Skip to main content

September 21st – 5pm to 9pm — “The Commons on 3rd Thursdays”

media contact:  David Perry / (415) 767-1067 / news@davidperry.com

September 21st – 5pm to 9pm — “The Commons on 3rd Thursdays”

Third in a Series of FREE Evening Events

San Francisco’s Central Public Plazas between City Hall and Market Street

www.civiccentercommons.org / #commonsthursdays

Live Music on Three Stages with Food Trucks, Beer Gardens and Activities for All Ages

18 September 2017 – San Francisco, CA: The third in a series of four evening events, The Commons on 3rd Thursday is September 21 from 5pm – 9pm.  The event is a free “block party” featuring live music on three stages, roller skating by the Church of 8 Wheels, food trucks, over-21 beverages, games such as bocce ball and skee ball, a balloon sculpture installation, and other activities for all ages in Civic Center Plaza, UN Plaza, and Fulton Street between the Asian Art Museum and the San Francisco Main Public Library. 

Headlining the September event will be French Cassettes and EagleWolfSnake on Fulton Street, Omega LIVE Band in Civic Center Plaza and DUCKWRTH in UN Plaza – unique and compelling performers highlighting the diversity of California’s music scene. Church of 8 Wheels is bringing the roller rink outside, setting up a funky skate rink on Fulton Street. Free skate rentals will be available to the public to skate the night away on eight wheels.

Bi-Rite Creamery will be a featured food vendor in Civic Center Plaza, showcasing their ice cream and other menu items to customers in their future location; they will operate a new café kiosk in Civic Center Plaza in February 2018, when the new playgrounds open. Off the Grid food trucks will include Cochinita, It’s All Gravy, Kokio Republic, Lamas Peruvian Food, SAJJ and QBC. And the Tenderloin Museum is curating an outdoor art gallery in UN Plaza, highlighting a selection of works from area artists Ira Watkins, Darwin Bell, and JB Higgins.

The Commons on 3rd Thursdays is a public-private partnership among the City of San Francisco, Another Planet Entertainment, Off the Grid, Noise Pop, and the Civic Center Community Benefit District.  The event series grew out of the Civic Center Commons initiative, a strategic effort led by the City of San Francisco and community partners to transform daily experiences in these public spaces and create a unified, inclusive civic “commons.”  As a result of the effort, visitors to the area also will experience a dynamic sound installation in UN Plaza, courtesy of the Exploratorium, an outdoor art gallery by the Asian Art Museum, and a new yarn wrapping installation on trees throughout the area.  The latest installment includes a cluster of three knitted giraffes in Civic Center Plaza, with parrots on their way to Fulton Street and octopuses to UN Plaza later this month.  The yarn artists Knits for Life will be on hand with a knitting demonstration at the September 21 event.   

Since the inception of The Commons on 3rd Thursdays in July, many new sponsors have come forward to provide additional support for this event series. New sponsors include Lendlease, Dolby, Tishman Speyer, Trinity Properties, Streetplus, CMG Landscape Architects and AECOM. SF Magazine has joined as the media sponsor, providing online and print promotion of the events.

SEPTEMBER 21 FULL LINEUP

Location

Live Music / Exhibitions / Activities

Civic Center Plaza

Curated by People in Plazas

Stage

Omega LIVE Band:  6:30-7:20pm, 7:40-8:30pm

Live DJ: 5:00-6:30pm, 7:20-7:40pm, 8:30-9:00pm

Bocce Ball, Giant Jenga and other games

Fulton Street

Curated by Another Planet Entertainment

Stage

DJ Funklor: 5:00-6:15pm

French Cassettes: 6:15-7:15pm

EagleWolfSnake: 7:45-8:45pm

Church of 8 Wheels – Free Roller Skating

United Nations Plaza

Curated by Noise Pop

Stage

Arumi: 5:00 – 5:40pm

NRVS LVRS: 6:00 – 6:40pm

Channel Tres: 7:00 – 7:40pm

DUCKWRTH: 8:00 – 9:00pm

Skee Ball by Joey the Cat

Photobooth

Balloon Sculpture Art Installation

Tenderloin Museum: Outdoor Art Gallery

San Francisco Public Library: Mobile Library with Art Books

826 Valencia: Giant Scrabble

Nearby Attractions

Asian Art Museum’s special exhibition Flower Power (open til 9pm)

City Hall photo exhibit on the Ground Floor and North Light Court by artist Tabitha Soren (formerly MTV) called Fantasy Life (open til 8pm)

San Francisco Main Library’s special exhibitions, Jewett Gallery, Summer of Love & Haight and Skylight Gallery, Calligraphies in Conversation (open til 8pm)

San Francisco Arts Commission 155 Grove Street Window Installation featuring design by Cliff Hengst and Martin Venezky

SHN’s Orpheum Theater An American in Paris (8pm)

HEADLINE PERFORMANCE/EXHIBITION DETAILS

Omega LIVE Band: Omega brings her own unique blend of style and creativity to some of her favorite influences such as Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan, Maze and more! Accompanied by some of the bay’s best musicians, Omega LIVE! will give you a reason to bob your head, get up to dance and sing out loud!

