Look who’s headlining downtown SF’s next big free outdoor dance party

Musically speaking, it has been an endless summer in San Francisco — and on Saturday, the last day before fall, the city will be treated to yet another free outdoor concert. 

This time, the party’s in Union Square. A partnership between SF Live, the Union Square Alliance, and Cafe Du Nord, Saturday’s show features San Diego-based South African electronic duo Goldfish, Bay Area-raised rapper and performance artist Mykki Blanco, and Aussie electronic musicians and producers Bag Raiders. That’s an eclectic lineup.

Of the three acts, Bag Raiders have the widest cultural currency as the brains behind “Shooting Stars,” which may turn out to be the most remixed song of 2024 despite being more than a decade old. As an earworm, the unmistakable synth hook has proved irresistible to content creators, showing up in one Instagram reel after another.

Cafe Du Nord booked these three acts for their complementary sounds, according to Nico Govea, the venue’s general manager. In particular, Goldfish’s penchant for combining samples and effects with live instruments was a key draw. “That, paired with the electronic dance and party vibe, is something we wanted to promote in Union Square,” Govea said. “We don’t feel that that has been done before.”

Notably, the club has never before booked any of the acts at its historic space in the basement of the Swedish American Hall, nor anywhere else. In fact, Govea said, this show represents Cafe Du Nord’s first endeavor outside its four walls.

Union Square has a capacity of 3,500, a figure Govea expects to hit (although likely on a rolling basis). Elsewhere around the city, it’s a big weekend for large-scale live entertainment. On Friday, punk veterans Green Day take over Oracle Park, and indie rockers Portugal. The Man play Civic Center.

Saturday is the only U.S. date Bag Raiders are playing this month, while Goldfish has a show Friday in Solana Beach near San Diego. Fans have one other chance to see Blanco, a Black, transfeminine punk whose beguiling and politically active stage persona grew out of a video project: She’s partnering Sunday with the unabashedly queer Oakland musician, dancer, and writer Brontez Purnell for an encore performance at Cafe Du Nord.