A blooming success: Move over Horowitz, Rubenstein and Chopin—the amateurs are coming in droves. For its 10th anniversary, the annual Flower Piano in San Francisco’s Botanical Garden in Golden Gate Park is again welcoming any and all with a musical bent to seek out the 12 instruments scattered about its lush 55-acre grounds, sit themselves down and plunk away to their hearts’ content. The festival, which kicks off at noon Friday with daylong access to the pianos through Sept. 21, is free to those who can prove San Francisco residency and open to everyone else for the price of admission to the Botanical Garden ($15 for adults, $7 for seniors and ages 12-17, $3 for 5 to 11-year-olds and free for the real young’uns). As the festival has grown in repute and popularity over the years, events featuring established acts and single musicians have been added, including in a ticketed Lounge in the Celebration Garden that grants ticketholders all-day weekend priority and access to premium bars and food. A special Lounge opening night performance from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday stars the Latin jazz group the Montuno Swing Salsa Band with Grammy-winning pianist Christian Tumalan; the festival closes there on Sept. 21 with the Alon Nechushtan Trio, Robert Dehlinger’s Alpha Rhythm Kings and the Kev Choice Chamber Ensemble. The opening night celebration costs $37.50-$75 for the Lounge admission, and a $90 pass granta access to all Friday through Sunday events. Still, the festival’s enduring popularity rests in its come-one, come-all opportunities for everyone to play those pianos for free. Find information at gggp.org/flowerpiano.
Freebie of the week: Back in the day, quite a few pop acts were making hay off the tune “I Think We’re Alone Now,” a romantic nugget credited to songwriters Ritchie Cordell (music) and Bo Gentry (lyrics), who later noted he penned his portion of the hit for his girlfriend. Tommy James recorded the most famous version, which helped create the “bubblegum” music genre. The song also was covered in 1987 by mall-pop crooner Tiffany, who went on to career highlights including acting in the films “Mega Piranha” and its sequel “Mega Python vs. Gatoroid,” as well as a guest appearance on “Hulk Hogan’s Celebrity Championship Wrestling.” In 1978, new wave singer Lene Lovich did it; in 2007, it was covered by pop vocal group Girls Aloud. But our favorite version was recorded in 1977 by East Bay power-pop band The Rubinoos, which reportedly formed in 1970 to play a high school dance. The band also scored a hit in 1979 with “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend” (which led to a brief legal tussle with Avril Lavigne) and 1984 with the theme song to “Revenge of the Nerds.” After a lengthy hiatus beginning in the 1980s, the Rubinoos reformed in 2006 and are still at it today. You can catch them (and maybe hear the above-mentioned classics) in the free Point Richmond Music concert series on Friday. The Rubinoos perform at 5:30 p.m., followed by The Lemonhammer at 6:45 p.m. The show is at Park Place and Washington Avenue in downtown Point Richmond, and there are plenty of spots for refreshments nearby. More information is at pointrichmondmusic.org.
A timely return: A full quarter century after the premiere of “Dead Man Walking” here on the War Memorial Opera stage, it’s hard to overstate the impact that Jake Heggie’s first major offering has had, both on his career and the opera world. Heggie was an employee in San Francisco Opera’s publicity department in 1997 when then-general director Lotfi Mansouri, recognizing talent from songs the young man had written for opera singers, elevated him to composer-in-residence to create the work that launched his career. Following its 2000 debut, “Dead Man,” with some 70-80 productions worldwide, has become the most frequently performed contemporary opera, and Heggie, with at least nine other such full-blown works to his credit, was inducted into the Opera America Hall of Fame in March and named the 2025 Composer of the Year by Musical America. Inspired by the 1993 bestselling memoir by Sister Helen Prejean about her time ministering to a killer awaiting his execution (and made into a movie starring Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn), the opera, with a libretto by the renowned playwright Terrence McNally, returns to the War Memorial stage at 2 p.m. Sunday for a six-performance run, in a production directed by Leonard Foglia and conducted by the returning Patrick Summers, a veteran from the world premiere. American mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton stars as Sister Helen, a role created by Susan Graham; bass-baritone Ryan McKinny assumes the role of death-row inmate Joseph De Rocher; and Graham, the first Sister Helen, returns as the tortured mother of the doomed man, Mrs. Patrick De Rocher, the role first made famous here by the legendary Frederica von Stade. The production runs through Sept. 28. Find tickets, $29-$447, at sfopera.com.
Mountain music: Once again, Brian Murphy and Paul McCaffrey (also known as Murph & Mac from KNBR) are emcees of Sound Summit, the daylong musical celebration on Mount Tam marking its 10th anniversary on Saturday. The headlining eclectic alt-rock group at the scenic Mountain Theater is Sacramento’s Cake; the lineup also includes the female-driven Canadian alt-pop powerhouse band Alvvays in its only California performance this year; Stand, a special Sound Summit tribute to Sly & The Family Stone featuring Taj Mahal, Narada Michael Walden, Martin Luther McCoy, Vicki Randle, Rustee Allen and members of Graham Central Station; beloved indie rockers Real Estate; and Wolf Jett, self-described purveyors of “cosmic mountain music.” The music starts at 11 a.m. Saturday. Tickets are $120 general; $60 for ages 3 to 12, and free for little ones 2 and under. Reserved mountain parking is $65, or the round-trip shuttle from Mill Valley is $30. Find details at www.soundsummit.net.
“Hamlet” revisited: Oakland Theater Project, a fabulous scrappy troupe long known for its terrific takes on the classics, is presenting “Hamlet” in San Rafael. Actor Lisa Ramirez, who plays the title prince’s mother Gertrude, calls the production radical. It’s directed by company member Michael Moran, who helmed the outfit’s terrific “Angels in America” last year, also in Marin. Dean Linnard, appearing as Hamlet, says his character’s superpower is truth. OTP creators describe the show as a ‘kinetic, music-infused production exploring a society at a crossroads and how hope and renewal might break through.” Performances continue Thursdays through Sundays through Sept. 21 at Marin Shakespeare Company’s indoor theater in San Rafael. Tickets are $10 to $60 at oaklandtheaterproject.org.
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