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The San Francisco Public Library will hold a free concert in Golden Gate Park this weekend, featuring four Bay Area artists who can now be heard on the institution’s free streaming service.
Bay Beats is adding nearly 180 albums to the platform Saturday, which the library launched in April 2023 for all Bay Area residents. The streamer pays artists a $250 honorarium to feature their music and will feature 500 total albums after the new artists go live, according to the library.
Still Deer, Pacing, Casey Cope and The Strange Ones will take the stage Saturday at the Golden Gate Park Bandshell, performing in a concert that runs from 1-5 p.m. DJ Apple Gomez, host of the “Baydream” show on the nonprofit community radio station Best Frequencies Forever, will spin tracks in between sets. Some of Saturday’s performers, who consider themselves fans of their local libraries, say their participation in the event is an incredible privilege and a reflection of the diversity of talent in the region.
“Neither of these things were on my 2025 bingo card,” said Kevin O’Connell, vocalist and guitarist of The Strange Ones, of being featured on Bay Beats and performing at Golden Gate Park. “It’s been a year of surprises and these both feel especially meaningful.”
The Strange Ones’ 2024 debut album, “Attack of the Strange Ones,” is one of 176 that will be newly available on Bay Beats as of Saturday. The Oakland band, whose sound combines elements of rock ‘n’ roll and garage punk, will take the stage at 4 p.m. Saturday.
Mountain View’s Still Deer, an alternative, math rock group, is set to open the show at 1 p.m. Pacing, San Jose artist Katie McTigue’s songwriting and recording project, will follow at 2. San Leandro indie rapper Casey Cope, meanwhile, is slated to perform at 3 p.m.
In a statement, Weaver said Bay Beats was founded as a way “to celebrate with the community that makes our music scene so special.” He added that those selected for the platform “represent the incredible range of talent we’re adding to our catalog.”
McTigue called Pacing’s Bay Beats entry, the 2023 album “Real poetry is always about plants and birds and trees and the animals and milk and honey breathing in the pink but real life is behind a screen,” a “weird little record I made in my room.” She said it’s “amazing” it “gets to be sort of legitimized in this way.”
“I love, love, love the library and it’s nice to know they like me back,” said McTigue, whose project includes guitarist and vocalist Ben Krock.
Saturday’s concert will also include surprise giveaways, food trucks and games for attendees of all ages, according to organizers. San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department General Manager Phil Ginsburg said this weekend’s free concert is a reminder that “live music is woven into the soul of Golden Gate Park” as it “brings people together, creates connection and fills the park with energy and life.”
“It’s not just entertainment,” he said. “It’s part of the experience that makes this place so special.”
O’Connell’s band is part of what Ginsburg labelled “a new wave of musical talent.” The musician said the opportunity this weekend “feels huge.”
His band is “excited to meet the other artists, hang with the library crew, check out the games and food trucks and make some noise in the park with everyone,” O’Connell said.