Pop star Kesha, who performed a brief DJ set at the Presidio’s Tunnel Top Park Friday night, mentioned several times that she’s moving to San Francisco, though nothing’s been confirmed.

It could be plausible that Kesha is indeed moving to San Francisco, like she mentioned several times Friday night, as SFGate reports. The dance-pop star, who's made fairly frequent surprise appearances in the Bay Area over the past year, had taken over the DJ booth at the Presidio Tunnel Tops Park for a surprise 30-minute set.

“I’m moving to San Francisco,” she reportedly said, as the song, “Your Love Is My Drug,” played, prompting a round of cheers. The star made similar statements throughout the set.

According to the Chronicle, Live Nation announced the limited-capacity show on social media last week, which was a promotional event for its summer roster of events, including Kesha’s upcoming Freedom Tour.

As SFist reported in December, Kesha stunned the crowd at Martuni’s piano bar with Patsy Cline’s “Walkin’ After Midnight,” and she made a similar appearance in Palo Alto prior to that.

No word yet on whether Kesha is actually planning to move to San Francisco, but maybe there will be an update at her May 27 show at Concord Pavilion. Discounted tickets are available through May 5, per SFGate.

Related: Watch: Kesha Showed Up at SF Piano Bar Martuni's Last Night, Performed a Live Number

Image: Jason Howard/Bauer-Griffin/Getty Images

This week: Land stewardship in the East Bay, tracking birds in the South Bay, and 50 years of wine in Napa Valley. Also, tamale season, unconventional homes, a local middle school record player, the Valkyries DJ’s new Oakland club, and new work by ‘90s Mission School artists.

Tamale season

For many Mission cooks, tamale season starts at La Palma Mexicatessen, where they buy fresh masa for the holidays. One longtime figure in that tradition is Simona Padilla, who ran a meat market at 24th and York for 15 years and cooked Mexican dishes for her neighborhood.

Over time, her food was also served at events for the Mexican consul, then–Mayor Gavin Newsom, and local journalism fundraisers. In a recent video with filmmaker Hélène Goupil, Padilla shows how she makes tamales for Christmas, grounding the dish in La Palma’s masa and the Mission’s home-based cooking traditions. — Mission Local

Finding the sweet spot

DJ Lady Ryan, official DJ for the Golden State Valkyries, co-founded Golden Ratio, a new queer-owned bar and lounge in downtown Oakland. Alongside hospitality leader Dennise Acio, she has shaped the space with years of Bay Area nightlife experience and a focus on community-driven programming.

Events include karaoke and comedy nights, soul line dancing, and rotating DJ sets. — San Francisco Bay Time

Needle drop

At Aptos Middle School in San Francisco, librarian Gina Cargas is setting up a vinyl listening station built around a vintage Newcomb record player. After putting out a casual call for records, she was met with dozens of offers from neighbors eager to donate albums for a new generation.

Cargas says many students encounter music as short social media clips, often without context, and the Newcomb turntable creates space to listen to full albums and talk about artists and genres together. The station is now taking shape inside the Aptos Middle School library. — Coyote Media Collective

Then, now, and still here

At Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Bay Area Then looks back at the Mission School scene of the 1990s while showcasing the collective's current body of work. Guest curator Eungie Joo brings together 21 artists linked to that era, mixing new work with familiar names like Barry McGee and Margaret Kilgallen to recreate the restless, DIY energy that once defined Bay Area art spaces.

Several pieces confront current political realities, including Gaza, along with the art world's response to controversial works, including YBCA's new leadership. The show runs through January 25. — Chronicle

A table turned

In 1976, a blind tasting in Paris quietly upended wine-world assumptions when Napa Valley bottles outscored French standbys, shifting the region’s future in a single afternoon. Seven wineries were part of that moment — Chateau Montelena, Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, Clos du Val, Freemark Abbey, Heitz Cellar, Mayacamas Vineyards, and Spring Mountain Vineyard — each still tied to the landscapes that shaped those early vintages.

