Musicians perform during the Summer of Music series in the Castro in San Francisco on June 24, 2023.

Bay Area nonprofit Civic Joy Fund and music promoter Noise Pop have announced that they are expanding their Summer of Music economic recovery initiative to two days a week in its second year. The initiative involves local musicians performing paid gigs at in key San Francisco neighborhoods to help drive foot traffic to local small businesses.

The series will take places every Saturday and Sunday beginning on June 15 and applications are open both for musicians and local businesses now. Performances will again take place both inside storefronts and on the streets of San Francisco while patrons are shopping, dining an strolling throughout the city.

“The road to our city’s recovery will be through our streets. The Civic Joy Fund’s whole focus will be to add a massive amount of vibrancy, color, sound and life to the streets to help our City bounce back,” said Manny Yekutiel, executive director of Civic Joy Fund.

In 2023, when performances were held only on Saturdays, the Summer of Music featured more than 750 mini concerts that helped 70 small businesses and 190 local musicians across 16 weeks, according to the producers. This summer, performances will take place on all Saturday and Sunday afternoons in the Castro, Haight, Inner Sunset, Marina, North Beach and Mission.

“I am so so grateful for the Summer of Music Series put on by Noise Pop and Civic Joy Fund,” said bassist Arya Zarrinkelk, of local band Manos Lindas, in the news release. The band took part in the initiative in 2023. “It was one of the few times that I have felt honored as a creative in San Francisco. We were paid appropriately for our craft while being treated with kindness and respect by both Noise Pop, the local vendors and the community at large. This type of work is the future of equitable music that will save the soul of cities in need.”

Musicians and businesses that want to apply can do so at the program’s website.