#1 Music Event
The massive music festival in Golden Gate Park draws 210,000 fans and generates $80 million for the local economy. Headliners for 2017 include Metallica, The Who, and Gorillaz, plus millennial-favorite Lorde. When concertgoers are traipsing between stages in Golden Gate Park, they’re also sampling festival-friendly food from some of the area’s best eateries. Next: August 11-13, 2017
#2 Music Event
The free, 10-week concert summer concert series is the oldest free summer performing arts festival of its kind in America. The lineup for the 80th season includes Kool and the Gang, the San Francisco Ballet and Symphony, Fantastic Negrito, and more. Next: June 25-August 27, 2017
#4 Music Event
BottleRock is turning into the little music festival that could. The four-year-old event lands big-name acts like Foo Fighters and Maroon 5, and packs in 120,000-strong crowds. In addition to the music stages, the festival honors its Napa food and wine roots with a culinary stage showcasing culinary and celebrity mashups, like Snoop Dogg and Masaharu Morimoto demonstrating how to roll sushi. Next: May 25-27, 2018
#5 Music Event (up from #6)
The radio-station-sponsored summer concert lures more than 24,000 music fans to the Shoreline Ampitheatre in Mountain View. Headlining acts in 2017 included Phoenix, Franz Ferdinand, Cold War Kids, Milky Chance, and Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness. Next: June 2018
#6 Music Event (up from #7)
The largest free jazz festival on the West Coast, Fillmore Street Jazz Festival attracts more than 100,000 visitors each year. Guests enjoy live music at multiple stages throughout the weekend while browsing 12 blocks of food and art vendors. Next: July 1-2, 2017
#7 Music Event (up from #9)
The indie music scene is alive and well in the Bay Area, and the 22,000 guests who attended the Noise Pop concert series are proof. What originated as a one-night, five-band show in 1992 has grown into an 11-day, 180-artist concert series across San Francisco and Oakland. Festivalgoers can also enjoy art shows, film scores, lectures, happy hours, and more for an immersive, independent arts experience. Next: February 16-18, 2018
#8 Music Event (up from #10)
Forty-three concerts. Thirteen days. Five venues. The San Francisco Jazz Festival has been delighting crowds for 35 years with the “biggest and probably the best jazz festival in the world.” The 2017 lineup included Jack DeJohnette, John Scofield, Ahmad Jamal, Fred Hersch, John Medeski, Amina Figarova, Larry Grenadier, Nicolas Bearde, Lizz Wright, Herb Alpert and Lani Hall, Marquis Hill Blacktet, and many more. Next: June 2018
#9 Music Event (up from #11)
Now in its ninth year, the festival has become a landing platform for new trends from Japan, introducing the latest in music, fashion, film, art, games, tech-innovations, anime, and food. Band-Maid, Babyraids Japan, Misaki Iwasa, and Yanakiku will perform this summer. Next: September 9-10, 2017
#11 Music Event (new to the list)
Part of the city’s robust Lunar New Year celebrations, the family-friendly event draws on both ancient and contemporary Asian traditions. Before the concert, there’s a reception with Asian instruments, “lucky” red envelopes, lion dancing, and more. The performance itself is a diverse concert blending Eastern and Western repertoire. The 2017 concert featured conductor Mei-Ann Chen leading the symphony with special guest soloist Tang Jun Qiao performing the dizi, a Chinese bamboo flute. Next: February 2018
#12 Music Event (new to the list)
The radio-station holiday concert, sponsored by Alice 97.3, features multiple artists in an intimate venue each year. In 2016, OneRepublic, Train, and the Last Bandoleros performed for a sold-out crowd of 3,500 at the Masonic. There are two paths to entry: Purchase tickets or win them by listening to the station. Next: December 2017