As the 50th anniversary approaches in 2026, the group is marking the occasion with coordinated tastings, historical tours, and food events that trace both the wines and the people behind them. Programming rolls out across Napa Valley throughout the year, centered at the original estates that helped put the region on the global map. — 7 x 7

Rooms that remember

In a new book shaped by years of travel and documentation, Berkeley-based filmmakers and writers Kirsten Dirksen and Nicolás Boullosa profile dozens of unconventional homes and their owners. Life-Changing Homes: Eco-Friendly Designs That Promote Well-Being moves from hempcrete roundhouses in Gold Country to shanty boats and restored housebarns, tracing how people’s sense of place informs how they build.

Dirksen and Boullosa draw on their Faircompanies archive and their own nomadic years before settling into a renovated 1908 cottage in South Berkeley. — Marin Independent Journal

A piece held in place

Five acres on Mount Diablo have been secured from future development through a land donation made by Bob Nunn in memory of his father, Ron Nunn, a longtime East Contra Costa County farmer and conservation-minded land steward. The parcel, known as the Nunn-Paulsen inholding, fills a small but critical gap inside Mount Diablo State Park, where privately owned land can fracture habitats and complicate long-term protection.

Save Mount Diablo finalized the donation in just over three months, highlighting the land’s notable mix of oak woodland, serpentine rock, and wildlife corridor linking the park to Black Diamond Mines. The nonprofit plans to transfer the parcel to California State Parks under a new state law designed to speed up park land acquisitions, with several other inholdings on the mountain still in view. — Bay Area News Group

Morning chorus, competing engines

At the Coyote Creek Field Station in Alviso, a North San Jose neighborhood at the edge of the Bay, bird banding — briefly capturing birds to record data and release them — begins in near-quiet before traffic noise spills in from nearby freeways. Coyote Creek runs from the Diablo Range through San Jose and ends here, where wetlands sit alongside highways, rail lines, and flight paths.

Researchers are paying closer attention to how constant and sudden sounds affect birds’ stress and communication, particularly for threatened South Bay wetland species. Conservationists working in places like the Salt Pond Restoration Project are now factoring sound into habitat protection as restoration continues in one of the region’s most industrialized ecological zones. — Monterey Herald

Top image: Rigo 23, Terra Nullius, 2025; Robbie Sweeny/Yerba Buena Center for the Arts

Previously: Field Notes: Weed Box Set, Christmas Birds, Jewish Chinatown Christmas, and Oakland Ballet at 60

Ballhalla DJs and Jalapeño Guy bring the beats, while Transit Month rolls on with art, walks, and the Worm Run. Add temple brunch, Doors Open tours, a rediscovered Coppola short, open studios, Black Neighborhood hikes, and a garter snake revival.

The soundtrack of Ballhalla

At Chase Center, the Golden State Valkyries are reshaping home-court energy, thanks in part to resident DJs, Shellheart and LadyRyan, who guide each game from warmups to the final buzzer, pumping the team and the crowd with Bay Area hip-hop and queer party anthems.

Both DJs came out of the local nightlife scene and have become part of the team’s identity — inspiring the crowd to get louder, helping the games feel larger than life, and giving Ballhalla its own signature rhythm. — KQED

The Jalapeño Guy

Jerry Turner, a.k.a. Jahri’s World, turns Sacramento playgrounds and birthday parties into classrooms with a beat — while helping young autistic fans feel supported.

Dressed in a red jalapeño costume and accompanied by saxophonist Dr. Paul D’ Blue, Turner mixes nursery rhymes, hip-hop, and call-and-response games, helping children count, sing, and play along on drums and tambourines. — CapRadio

Temple brunch, powered by volunteers

Every Sunday, the Berkeley Thai Temple draws hundreds for its famous brunch, a community tradition running since 1980. Behind the food — Thai noodle soup, curries, and Kanom Krok — are volunteers who start work long before the doors open, from monks prepping ingredients to chefs, retired cooks, and families keeping the meal running.

