Jazz in the Bookshop / Fridays 7:30-9:30 pm

San Francisco’s longest-running neighborhood jazz party! Ever since 2002, when saxophonist Chuck Peterson pledged to field a group every week, if we made space for them to play, we’ve missed so few Friday nights you can count them on one hand!

On the 3rd Friday of each and every month, guitarist Scott Foster brings in an ever-evolving cast of musicians;

On 2nd Fridays in odd-numbered months (e.g. January, March, et seq.), it’s Eric & the In Crowd, led by pianist/vocalist Eric Shifrin.

Other Fridays feature a different band each week throughout the year.

Jazz Club / Saturdays 7:30-9:30 pm 

Somewhere along the way, circa 2014, we hung a curtain at the back of the stage and took the lights down low for a listening crowd hanging on the performers’ every musical phrase and verbal aside at our Saturday night Jazz Club. Each week it's a new sound, so come on down!

Happy Hour / Sundays 5:00-7:00 pm

Back in 2007, we increased our regularly scheduled programming from a single weekly series to two – a slippery slope, that! – allowing us to significantly broaden our jazz offerings and also to begin to accommodate a number of traditional forms beyond jazz.

Our Sunday Happy Hour series now features two jazz jam sessions:

The Next-Gen Jam featuring a set by a local youth ensemble followed by a student-centric jam session on the 1st Sunday of every month;

and an all-comers Jam Session hosted by the Vince Lateano Trio on the Last Sunday of every month;

The Vince Lateano Trio, with special guests, also play the 3rd Sunday in odd-numbered months, alternating with drummer Tony Johnson's Quartet or the 230 Jones Street Literary Jazz Band, named in honor of the erstwhile Local 6 Musicians’ Union Hall, on the 3rd Sunday in even-numbered months.

On the 2nd Sunday in even-numbered months, a series of classic/outlaw/honky tonk country bands led by pedal steel guitar player Joe Goldmark, and occasional other Americana outfits take the stage.

Other Sundays feature sundry musics from somewhere--but it's never square, so come around and catch a show.

 

& now, lest we forget the Literary events:

POETS! featured readers + open mic – 1st Thursday of each month, 7:00-9:00 pm

Jerry Ferraz and Michael Koch host a poetry reading that showcases local legends, poets passing through and folks from around the Bay – typically two featured poets followed by an open mic. We can count on a warm group of poets and poetry fans eager to hear the features and the potpourri of poets of every stripe who come out to read and keep the open mic scene alive. Drawing on the generosity of our neighbors and patrons, we're able to pay a small honorarium to the featured poets, a rarity in reading series off the college campuses… your additional dollar or two tossed in the bucket at the readings makes it that much sweeter.

Virtual POETS! Featured readers + open mic ONLINE – 2nd Monday of each month, 7:00-9:00 pm

Kim Shuck hosts an online series likewise with featured readers followed by an open mic, too!

Walker Talks – 3rd Thursday of most months, 7:30-9:00 pm

Walker Brents III has been holding his audience spellbound with wide-ranging investigations into topics literary, mythological and otherwise from the B&B stage and streamed online for many a year now. In the past, his subjects have ranged from William Blake to Bob Dylan, Shakespeare to the Shahnameh, the Kalevala to the story of Layla and Majnun…. Who knows what he’ll regale us with next?