French Cassettes: “If you’re looking for a healthy overdose of oohs and ahhs to pair with your lust for hypermelodic indie pop so danceable it’ll leave you questioning your high heeled shoe choice for the night or thinking, ‘you don’t need hands with hooks like these,’ then I think you’ll like it. I do. And it beats shaking almonds out of trees.” -Scott Huerta (French Cassettes)

EagleWolfSnake: With the release of their new single, “Whatever You Say”, EagleWolfSnake brings a pop feel to indie rock. Lush with high energy vocals, catchy guitar hooks, and an all-around fun attitude, the song makes you want to get up and dance. Through it all, EagleWolfSnake is able to take something familiar, and create a whole new aesthetic all their own.

DUCKWRTH: Bay Area via South Central rapper, singer and visual artist Duckwrth, born Jared Lee, is more than ready to go to the next level with his recent album, I’M UUGLY. Released in late 2016, I’M UUGLY is a project that merges the most unique parts of Duckwrth’s talents to create a sound and visual palette that indicates he has not only grown as an artist but is well on his way to being a music icon and visionary for this generation.  Duckwrth developed a fan base by releasing mixtapes like Ducktape, Taxfree V1 and his 2015 collaboration with hip hop producer, The Kickdrums, titled Nowhere.

COMMUNITY PARTNERS

About Another Planet Entertainment

Another Planet Entertainment, LLC (Another Planet) was created on July 18, 2003 when Gregg W. Perloff, President/CEO of Bill Graham Presents, left to build his own company.  Since its inception in 2003, Another Planet Entertainment has been honored by a vote of its concert industry peers for a total of 14 nominations and 4 wins by Pollstar Magazine. In 2016, Gregg Perloff received the “Promoter of the Year Award” from Pollstar Magazine.

Another Planet is the exclusive promoter for the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, the Fox Theater in Oakland, The Independent, a 500-capacity nightclub in San Francisco, and Harvey’s Outdoor Amphitheatre in Lake Tahoe.  In 2010, APE was honored to be awarded the exclusive contract to operate the historic Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, a flexible capacity multi-use event and concert space that holds up to 8,500.  Another Planet also successfully produces three major festivals – Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival (beginning in 2008), Treasure Island Music Festival (beginning in 2007) and Life is Beautiful (beginning in 2013). 

Another Planet Entertainment has produced well over 5,000 events with artists as diverse as Paul McCartney, Radiohead, Neil Young, Daft Punk, Arcade Fire, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Metallica, Jack Johnson, Kanye West, Muse, Robert Plant, Phish, Elton John, Pearl Jam, Kenny Chesney, Adele, Lady Gaga, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Simon & Garfunkel.

About The Civic Center Commons Initiative

The Civic Center Commons initiative is a strategic effort led by the City of San Francisco and community partners to transform daily experiences in the City’s central public spaces between Market Street and City Hall and create a unified, inclusive civic “commons”.  Neighbors, community organizations and cultural institutions are working with City agencies and people who frequent these spaces to bring interactive art installations and play structures; more frequent activities and events; additional food and drink options; new stewardship approaches; and innovative workforce development partnerships. The goal of the initiative is to create a strong foundation for future capital improvements, including the Helen Diller Civic Center Playgrounds, set to open in spring 2018, and the Civic Center Public Realm Plan, which is redesigning the area’s open space. For more information; visit: https://civiccentercommons.org/CCC_Initiative_Overview.pdf

About Civic Center Community Benefit District:

Civic Center Community Benefit District (CCCBD) is a privately funded, not-for-profit organization that works in tandem with City agencies to provide public safety, maintenance, marketing and special events that benefit Civic Center.

About Noise Pop:

Established in San Francisco in 1993, Noise Pop is one of the nation’s leading independent music promoters. Over the last 25 years Noise Pop’s namesake festival has provided exposure to some of the top emerging artists, many of which have gone on to widespread acclaim. Noise Pop is also the year-round talent buyer for the venerable San Francisco venue the Swedish American Hall, which includes Cafe du Nord, as well as producer of the free celebration of musical and culinary delights, the 20th Street Block Party. Additionally, Noise Pop partners with various organizations, venues and institutions to produce events throughout the year including the SFMOMA, California Sunday Magazine and Academy of Sciences. Noise Pop is honored to activate these San Francisco spaces and deliver an experience that celebrates the community and history of this City.    

About Off the Grid:

Off the Grid Markets are founded on the idea of bringing communities together through amazing shared food experiences. Started in 2010, Off the Grid currently operates over 50 weekly public markets throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento. Off the Grid seeks to maintain a shared sense of space by collaborating with local businesses and communities to activate novel public spaces with truly unique experiences.

About People in Plazas

What began as a forum for street performers who were paid by passing the hat has become a program that provides wide exposure and more than 500 paid “gigs” annually for local musicians The series has grown to producing 120 + free performances at lunchtime in public plazas Monday through Friday in July, August and September. The program reaches an audience of more than 30,000 annually. In addition, we have produced community gatherings including movie nights, poetry readings, artisan fairs and other events that encourage community use of public spaces. Its mission is to encourage visitors, residents and workers to use our outdoor public spaces. We strive to make these spaces “everyone’s neighborhood.” We do this by producing free events in public spaces that are often underused. The “People in Plazas” series is supported by the Mayor’s Office, Art Commission, SFPD the SF Entertainment Commission and a grant from the Hotel Tax Fund /Grants for the Arts.