For many, volunteering is as much about connection and community as it is about cooking, turning the weekly brunch into a ritual of service, flavor, and shared joy. — Berkeleyside

Run the ‘Worm’

In honor of Transit Month, the Muni Run Club has mapped out the iconic “worm” route, which extends between Geary and Fulton Streets and 29th and 47th Avenues in the Outer Richmond. Complete the full 10-mile route or just the 3-mile “M” segment. Then relax on the bus ride home.

In addition to the worm, the club has been doing weekly runs along each individual bus route. Join them over at Strava. — SFMTA

Transit Month art, walks, and rides

Celebrate the tenth annual Transit Month with rides, walks, and surprises across the Bay Area. Highlights include the Peaks and Alleys: A BART to BART Walk on September 20 and the Pop-Up Transit Art Fair at Salesforce Transit Center on September 24.

Other events span bike parties, trivia, CEO ride-alongs, and the Bay Bridge Trail Anniversary Ride, giving riders plenty of ways to explore, play, and connect with the region. — BART

51 years of art and community

Starting next weekend, hundreds of creators will welcome visitors to see their work as part of ArtSpan’s 51st annual Open Studios, chat about their process, and purchase pieces directly.  

The festival kicks off with ArtLaunch at SOMArts, showcasing 300+ artists, and later features Art Tasting, highlighting standout works and insights from jurors and artists alike. Each weekend offers a chance to explore different neighborhoods and connect with the people shaping SF’s creative culture. — ArtSpan

Exploring California’s hidden corners

Doors Open California unlocks some of the Bay Area’s hidden gems. Wander Julia Morgan’s Berkeley City Club, step into Oakland’s shuttered but stately 16th Street Station, or follow Bauhaus traditions at Guerneville’s Pond Farm.

Tour Niles where Charlie Chaplin made his early films or visit San Francisco’s Treasure Island to trace the stories of a former naval station and World’s Fair site. — KQED

A family legacy, in miniature

Longtime Bay Area filmmaker Christopher Coppola’s 1979 short film, Lightly, is making its debut at the 2025 Studio 8 Film Festival after years lost in storage. Shot on 16mm and recently transferred to digital, the two-minute film features Crispin Glover and painter Craig Klyver, with Coppola composing the score.

Coppola — older brother of Nicolas Cage and nephew of Francis Ford Coppola — made the film while studying at the San Francisco Art Institute (BFA Film, 1987), where he later became head of the film program. The rediscovered short showcases Coppola’s early experiments in storytelling, performance, and visual composition. Screens at the Roxie on September 20.  — SF Artists Alumni

Taking up space in nature

The Black Neighborhood leads monthly Mental Health Hikes through East Bay trails — redwoods, creek crossings, ridgelines — pausing before the first climb as co-founder Cory Elliott urges everyone to “let go of everything from yesterday and look up.”

These monthly hikes carve out space for breathing, reflection, and connection, part of a broader Bay Area effort to reclaim the outdoors for communities too often excluded.

Many Bay Area residents face barriers like gentrification, long bus transfers, and unspoken hostility, which still keeps many out of parks and beaches. These hikes give residents a reason to show up, move, and be somewhere they might not have thought was for them. — Bay City News

Snake Revival in San Francisco

San Francisco’s native garter snake is one of the Bay Area’s most striking residents, as well as one of its rarest. Once common around wetlands and creeks, the colorful reptile has been endangered for more than 50 years.

A new project is giving these snakes a second chance — biologists collected pregnant females, the SF Zoo raised about 120 babies, and the snakes will be released next year once they’re big enough to avoid predators. Local agencies are working together to restore habitats across the region, from the Golden Gate National Recreation Area to smaller urban wetlands. — KRON4

Top Image: Strava

Previously: Field Notes: SF Neo-Futurists Dig a Hole, Youth Capture the Tenderloin, Rainbow Sierrans Hike

A very California adventure for a Bay Area DJ known as Habitaat, who dragged his musical gear all the way up to the top of Half Dome in Yosemite, and performed a live set to an audience of no one in particular.

