Immerse yourself in Filipino Music Concerts in San Jose, CA showcasing cultural artistic traditions. These events feature performances, exhibitions, and creative expressions that honor Filipino heritage while bringing innovative artistic perspectives to the community.
ASTIG Sound 8yr Anniversary w/ Manila Sound LA
ASTIG Sound 8yr Anniversary day party featuring special guests Manila Sound - LA's staple Filipino dance party.
A portion of ticket sales will be donated to NAFCON's Bayanihan Disaster Relief Fund to help provide direct relief to communities impacted by climate catastrophes in the Philippines.
Plus brand new ASTIG merch, local vendors, food + more!
Sunday, 15, 16.30 -
Sunday, 15, 20.30
San Francisco,
CA
_$25
Step into the sounds and stories of historic Manilatown with live jazz, archival images, family memories & community Talk Story.
CLUB MANDALAY: MUSIC, MEMORY & MANILATOWN
WHEN MANILATOWN SWUNG: THE MANILA SERENADERS
What did Manilatown sound like when Kearny Street was alive with music?
Step into the sounds and stories of historic Manilatown for a very special afternoon of live music, archival photographs, family memories, and community Talk Story at the International Hotel Manilatown Center.
With When Manilatown Swung, Club Mandalay begins an exciting new chapter as Music, Memory & Manilatown—a gathering where live performance and the Manilatown Archives come together to bring the neighborhood's past and present to life.
For this inaugural program, we remember the Manila Serenaders, an all-Filipino dance orchestra whose musicians were part of the vibrant social and musical world of an earlier Manilatown. The Manila Serenaders traveled across the United States in the 1930s. Their tours covered 26 states, and for many of their shows, they opened for popular swing and jazz bandleaders like Tommy & Jimmy Dorsey, Glen Miller, Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Cab Calloway, Lawrence Welk, and Louis Armerrstrong. They also performed at the famous Coconut Ballroom in Salt Lake City, UT.
At the heart of the afternoon is the story of Canuto Salaver—a drummer with the Manila Serenaders whose life was deeply connected to historic Manilatown and the I-Hotel. Members of the Salaver Family will join guest interviewer Sabrina Oliveros for an informal Talk Story, sharing family memories passed down about Canuto: the musician, the family man, and the young Filipino immigrant whose Manilatown years became part of their family story.
We'll also explore another side of Canuto's Manilatown life through family memories of his connection to the Bataan Cafe and Poolhall near the I-Hotel, along with stories of his wife Estrella Echavez and her relationship with members of the Manilatown community.
And the musical lineage continues.
Raymond Calica Bambao, bassist with today's Manilatown Jazz Ensemble, joins the conversation to share the story of his own grandfather and grand-uncles, who were also musicians with the Manila Serenaders. Saxophonist Lorenzo Calica, moved to San Francisco in 1940 and later settled in Vallejo, California.
Throughout the afternoon, the Manilatown Jazz Ensemble will bring these stories to life with live musical interludes inspired by the era—including “Cheek to Cheek,” a song the Salaver family remembers the Manila Serenaders performing.
Historic photographs and materials from the Manilatown Archives and family collections will surround the stories, allowing us not simply to talk about this history, but to see it, hear it, and experience it together.
And because history can be FUN...
Feeling festive? Come dressed in your 1930s–40s finest! Period-inspired attire is completely optional—but we'd love to see the I-Hotel filled with a little vintage Manilatown style!
Whether your own family has roots in Manilatown or you're discovering this history for the first time, there is a place for you in the story.
Come for the music.
Come for the memories.
Come for the Talk Story.
And perhaps bring a story of your own.
Saturday, October 24, 2026 | 2:00–3:30 PM
International Hotel Manilatown Center
868 Kearny Street, San Francisco
LIVE MUSIC · MANILATOWN ARCHIVES · COMMUNITY TALK STORY
All are welcome.
Choose the ticket that works for you. Club Mandalay is free and open to everyone. Those who are able are invited to select a community-support ticket and receive a Manilatown thank-you gift. Every contribution helps sustain live music, archival storytelling, and community programs at the I-Hotel.
Come as you are. Stay for the music. Leave a little more connected.
Our Manilatown Arts program is supported in part by the California Arts Council, a state agency. Learn more at www.arts.ca.gov. Manilatown Arts is also made possible by the generous support of the Asian Pacific Fund and the San Francisco Arts Commission.
