Noise Pop and Civic Joy Fund’s new initiative, Summer of Music.

Local concert promoter Noise Pop and new nonprofit Civic Joy Fund have announced a live music series aimed at bringing attention to San Francisco’s neighborhoods and business with a new music series that will take place weekly in a different community this summer.

The Summer of Music series will be held Saturday afternoons starting in June with the intent to drive business to strategic parts of the city while providing paid performance opportunities for local artists.

The neighborhoods include Valencia, The Castro, Clement Street, Polk Street, Chinatown, Divisadero, Haight Street, The Bayview and Cortland Avenue.

“San Francisco is a city of booms and busts,” Civic Joy Fund cofounder Daniel Lurie said in a news release.  “However, it is in the aftermath of these busts where our resilience is tested, and where we have the opportunity to create a better future for all. By taking bold action, working together, and refusing to give up, we can create a city that is more equitable, prosperous and joyful than ever before.”

The music performances will take place from 2 to 5 p.m. in nine neighborhoods and shopping corridors. Musicians will play both outdoors and inside shops. They are free to attend, while the artists will be paid by corporate sponsors like Levi Strauss & Co. and private donors.

Musicians are invited to apply to participate at the concert series’ website.

The Civic Joy Fund is a new project from the Civic Space Foundation that was originally created after the success of the Light Up the City initiative last year, which raised $750,000 to light 12 commercial corridors around San Francisco. Founder Manny Yekutiel then partnered with Lurie, of nonprofit Tipping Point, to address economic hardship and pandemic recovery for small business owners and local artists.

Summer of Music is one five citywide initiatives that Civic Joy Fund will implement in hopes of jumpstarting San Francisco’s economic recovery while supporting the artists,  community heroes and small business owners.