Yosemite National Park’s famed rock formation Half Dome stands 8,800 feet above sea level, and it can be a fairly treacherous hike. But don’t tell that to a Sonoma County-based DJ who calls himself Habitaat, whom KTVU reports hauled his DJ equipment up that nearly 9,000-foot hike and performed a DJ set on top of Half Dome this past weekend.

The full 38-minute mountaintop set can be seen above. It's a calming but slightly uptempo sound reminiscent of Mark Farina’s Mushroom Jazz. Habitaat got a lottery ticket for a Yosemite campsite, and he and his twin brother hauled up a fairly minimal amount of DJ gear. They brought no amplification equipment whatsoever, making sure not to ruin the natural vibe for other hikers.

"A couple people came by, just curious," Habitaat told KTVU. "There were a couple squirrels that came by and just kind of standing up and watching."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by HABITAAT - DJ and Producer (@habitaatmusic)

But all of this brings up the obvious question... Why?

DJ Habitaat says to KTVU that he got the idea while flying over Yosemite in an airplane. "And I could see like really close, like, that's Half Dome right there. That's where the idea clicked, 'what if I did a DJ set on top?'"

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by HABITAAT - DJ and Producer (@habitaatmusic)

You could say that he really just did this for publicity and in hopes of notching a viral video, and you might be correct to some degree. But looking through his social media posts, the man does have a powerful message.  

“Remember — our national parks and wild places aren’t guaranteed to be here forever,” he said in a Wednesday Instagram post. “Right now, powerful interests are pushing to sell off or weaken protections for the very lands that belong to all of us. These parks are more than scenery — they’re sacred spaces, homes for wildlife, and places where we can reconnect with ourselves and the earth. If you love places like Yosemite and want them to stay wild and accessible for future generations, please pay attention, speak up, and support the organizations working to defend them.”

Related: Video: Watch Rock Climbers Install Light-Based Art Installation On Yosemite's Half Dome [SFist]

Image: HABITAAT via Youtube

World-famous producer and DJ Diplo has made a habit of going for a run in every city where he performs, and he decided to launch a roving "run club" where a 5K race ends in a dance party. And the first Diplo's Run Club event happened Sunday in San Francisco.

The sold-out event included 13,000 registered runners running a 5K course that took them along the Embarcadero, through Oracle Park, circling back at China Basin, and back to Piers 30-32 for a big morning rave.

"The reason why I got inspired to do this event is because I ended up running the half-marathon in Miami, and I showed up in the club afterwards, because the sunrise was happening," Diplo tells KTVU. "I thought, 'This is a great experience. I'm not doing any drugs, I'm just here sober, I'm on a runner's high, I'm enjoying the music,' and I thought that might be the best way for people to experience music."

Video from the event shows a pretty packed dancefloor on the pier, overlooking the Bay Bridge and the Bay. And Diplo shouted out to the crowd, "Are we gonna do this again next year?" and everyone shouted back "Yes!"

Diplo says he's been running since he was in high school, but lately he sensed that people who are focused on healthy lifestyles might want another option for a daytime party that isn't about drugs and alcohol.

"Even when you go to a party... you want to go there cause you're part of a community," Diplo says in a promo video. "My run club is specifically about people who love music and love to dance. That's what Diplo's Run Club is."

The event moves on to Seattle next weekend, September 14. And Diplo's Run Club is collecting RSVPs for other cities around the US and the globe for 2025, to gauge interest for where to go next.

"It's very rare to see a DJ sponsor a run, and so I think that's really unique," said participant Jesse Han, speaking to KTVU. "It's pretty inspiring, he is one of the very few DJs that promote health."

Diplo notes that running is "free," once you own a proper pair of shoes, and you can do it anywhere. But registration for Diplo's Run Club starts at $119, with a $239 VIP option.

San Francisco's Slaptop, who had his first hit with the 2014 release of "Sunrise," has dropped a steady stream of songs and official remixes, for artists like Zhu and Bob Moses, since then. He's back with a new offering today, "Another Life," featuring Gena White's vocals, and we figured you might enjoy a listen. Take a peek at the locally-shot music video, which pictures a foggy beach day that turns into a roaring all-nighter.