For more information about Club Mandalay, the Manilatown Jazz Ensemble, the Manilatown Archives, or the Manilatown Heritage Foundation
Saturday, 24, 14.00 -
Saturday, 24, 15.30
San Francisco,
CA
_$25
FREE concert celebrating Afro Filipinx music roots and traditions only at Yerba Buena Gardens Festival
Few artists have appeared at the Festival more frequently than flutist, percussionist and arranger John Calloway. Whether he’s leading his own band, performing in the sextet of longtime creative partner John Santos, or directing the Latin Jazz Youth Ensemble of San Francisco, Calloway is a Bay Area icon who’s been at the center of the San Francisco Latin jazz scene for some five decades. But his latest and most personal project yet, the Afro-Filipino Jazz Project, takes his music in a new direction. Founded in 2022 as a creative, interactive space, the Project is intended to bring together Afro Filipinx, African American and Filipino American musicians to explore a broad range of musical styles, with a particular emphasis on jazz idioms, African American roots and traditional and folkloric Filipino music. It’s one component of the larger Afro-Filipino Project, a platform dedicated to highlighting and celebrating, individually and collectively, the art practices and artists of the African American and Filipino American communities whose contributions have profoundly shaped our nation's artistic narrative. For this performance the AFJP features bass star Marcus Shelby, inveterately grooving drummer Deszon Claiborne, Latin jazz piano specialist Murray Low, saxophonist TJ Milan, Conrad Benedicto on kulintang, vocalist and dancer Ting Alvarez and guest vocalist Anna Maria Flechero.
Saturday, 24, 14.00 -
Saturday, 24, 15.30
San Francisco,
CA
_$25
FREE show with the legendary Joe Bataan in San Francisco, only at Yerba Buena Gardens Festival
Opening Set from MeloDious
Festival favorite Joe Bataan, a Latin music legend since the mid-1960s, returns to the Gardens for his third performance in the past four years. He made an indelible mark as one of the early stars of Fania Records with a seductive combination of doo-wop vocals and boogaloo, one of the era’s defining sounds. Born Bataan Nitollano to a Filipino father and African-American mother and raised in Spanish Harlem, he is the father of the Latin soul sound, crooning hits like “Gypsy Woman” and “Ordinary Guy.” But Bataan never stayed in one groove for long. He went on to expand his sound in the ’70s with his Ghetto Records releases, co-coining the apt moniker “salsoul,” though he adapted to changing currents at the end of the decade with forays into disco and hip-hop (scoring the early rap hit “Rap-O Clap-O” in 1979). Stepping back from performing in the early ‘80s, he largely disappeared from the scene while working as a youth counselor in detention facilities. It’s a dramatic story that he recounts with humor and searing detail in his 2024 memoir Streetology: The Legacy of the Afro-Filipino, King of Latin Soul. Since returning to music in 2005, he’s reclaimed his crown and is still going strong in his 80s, a fact made evident by his triumphant YBG Festival performances.
The last time MeloDious appeared at the Gardens the group was serving as house band for Cava Menzies’ glorious CO-LLAB choir in 2024. This year the rapidly ascending Oakland trio presents their own program of eclectic, soulful sounds. Grounded by keyboardist Micaiah, bassist Matthias and drummer Memphis Dempsey, MeloDious draws on a rich musical lineage that spans gospel, jazz, R&B and soul. Since forming in 2016, the band has captivated audiences with dynamic vocal harmonies, inventive arrangements and unmistakable creative chemistry. Their versatility and musicianship have led them to sharing stages with several Grammy Award-winning artists, solidifying their stature within the Bay Area’s vibrant musical ecosystem as stars on the rise.
Pre-show music from KALW DJ Marcus at 1pm.
In partnership with:
KALW
Museum of the African Diaspora
Saturday, 17, 14.00 -
Saturday, 17, 16.30
San Francisco,
CA
_$25
ASTIG Sound 8yr Anniversary w/ Manila Sound LA
ASTIG Sound 8yr Anniversary day party featuring special guests Manila Sound - LA's staple Filipino dance party.
A portion of ticket sales will be donated to NAFCON's Bayanihan Disaster Relief Fund to help provide direct relief to communities impacted by climate catastrophes in the Philippines.
Plus brand new ASTIG merch, local vendors, food + more!
Saturday, 17, 14.00 - Saturday, 17, 16.30
San Francisco, CA
12.51
Step into the sounds and stories of historic Manilatown with live jazz, archival images, family memories & community Talk Story.
CLUB MANDALAY: MUSIC, MEMORY & MANILATOWN
WHEN MANILATOWN SWUNG: THE MANILA SERENADERS
What did Manilatown sound like when Kearny Street was alive with music?
Step into the sounds and stories of historic Manilatown for a very special afternoon of live music, archival photographs, family memories, and community Talk Story at the International Hotel Manilatown Center.
With When Manilatown Swung, Club Mandalay begins an exciting new chapter as Music, Memory & Manilatown—a gathering where live performance and the Manilatown Archives come together to bring the neighborhood's past and present to life.
