an award-winning composer, multi-instrumentalist, sound artist/designer, recording engineer, and instrument inventor. He has created music and sound for the performing arts, film, and multimedia installations for the past 20 years. His music and bands—including Ghosts and Strings, Transient, Impuritan, and Ackamoor/Molina Duet—are available on Resting Bell (Berlin), Dorog Records (Peru), Black Note Music and Distant Spore (USA), or self released.

Dohee Lee, born on Jeju Island in South Korea, learned Korean dance, Korean percussion, and vocals rooted in Shamanism. Her art now focuses on integrating these traditional ritual forms with contemporary elements. Her works emphasize the mythical, experimental, ritualistic, theatrical, historical, and healing aspects of music, dance, and visual which shares the thoughts and ideas on vital issues such as identity, politics, nature and spirituality.

Chris Evans, an Oakland-based interdisciplinary artist trained in music and dance, explores where the lines between dance, music, space, artist, and audience blur. She is a member of Bandelion Dance Theater, Black and White Projects art collective, and regularly collaborates with David Boyce, Byb Chanel Bibene, Sheena Johnson, Ernest Jolly, and Randee Paufve.

José Navarrete is a native of Mexico City, where he studied dance at the National Institute of Fine Arts. He has a B.A. in Anthropology from University of California, Berkeley and an MFA in dance from Mills College. He currently curates and produces the Live Arts in Resistance (LAIR) initiative, Eastside Arts Alliance, which provides residencies and performing opportunities for artists of color in East Oakland.

EVENT DETAILS

Time: Doors 6:30PM / Event 7:00PM
Admission: $10-20 sliding scale
Tickets will not be sold in advance for this event – please arrive at the Red Poppy when doors open to purchase tickets. All ages are welcome.
Join the conversation at the Poppy – volunteer for this event!

Seth Ford-Young Quartet: Chamber Music Meets Early Jazz
2016-11-06 19:30 - 22:00 | Red Poppy Art House, 2698 Folsom St., San Francisco, CA, 94110, United States
Composer/bandleader/bassist Seth Ford-Young leads his dream quartet on a mission to integrate the transparent textures of chamber music and the ebullient bounce of Django Reinhardt-style jazz. The group will perform pieces from their newest release, Time Memory Beauty Hope, as well as favorites from their first album, Seth Ford-Young.
Featuring:
Seth Ford-Young – bass
Evan Price – violin, octave violin
Rob Reich – accordion
Jason Vanderford – guitar
Seth Ford-Young has collaborated with a dazzling array of artists, from Beats Antique and Edward Sharpe to Barry Manilow and Tom Waits. Ford-Young, a mainstay on the Bay Area music scene for nearly two decades, now resides in Los Angeles.
Learn more: Website | Facebook

EVENT DETAILS

Time: Doors 7:00PM / Show 7:30PM
Admission: $15-20 sliding scale
Tickets will not be sold in advance for this event – please arrive at the Red Poppy when doors open to purchase tickets. All ages are welcome.
Join the conversation at the Poppy – volunteer for this event!

Daniel Riera Ensemble: Future Flutist with Electric Ensemble
2016-11-05 19:30 - 22:00 | Red Poppy Art House, 2698 Folsom St., San Francisco, CA, 94110, United States
Drawing inspiration from ’70s jazz, funk, and the rhythmic tug of post-Dilla hip-hop, Daniel Riera presents new music for flute, wind controller, and electric ensemble. The multi-instrumentalist is well known for his impressive performances on the wind controller, a digital woodwind delivering earth-shaking bass, acidic melodies, and even chords.
Featuring:
Daniel Riera – flute, wind controller
Kev Choice – keyboards
Dame Drummer – drums
Kai Lyons – guitar
Camille Mai – vocals
San Francisco native Daniel Riera is a flutist, bassist, producer, sound designer, and teacher. A winner of the ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Award and a graduate of the Berklee College of Music, Riera also has a strong background in Latin music. In addition to his own ensemble, Daniel performs with groups such as Soltrón, Blind Willies, Marcus Cohen and the Congress, and the Retromaniax. He has taught music notation and score preparation at Academy of Art University since 2012.
Learn more: Website
Photo by: Tom Ehrlich

EVENT DETAILS

Time: Doors 7:00PM / Show 7:30PM
Admission: $20
Tickets will not be sold in advance for this event – please arrive at the Red Poppy when doors open to purchase tickets. All ages are welcome.
Join the conversation at the Poppy – volunteer for this event!