Earmilk grabbed ahold of the "Another Life" for the official premiere, and fans should note that the artist is on the bill with beloved South African EDM act Goldfish at Mezzanine in March.

Related: 22-Year-Old Opening EDM-Themed Bubble Tea Bar In The Richmond

Everyone's favorite hairy-footed friend, Elijah Wood, is coming to San Francisco next week. However, instead of reprising his notable role of hobbit Frodo Baggins in the recent film adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien's work, the 5' 6' celebrity will be performing in another manner altogether — as DJ.

The actor has for some time been running his own record label, notes the Chronicle, and five years ago he started spinning vinyl with established Los Angeles DJ Zach Cowie under the name Wooden Wisdom. The two are booked to play a set at San Francisco's Harlot on Friday, January 15.

If you're inclined to throw down for a $30 ticket to catch the duo in action, don't expect Wood to sign any Lord Of The Rings memorabilia that you bring along.

"I suppose most people are familiar with me from the work that I do in films," celebsplained Wood to the Chronicle. "I guess sometimes when we play there are a certain group of people who come for that reason, but the hope that I always have is that they walk away having let go of that sort of preconceived relationship, from what they're familiar with, and kind of take away the musical aspect of what it is that [Zach and I] do together."

The performance is the penultimate stop in a five-city tour for the duo. As to what you should expect to hear should you attend the show? Wood explained to the paper the one element connecting everything they play.

"It's not easy to quantify," he noted regarding his artistic vision. "I think the sort of major through line to anything that we play is that it has to be danceable. That's the only consistent thing."

Related: Video: 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey' Preview

It’s hard to write a 15-year anniversary article on the Breakfast of Champions party because no one ever remembers what happened at the Breakfast of Champions party. The 6 a.m.-6 p.m. New Year’s Day afterparty celebrates its 15th year at Mighty this January 1, so SFist spoke with Breakfast of Champions organizers the Space Cowboys about the history of their annual party, known all over as mecca to 5,000 sleep-deprived New Year’s ravers too cracked-out to face reality and just go home.

Turns out the Space Cowboys’ original SF New Year’s parties were not on New Year’s Day and were not called ‘Breakfast of Champions’. From 1997-2001, the Space Cowboys spun at the San Francisco Motorcycle Club New Year’s Eve Party, a fairly standard New Year’s Eve affair that went from 10 p.m. - 2 a.m. But those parties lacked that special Space Cowboys magic, that magic that comes from a combination of performers unwinding after big-money NYE gigs and fourth-pill stragglers refusing to accept that the party might be over.

“Starting a party at 6 a.m. New Year’s Day made sure it was only for the hardcore,” said DJ Sol, a longtime Space Cowboy who’ll spin this year at 10 a.m. on the Main Stage. “That's why it's Breakfast of Champions and has the taglines ‘only the strong survive’ and ‘until you cry uncle’.”

2001: The First Breakfast of Champions (Pier 23)

The first Breakfast of Champions was at Pier 23 on New Year’s Day in 2001, and was meant as an intimate get-together for DJs who’d performed the night before. The name ‘Breakfast of Champions’ was not applied until just before the event.

“I was working on the flyers and the party didn’t have a name.” said DJ 8Ball, who’s been spinning at Breakfast of Champions since its inception. “I just came up with ‘Breakfast of Champions’ because it sounded good. I was working on an MFA in writing at the time, so I probably was thinking about Vonnegut or something.  It seemed like the appropriate name for an afterparty that was really kind of an endurance race.”

“It was not necessarily a Space Cowboys event,” Space Cowboys managing producer Andrea Lundquist told SFist. “However all the DJs that played were Space Cowboys, and all the people there were Space Cowboys. But it was just billed as ‘Breakfast of Champions’.”

To this day, there remains an angry 1-star Breakfast of Champions review on Yelp from an out-of-towner furious that a breakfast course was not actually served at this event called Breakfast of Champions. So I guess I should explicitly state that the terms ‘Breakfast’ and ‘Champions’ are being used ironically, not literally.

