Playing for free this month in S.F.

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While the music industry gathers in Austin for SXSW, San Francisco will get a two-day confab of art and music, courtesy of Vice and Intel's Creator's Project. On March 17 and 18, the project is taking over Fort Mason, bringing live performances from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Squarepusher, the Antlers, James Murphy, and more, along with a number of big art installations and panels. And the kicker? Just like the best parts of SXSW, it's all free with RSVP. Check the full lineup and details after the jump.

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Ron Baker

Warren Hellman and his banjo

​Some weeks ago, we told you about a concert planned to honor the memory of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass founder Warren Hellman, who passed away in December. The show will feature performances by Emmylou Harris, Robert Earl Keen, Gillian Welch, Steve Earle, and others. And now, a location for the event has been set: Rather than Golden Gate Park's Hellman Hollow, where Hardly Strictly Bluegrass takes place, the tribute concert is happening this Sunday, Feb. 19, on the Great Highway between JFK Drive and Lincoln Ave. -- so basically, at Ocean Beach.

The music will cover two stages operating at staggered timetables and will run from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Of course, the show is free. However, since there's less space than at Hellman Hollow, the concert organizers are also streaming the show on their website and encouraging fans to watch at home.

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The Jealous Guys in the video for "Miss San Francisco." Watch it after the jump.

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My, my, it's been a big week, what with M.I.A.'s middle finger, that new Jay-Z and Kanye video, the quickly sold-out Hot Snakes show, and what else? We forgot already. Point is, you should come by our party at the Noise Pop-Up Shop tonight. For one thing it's free, and there will be performances by moody, forward-leaning S.F. rap duo the Jealous Guys, voracious local bass music producer DJ Dials (he of Change the Beat fame), and electronic/indie DJ Yr Skull, who's also been a conspirator at some of the local Epicsauce parties you may have been to. These are good soundmakers -- check them out:

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The Jealous Guys, expressing solidarity with M.I.A.

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Over here at All Shook Down, we like to throw a little party each year before the Noise Pop festival takes over San Francisco. So mark your calendar: On Thursday, we're inviting you all to the Noise Pop Pop-Up Shop for a get-together featuring a live set from S.F. rap duo the Jealous Guys, and performances by DJ Dials and YR Skull.

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​If you didn't lose your fucking mind amid the flurry of end-of-year lists clogging the Internet last month, you might remember our wrap-up of the best Bay Area electronic records of 2011. Tonight, one of the artists who made that list, Magic Touch, is playing the very first installment of a new free party at SF Underground, an oft-neglected little dance club in the Lower Haight.

Called Push the Feeling, the monthly party is a new effort by Epicsauce DJ and local show promoter Kevin Meenan to broaden the appeal of the dance party: "Aiming to make this an unpretentious, dancey affair that can appeal to both folks who frequent the city's more house/boogie/disco-centric parties and those more accustomed to seeing live bands or hanging at dive bars," he says.

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DJ Qbert in concert

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SFO's newishly remodeled Terminal 2 is supposed to be an outpost of Bay Area arty/foodie/boho heaven specially for the jet-setter class, right? In addition to its airy design and Hayes Valley-worthy food options, consider this: The city's own DJ Qbert, aka Richard Quitevis, aka the guy who was declared America's best DJ last year, is playing a free show at Terminal 2 this Friday night -- and you don't even have to be flying anywhere to catch it.

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Boots Riley. Photo by John Duah

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So, so fitting: On a day when his bandmate in Street Sweeper Social Club, Tom Morello, performed at Occupy Wall Street, politically conscious Oakland rapper Boots Riley of the Coup is bringing his boisterous rhymes to Occupy Oakland for a free performance.

But you better hurry if you want to catch it: Riley's performing as part of a live show at Occupy Oakland that's set to start at 5 p.m. More details after the jump.

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Thee Oh Sees

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How to make your brand of alcohol cool, in four easy steps:

- Invent witty slogan for your brand of booze. ("Shredding bagpipes since 1745," etc.)

- Find out what well-known but still sorta underground musical artist(s) the 21-35 crowd in your target market likes.

- Book said artist(s) for a show at a local venue

- Grant free entrance to patrons while getting them to look at your brand/logo/slogan.

- (Repeat if necessary).

It's worked for Sailor Jerry -- several times. Hell, it's even worked for Vitamin Water. And now it'll probably work for Drambuie, the Scottish liqueur brand that's putting on a free show with Thee Oh Sees this Thursday night.

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Chris Wahlberg

​What do we get when an orchestra turns 100 years old? (Besides very well-tuned renditions of "Happy Birthday," that is.) In the case of the San Francisco Symphony, we get a free concert with pianist Lang Lang.

The centennial birthday bash, which will be held in the Civic Center Plaza this Thursday (September 8) at 11:30 a.m., includes all sorts of goodies, like free Ghirardelli chocolates, ice cream sundaes for the first hundred guests, and Off the Grid food trucks with picnic provisions. Yum.

But before we dig in to the treats and enjoy the orchestra's performance of Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 1 and Britten's The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, let's take a moment to reflect on the Symphony's first hundred years.

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​The next time you're eating your lunch in your office -- all alone, probably crying yourself silly out of boredom and/or despair -- head outside and follow the music.

Since the early '70s, People in Plazas has brought free concerts to public spaces in the Bay Area. What started as a "pass-the-hat" operation eventually grew into a non-profit with an annual budget of about $150,000, thanks to funding from building owners, the San Francisco Hotel Tax Fund, the mayor's office, and other sponsors.

"I just try to put in things that people really like to hear," program director Lynn Valente says. "But I have no limitations on what I would do. The way I choose performers is if it's something unusual, something I haven't had before, quality of musicianship, that kind of thing."

People in Plazas aims to use live music to turn open urban spaces -- like parks and plazas next to office buildings -- into places where people can congregate and socialize, according to the organization's website.

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