The Best Festivals Events in San Francisco You Actually Want to Go To

Festivals events in San Francisco aren’t exactly subtle right now—the city’s in full “book first, think later” mode. This week alone, more than 6,400 people have already RSVP’d or are hovering over that ‘going’ button, which tells you everything you need to know about the current vibe: people are very done with staying home and very ready to stand in a crowd, spill a drink, and lose their voice a little.

The names you keep hearing are the ones actually pulling people out of their apartments: the gloriously on-the-nose Tribute Festival Comes To San Francisco!, the 6th Annual Heartform: A Festival of the Heart for singles and couples who are either romantics or just festival-curious, and the gloriously chaotic MISSION DELIRIUM-Miss Hits-The Cheetah Boys at Rickshaw Stop on Friday 2/27/2026. Add in the West Coast Premiere of TIGHT & NERDY at SF IndieFest! for the film-and-comedy nerds, the Bayview Mardi Gras Celebration 2026 if you want brass bands and beads without flying to New Orleans, and THE PAINS OF BEING PURE OF HEART at Rickshaw Stop via Noise Pop for your throwback-indie feelings—this is very much a *pick your personality, pick your night* line-up.

The venues tell their own story. Bottom of the Hill is still where you go when you want to say, “I saw them before they blew up,” and sort-of mean it. Bill Graham Civic Auditorium is for big-night-out energy: you will stand for hours, you will complain, and you will still have a great time. Commercial Street keeps quietly hosting the kind of moments that turn into Monday-morning group chats. And then there’s Rickshaw Stop, which remains the city’s sweet spot between divey and iconic—that room has seen more questionable dance moves than Market Street at 2am.

If you’re trying to decide what to hit this month, think of it like this: Heartform is your move if you want something a little tender and a little flirty (yes, you can drag a date or go solo and people-watch). Bayview Mardi Gras is the one to block off if you’re craving street-festival energy and neighborhood pride, not just another overpriced cocktail. Rickshaw Stop nights—MISSION DELIRIUM and THE PAINS OF BEING PURE OF HEART—are for people who don’t mind sweating in a crowd and know at least one song, or are okay faking it. TIGHT & NERDY at SF IndieFest is pure fan-service for the die-hards who quote movies and argue about cult classics. None of this is background noise; this is what discovery looks like in San Francisco right now—crowded, a bit messy, and exactly where you’re supposed to be.