2002 - 2009:  Breakfast of Champions Grows and Grows (Potrero Brewing Co. / Whisper)

The party moved to the now-defunct Potrero Brewing Company in 2002, for no better reason than the Pier 23 bartender who’d scored the previous year’s venue now worked at Potrero Brewing Company. The venue had no idea what they were in for. “From what I remember, we had completely sold the bar out both upstairs and downstairs,” Chip "DJ Mancub" Corwin told SFist, recalling mad New Year’s Day scrambles to liquor stores just to keep up with attendee demand for booze.

The Potrero Brewing Company folded, but Breakfast of Champions was still held there as the venue became Whisper. (Nowadays that venue is a chocolate shop). Word of mouth about the party continued to spread, and the venue continued having problems stocking enough booze to keep the crusty revelers happy.

2010: Shit Gets Real (Kelly’s Mission Rock)

What we now call ‘the Great Recession’ turned into what we now call ‘the tech boom’ in late 2009. This resulted in scores of Google, Twitter and other various startup bros and sisses partying through New Year’s Eve with their newfound wealth and descending en masse onto Breakfast of Champions. This totally overwhelmed the new 2010 venue, Kelly’s Mission Rock.

“I loved that spot. It brought us back to that nice view of the bay that we had the first time,” DJ 8Ball told SFist. “But unfortunately, Kelly’s, as beautiful as the spot was, was too small. We destroyed their sewage line.”

Yep, there were so many ravers on hand that raver-poop was flowing out of Kelly’s Mission Rock and onto Terry Francois Boulevard. Mind you, there were still people standing in line two hours deep on Terry Francois Boulevard. ”They had to get somebody from the Sanitation Department down there on New Year’s Day, in the middle if the day, to see what we’d broke,” 8Ball laughed.

Kelly’s Mission Rock is now thoroughly refurbished as Mission Rock Resort. And the Space Cowboys have invested in large fleet of porta-potties to ensure they do not have another shitshow.

2011 - Present: BoC Becomes a Block Party  and Teams Up with The SF Food Bank (Mighty)

The party is now a massive block party operation that hosts nearly 5,000 morning-after revelers at Mighty and on the streets of Potrero Hill. “You get to iterate on a party 15 times, each year you see a different problem and you try to address it,” 8Ball said.

Last year Rob Garza from Thievery Corporation did a surprise set, and the Cowboys have some surprises in store for this year as well. But they’d rather promote their vibe instead of their big names. “A lot of other parties are centered around headline DJs and whatever’s current,” 8Ball said. “This is a friends and family event. It doesn’t feel like a completely new event each year. It feels like a reunion.”

Space Cowboy DJ shOOey stepped up to make the event a benefit for the SF-Marin Food Bank. She encouraged attendees to bring food donations, but that didn’t work because high people cannot remember to bring canned or dry foods. The Cowboys did receive cash donations though, and now they generously match all cash donations. Breakfast of Champions attendees donated an impressive $10,000 at last year’s event, and the Space Cowboys matched that $10,000 in full. (Both cash and food donations will be accepted this year).

“It’s a magical day. There’s nothing like it at any party anywhere else in the world,” Ms. Lundquist said. “It’s a mixed bunch. You’ve got your Burners, you’ve got your homos, you’ve got your whoever-wants-to-dance, your househeads, your breakbeats, your drum-n-bass, there’s a DJ for everyone. It’s a friendly day where all these different groups come together. I can’t walk down the street without getting at least 20 hugs.”

Breakfast of Champions 2015 kicks off at 6 a.m. on January 1, 2015 at Mighty. Cash and food donations will be accepted for the SF-Marin Food Bank. There will be outdoor tents in case of rain, though the weather is expected to be chilly but dry!

Grab your chocker and tiny backpack and head over the the Cellar to catch Broke Ass-Stuart and DJ Matt Haze for a night of '90s jams and coloring books--indeed, coloring book!--for Color Me Badd. Listen to groups from days of yore like Jodeci, Salt 'N' Pepa, Color Me Badd, SWV (oh boy, did we love us some SWV back in the day), En Vogue, and more.

