Fulton Plaza fills with free live music again today, as Summer Champ, Eva Jay Fortune and Great Willow take turns on the outdoor stage between the San Francisco Public Library and the Asian Art Museum. Summer Champ opens at noon, Eva Jay Fortune follows at 1 PM, and Great Willow closes out the show at 2 PM, with the whole event running from noon to 3 PM in the Civic Center.
The show is part of the Civic Center Soundtrack, a recurring free concert series presented by Illuminate LIVE in partnership with the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department, the San Francisco Public Library and the Asian Art Museum, according to the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department. The series returned for its third annual season in April, offering free music every Tuesday and Thursday from noon to 3 p.m. at Fulton Plaza through October, per Illuminate.
This year's season also introduced a rotating lineup of local food trucks alongside the lunchtime performances, marking the first time food vendors have been formally paired with the series, the nonprofit notes. The addition gives office workers and library patrons another reason to linger in the plaza during the midday sets.
From Punk Rock Roots to Americana Harmonies
Today's lineup spans several corners of the music world. Eva Jay Fortune, who plays at 1 PM, originally fronted the San Francisco punk and new wave group Exposure in the late 1970s and early 1980s before evolving into a reflective singer-songwriter, according to background from AllMusic. She's since become a regular presence across Illuminate LIVE venues around the city.
Closing the afternoon is Great Willow, a Los Angeles-based Americana and close-harmony duo formed by James Combs and Erin Hawkins. The pair was named Best Americana Group by the LA Music Critic Awards following their debut album *Find Yourself in Los Angeles*, as reported by Americana UK. Their sound blends vocal harmonies with cellist-guitarist arrangements inspired by California folk rock. Great Willow isn't limited to Fulton Plaza this month — the duo, along with Summer Champ, was also booked in August at The Whale's Tail, a seasonal garden bar on JFK Promenade in Golden Gate Park, co-hosted by Illuminate LIVE and SF Rec & Park, according to Secret San Francisco.
A Plaza With a Turnaround Story
Fulton Plaza's twice-weekly concerts date back to 2024, when the Civic Center Soundtrack debuted with 118 free shows in its first season, an effort that Illuminate describes as helping to convert a former public safety hotspot into a community gathering space. The series is one piece of a broader multi-agency push in Civic Center that also includes a 13,000-square-foot street-skateboarding plaza at UN Plaza, a National Fitness Campaign court, free fitness classes and the Heart of the City Farmers Market, according to the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department.
City officials have credited that combined programming — arts, recreation, food and fitness — with helping drive downtown recovery. As Hoodline previously reported on Civic Center's revival, city leaders reported a 70% decrease in daytime drug-related incidents at UN Plaza in 2024, a statistic they've tied to ongoing arts and recreational programming in the district.
Part of a Citywide Free Music Push
Today's show is a single date within Illuminate LIVE's much larger 2026 season, which scheduled more than 125 free outdoor concerts across San Francisco from March through mid-November at venues including the Golden Gate Park Bandshell and Fulton Plaza, according to the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department. Since 2020, Illuminate LIVE has presented over 700 free concerts in the city, reaching nearly one million attendees.
The nonprofit behind it all was founded by Ben Davis and is best known for large-scale light art installations paired with free live music programming. Whether concertgoers show up for the punk-rooted storytelling of Fortune, the California folk harmonies of Great Willow, or simply a free lunchtime break outdoors, Fulton Plaza's twice-weekly shows continue through October.
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