Oakland
Yoshi’s has a solid jazz calendar, with talent from around the world passing through on a near-nightly basis. It’s also a Japanese restaurant, so if you…
Must-see entertainment in The Bay Area
San Francisco
The 49ers were the National Football League's dream team from 1981–94, claiming five Superbowl championships. But after decades of chilly, fumbled games…
Berkeley
This lively little theater runs plenty of musicals, including a fair number of shows (Pippin, The Wizard of Oz, and The Little Mermaid, for example) that…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
SF's reigning megaclub hosts bands, literary slams and big-name DJs, with two floors of late-night dance action just seedy enough to be interesting…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
In 2018 the city's newest music venue slid into the former home of douchey nightclub Ruby Skye, and lots of San Franciscans are happy about it. The 15,000…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Hidden in an alley behind Hotel des Arts, and brought to you by the folks from Madrone, comes this wacky downtown art bar. The interior is color-filled…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
What a comeback: this 1917 theater has shed its 1970s porn-palace notoriety and reclaimed the limelight as the American Conservatory Theater venue for…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
For ideas too big to squeeze into 10-minute TED talks, count on the Commonwealth Club. America's most influential public-affairs forum hosts several…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Once only musicians were allowed backstage at the Symphony's cavernous rehearsal space, because the acoustics weren't fit for audiences – but with digital…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Go Public for story-slam nights with NPR's the Moth, appearances by Questlove, European electronica fascinators like Jan Blomqvist, SF Opera pop-up nights…
Japantown, Fillmore & Pacific Heights
Underground cinema draws small but dedicated crowds to this independent 143-seat basement theater. Local indie films, international documentaries, current…
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
Combining performance art and dance, maverick Joe Goode's troupe tours internationally – but it all begins in the Mission's Joe Goode Annex, where you can…
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
Velvet curtains and round booths invite you to get comfortable under the disco ball for an evening of utterly unpredictable entertainment, ranging from…
Japantown, Fillmore & Pacific Heights
Hot jazz comes extra spicy at Sheba's – a Fillmore supperclub where jazz combos play nightly, while sister co-owners Israel and Net Alamayehu dish out…
The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers
It resembles a surf shack, but this old waterfront restaurant regularly features R&B, reggae, Latin bands, DJs, mellow rock, the occasional jazz pianist…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Holding your breath is instinctual as you watch this classically trained modern-dance troupe throw themselves into precise, muscular choreography, with…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
With a steady lineup of top-notch regional and national blues and jazz talent, this intimate place off Union Sq earns its reputation as the Bay Area's top…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
First ladies of the world, look out: these dazzling Asian divas can out-hostess you in half the time and half the clothes. Cocktails and Asian-inspired…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Sprawling across the top floor of the Metreon mall complex, the 16-screen Metreon cinema has comfortable stadium seats with clear views of digital…
Japantown, Fillmore & Pacific Heights
A go-to for rainy day matinees, featuring big-name flicks and film festival favorites. Pro tips: reserve a stadium seat online ($2 extra) and arrive early…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Big acts with international followings play this former vaudeville theater. Marquee names like Wu-Tang Clan, Iggy Pop, Kanye West and Sarah Silverman…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Not your grandma's ballet, Smuin debuts original balletic works inspired by cartoons, cello prodigies and Dr Martin Luther King's civil rights speeches…
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
Forget standard playlists – this closet-sized boho dive will make you lose your mind for Monday bluegrass jams, Tuesday Troubled Comedy sessions,…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Jazz cats have stalked the Tenderloin ever since Miles Davis, Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker and Dave Brubeck played underground clubs here – and Black…
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
The vintage dive-bar neon in the middle of warehouse nowhere-land is pointing you in the Rite direction for offbeat performances banged out on a tinkling…
San Francisco
First stop Cannes; next stop Balboa and 37th, where film-fest favorites split the bill with Bogart noir classics, family-friendly Saturday-morning…
Oakland
A local favorite for live music, art shows, dance parties, comedy sets, readings and other events, the Starline has a vintage feel, which makes sense, as…
The Peninsula
Kick off your shoes and stomp your feet to live bluegrass, Celtic and folk music on weekend afternoons at this landmark general store. Check out the…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
This Victorian saloon ruled SF's '70s underground scene, when upstarts Whoopi Goldberg and Robin Williams took to the stage – and fresh talents surface…
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
Musicians, you're among friends: classically trained musicians and jazz artists jam here daily. Hot weekend days call for iced coffee and live Latin jazz,…
The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers
Bay Area Theater Sports explores all things improv, from audience-inspired themes to whacked-out musicals at completely extemporaneous weekend shows. Or…
San Francisco
Big voices at this mixed straight-gay karaoke bar could rattle pennies in the US mint uphill. If you can't decide what to sing from the 30,000-plus…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Guaranteed good times by Gogol Bordello, New Found Glory, Shiny Toy Guns and female Stones tribute band Chick Jagger fit the bill at this intimate club,…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Big nights come with bragging rights at Mezzanine, with one of the city's best sound systems and crowds hyped for breakthrough shows by hip-hop greats…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
The pool table and TV are mostly ignored at this artsy Parisian-style cafe-bar, where the local crowd roars for free live jazz, DJs, vintage soul and…
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
Throwing swanky soirees since 1916, the Verdi Club hosts bawdy storytelling nights, swing-dancing lessons, drag-star comedy shows, the odd lucha libre …
Berkeley
A world-renowned film center with an ever-changing schedule of international and classic films – cineastes should seek out this place. The spacious…
Oakland
The RIC straddles that line between a bar and a performance space; the beers are good and the bartenders are friendly, but for us, the big draw is a…
Oakland
This massive 1931 art deco masterpiece shows classic films a few times each month and is also home to the Oakland Symphony and Oakland Ballet. It…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Known for launching big talent (including Robin Williams, Chris Rock, Ellen DeGeneres and David Cross), this historic stand-up venue is small enough for…
