Key Points<\/p>\n
Oakland is hosting over 25 diverse events including watch parties, concerts, and food festivals leading up to Super Bowl LX on February 8, 2026.
\n The official NFL watch party will be held at the Henry J. Kaiser Center, and the Family Style Food Fest at Oakland Arena will highlight local chefs and artists.
\n San Mateo harpist GEO will perform with Vallejo rapper LaRussell and Oakland\u2019s Co-Llab Choir as the official Super Bowl house band at Levi\u2019s Stadium.<\/p>\n
Super Bowl LX fever has officially swept through the Bay Area, and Oakland is making sure its voice rings loud and clear amid the festivities. With more than 25 events lighting up the city in the days leading up to the big game on February 8, 2026, locals and visitors alike are flocking to \u201cThe Town\u201d for a celebration that\u2019s about much more than just football. From watch parties and concerts to food fests and cultural showcases, Oakland\u2019s Super Bowl week is a vibrant tapestry of diversity, music, and community spirit.<\/p>\n
“There is so much to do,” said Vicky Servin, founder of Baddies y Banda, who\u2019s at the heart of this cultural wave. Servin is hosting one of the many \u201cBenito Bowls\u201d events\u2014parties inspired by Bad Bunny\u2019s highly-anticipated halftime show\u2014at Fluid510. These gatherings aren\u2019t just about the game; they\u2019re about bringing people together to celebrate music, culture, and identity. “If I can represent for Oakland, that\u2019s a win on my end. We are not being left out. We are creating spaces for ourselves as well.”<\/p>\n
And create they have. The only official NFL watch party in Oakland is set to take place at the Henry J. Kaiser Center on Sunday, while Saturday\u2019s Family Style Food Fest at the Oakland Arena promises a feast for the senses. Featuring local chefs and artists\u2014including the rising star rapper LaRussell\u2014the festival is a showcase of Oakland\u2019s culinary and musical prowess. “We are known for our food, for our culture, for our diversity,” said Peter Gamez, CEO of Visit Oakland. “It’s in our music and it’s showing with the events that are going on in Oakland this week.”<\/p>\n
But perhaps the most unique storyline of Super Bowl LX comes from the musical side of the spectacle. San Mateo harpist GEO, whose real name is Gabrielle Elyse Oberes Padre, is set to perform on the grandest stage of her career at Levi\u2019s Stadium. On Sunday, she\u2019ll join Vallejo rapper LaRussell and his dynamic band, the Yee Section, as well as Oakland\u2019s Co-Llab Choir, to serve as the official in-stadium Super Bowl house band. Their job? To keep the energy high during timeouts and commercial breaks, entertaining a global audience with a sound that\u2019s both distinctly Bay Area and refreshingly original.<\/p>\n
“I love seeing people light up when I play in the most random places,” GEO shared in a recent interview, reflecting on her unconventional journey. Since 2016, she\u2019s played everywhere from nightclubs and ballparks to cannabis dispensaries and festival stages. GEO\u2019s approach is as eclectic as her venues\u2014she\u2019s a virtuoso who blends classical harp technique with hip-hop, R&B, and iconic Bay Area anthems. She\u2019s just as likely to play E-40 as she is Johann Pachelbel, and she\u2019s not one to stay glued to a bench. “I like to play the harp the way I dance,” she explained. “Or the way that someone might be singing\u2014like Mariah Carey and her vocal runs. That\u2019s going through my head when I play.”<\/p>\n
GEO\u2019s rise to prominence is a testament to the Bay Area\u2019s culture of individuality and innovation. Her playful, inventive style went viral on social media, with videos of her covering Mac Dre\u2019s \u201cThizzle Dance\u201d and Keak Da Sneak\u2019s \u201cSuper Hyphy\u201d racking up thousands of views. It wasn\u2019t long before LaRussell himself took notice. “I kept getting tagged in the videos,” LaRussell recalled. He reached out to GEO directly and invited her to a rehearsal\u2014a rehearsal that turned out to be a live concert at the Empress Theatre in Vallejo, headlined by LaRussell with special guest Twista. GEO\u2019s intuitive, self-taught style fit right in. “That feeling is irreplaceable because we have such a flow of how we play,” she said. “It\u2019s like you\u2019re dancing with a partner. The chemistry is just there.”<\/p>\n