For this inaugural program, we remember the Manila Serenaders, an all-Filipino dance orchestra whose musicians were part of the vibrant social and musical world of an earlier Manilatown. The Manila Serenaders traveled across the United States in the 1930s. Their tours covered 26 states, and for many of their shows, they opened for popular swing and jazz bandleaders like Tommy & Jimmy Dorsey, Glen Miller, Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Cab Calloway, Lawrence Welk, and Louis Armerrstrong. They also performed at the famous Coconut Ballroom in Salt Lake City, UT.
At the heart of the afternoon is the story of Canuto Salaver—a drummer with the Manila Serenaders whose life was deeply connected to historic Manilatown and the I-Hotel. Members of the Salaver Family will join guest interviewer Sabrina Oliveros for an informal Talk Story, sharing family memories passed down about Canuto: the musician, the family man, and the young Filipino immigrant whose Manilatown years became part of their family story.
We'll also explore another side of Canuto's Manilatown life through family memories of his connection to the Bataan Cafe and Poolhall near the I-Hotel, along with stories of his wife Estrella Echavez and her relationship with members of the Manilatown community.
And the musical lineage continues.
Raymond Calica Bambao, bassist with today's Manilatown Jazz Ensemble, joins the conversation to share the story of his own grandfather and grand-uncles, who were also musicians with the Manila Serenaders. Saxophonist Lorenzo Calica, moved to San Francisco in 1940 and later settled in Vallejo, California.
Throughout the afternoon, the Manilatown Jazz Ensemble will bring these stories to life with live musical interludes inspired by the era—including “Cheek to Cheek,” a song the Salaver family remembers the Manila Serenaders performing.
Historic photographs and materials from the Manilatown Archives and family collections will surround the stories, allowing us not simply to talk about this history, but to see it, hear it, and experience it together.
And because history can be FUN...
Feeling festive? Come dressed in your 1930s–40s finest! Period-inspired attire is completely optional—but we'd love to see the I-Hotel filled with a little vintage Manilatown style!
Whether your own family has roots in Manilatown or you're discovering this history for the first time, there is a place for you in the story.
Come for the music.
Come for the memories.
Come for the Talk Story.
And perhaps bring a story of your own.
Saturday, October 24, 2026 | 2:00–3:30 PM
International Hotel Manilatown Center
868 Kearny Street, San Francisco
LIVE MUSIC · MANILATOWN ARCHIVES · COMMUNITY TALK STORY
All are welcome.
Choose the ticket that works for you. Club Mandalay is free and open to everyone. Those who are able are invited to select a community-support ticket and receive a Manilatown thank-you gift. Every contribution helps sustain live music, archival storytelling, and community programs at the I-Hotel.
Come as you are. Stay for the music. Leave a little more connected.
Our Manilatown Arts program is supported in part by the California Arts Council, a state agency. Learn more at www.arts.ca.gov. Manilatown Arts is also made possible by the generous support of the Asian Pacific Fund and the San Francisco Arts Commission.
For more information about Club Mandalay, the Manilatown Jazz Ensemble, the Manilatown Archives, or the Manilatown Heritage Foundation
Saturday, 17, 14.00 - Saturday, 17, 16.30
San Francisco, CA
0.00
FREE concert celebrating Afro Filipinx music roots and traditions only at Yerba Buena Gardens Festival
Few artists have appeared at the Festival more frequently than flutist, percussionist and arranger John Calloway. Whether he’s leading his own band, performing in the sextet of longtime creative partner John Santos, or directing the Latin Jazz Youth Ensemble of San Francisco, Calloway is a Bay Area icon who’s been at the center of the San Francisco Latin jazz scene for some five decades. But his latest and most personal project yet, the Afro-Filipino Jazz Project, takes his music in a new direction. Founded in 2022 as a creative, interactive space, the Project is intended to bring together Afro Filipinx, African American and Filipino American musicians to explore a broad range of musical styles, with a particular emphasis on jazz idioms, African American roots and traditional and folkloric Filipino music. It’s one component of the larger Afro-Filipino Project, a platform dedicated to highlighting and celebrating, individually and collectively, the art practices and artists of the African American and Filipino American communities whose contributions have profoundly shaped our nation's artistic narrative. For this performance the AFJP features bass star Marcus Shelby, inveterately grooving drummer Deszon Claiborne, Latin jazz piano specialist Murray Low, saxophonist TJ Milan, Conrad Benedicto on kulintang, vocalist and dancer Ting Alvarez and guest vocalist Anna Maria Flechero.
Saturday, 17, 14.00 - Saturday, 17, 16.30
San Francisco, CA
0.00