LaRussell, for his part, sees GEO as a breath of fresh air in the hip-hop scene. “It\u2019s something fresh and new,” he said. “GEO is a light. She loves to dance. She loves to smile. She just blends in. She\u2019s family.” Since that fateful concert, GEO, the Yee Section, and the Co-Llab Choir have become regular fixtures at LaRussell\u2019s shows\u2014from backyard gigs in Vallejo to major festival stages like Outside Lands and now, the Super Bowl.<\/p>\n
GEO\u2019s journey hasn\u2019t been without its challenges. She once put down the harp to study design at UC Davis, only picking it up during school breaks to amuse friends. After graduating in 2024, she honed her skills in a makeshift home studio, using a barstool stacked with books as a tripod. Despite initial embarrassment\u2014”I was really embarrassed about that because most of these harpists have beautiful backgrounds,” she admitted\u2014her unique blend of hyphy and harp struck a chord online.<\/p>\n
Her musical roots run deep. Born in San Francisco to Gen X parents who loved hip-hop and R&B, GEO\u2019s early music education was unconventional. She struggled with traditional music instruction until meeting Coral LeBlanc, a teacher who encouraged her to try the harp. “I felt she would be capable of learning a specialized instrument and really shining,” LeBlanc said. GEO quickly developed an intuitive understanding of music, adding cello, percussion, trombone, upright bass, and viola to her repertoire.<\/p>\n
Her time as the unofficial music director at the Congregational Church of San Mateo further nurtured her creativity. Rev. Penny Nixon remembered, “She could be herself. And for me, that\u2019s what\u2019s really important.” GEO\u2019s compositions for the church, like a bossa nova take on \u201cI\u2019ll Be Home for Christmas,\u201d were early signs of her innovative spirit. “I really just wanted to create what didn\u2019t exist,” GEO said.<\/p>\n
Now, as one of the few Filipinas playing harp at an elite level, GEO is determined to break stereotypes and bridge communities. “I just want to rep Filipinos more than ever right now,” she said, citing local rappers Ruby Ibarra and Rocky Rivera as inspirations. Her performances\u2014often in sweats or pajamas, far from the traditional evening gown\u2014are a deliberate challenge to the harp\u2019s elitist image.<\/p>\n
Super Bowl weekend marks a whirlwind for GEO. On Friday, she\u2019ll open for Oakland R&B star Kehlani at San Jose City Hall\u2019s Big Game Block Party. Saturday brings the Family Style Food Fest at Oakland Arena, where she\u2019ll perform with LaRussell. It all culminates Sunday at Levi\u2019s Stadium, where the world will witness the Bay Area\u2019s musical diversity on the NFL\u2019s biggest stage.<\/p>\n
As the Super Bowl excitement builds, Oakland stands as a beacon of culture, creativity, and community. Whether you\u2019re catching a “Benito Bowl,” savoring local cuisine, or grooving to GEO\u2019s genre-bending harp, one thing\u2019s for sure: this Super Bowl is about more than football\u2014it\u2019s a celebration of everything that makes the Bay unique. And as fans pour into the city and the stadium, the beat goes on, louder and prouder than ever.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Key Points Oakland is hosting over 25 diverse events including watch parties, concerts, and food festivals leading up…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":163701,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[143,145,144],"class_list":{"0":"post-163700","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-oakland","8":"tag-oakland","9":"tag-oakland-headlines","10":"tag-oakland-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163700","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=163700"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163700\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/163701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=163700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=163700"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=163700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}