Speaking of which:

Happy hour goes from 5-9PM ($4 well drinks & $3 beer), runs all night long, free bar snacks, no cover, fun, '90s, glamour, smooth beats, harmonies, jarring colors, and again, coloring books!

The Cellar: 685 Sutter (at Taylor), S.F.; 415-441-5678

Why isn't there a dance club strictly devoted to tap dancing? We'd hit that place every night until our toes fell off into a pool of blood. We'd own that scene. But until someone creates such a space, here are the actual top dance clubs in San Francisco.

Audio Discotech
Ha! A lot of people were gloriously butthurt after not being able to gain entry opening night, but this nascent nightclub might be worth the long lines. Started by a gaggle of natives looking to up the chic ante in the neighborhood, this tiny club, described as being "reminiscent of a ’70s Cadillac," features a high-end sound system (designed by Funktion-One) with over 1,200 square feet of acoustic paneling and a pretty rad 45-foot wall dotted with over 1,000 LED lights. Sure, they're not going to play pretentious indie-rock pop song B-side; that's not why you come here. You come to see, be seen, and, hey, check out that cool circular thing above the decks!
316 - 11th Street (at Folsom)

The Cafe
Step back in time and check out the place to go in the Castro for LGBT tourists, bridge-and-tunnel ilk, and locals. The drinks are impossibly strong, the scene is prime for a hookup. (Also popular at the Cafe? Drag performances by RuPaul's Drag Race stars.)
2369 Market (at 17th Street)

Salsa dancing at Cafe Cocomo.

Cafe Cocomo
Don't be intimidated by the twirly pros at this salsa club: with tons of lessons and a non-judgemental crowd, Cafe Cocomo appeals to everyone who wants to get their partner-dance on. There's plenty of space and energetic live music that will get your blood pumping, and whether you're a seasoned dancer or a clueless amateur, you'll have a good time. (And especially if you're a lady, you'll have no trouble finding partners willing to teach you new moves).
650 Indiana (at 18th Street)

(Photo: Scott Beale)

DNA Lounge
On any given night, this Eleventh Street all-ages club's genetic makeup might morph from a sweaty DJ night to underground music venue to burlesque revue to drag stage. It's that sort of diverse lineup, bolstered by 24-hour pizza next door and unannounced shows from big names like Prince and Metallica that has made the club a SoMa staple for going on 30 years.
375 - 11th Street (at Harrison)

El Rio's patio. (photo: Darwin Bell)

El Rio
There are many reasons to lace up your dancing shoes and head to El Rio. But the best reason, if we may, would be DJ Carnita and DJ Brown Amy's Hard French, a daytime soul music party that sets out to "modernize, takeover, revamp, trick out, revive, and do up the outdoor afternoon dance party experience."
3158 Mission St (at Cesar Chavez)

Holy Cow (photo: M.C. / Yelp)

Holy Cow
This is a great place in which to get fucked up. Also, lots of private bathroom stalls. Draw your own conclusions. While the Folsom Street joint is good for a night of top-40, hip-hop, and party music, its real draw is, of course, Honey Soundsystem who specializes in the country's best Hard NRG. Know Honey Soundsystem, know God; no Honey Soundsystem, no God. Got it? Good. (They can also be heard at other venues, like Public Works, Beatbox, and more.)
1535 Folsom (at Norfolk)

Little Baobab (photo: Sunugal)

Little Baobab
Senegalese restaurant by day, dance spot by night, Little Baobab feels less like a dance club than an impromptu party with a friendly, casual crowd. You don't have to dress up to grind to the reggaeton, Latin and world beats, but you do have to try Baobab's signature hibiscus and ginger drinks.
3388 19th Street (at Mission)

Monarch

Monarch
The space at the corner of 6th and Mission has been a lot of things in the last ten years, but we dare say that 2-year-old Monarch has been killing it in a way that none of those other concepts came close to doing. The upstairs bar and lounge are cool and the drinks are decent enough, but the key is the basement dancefloor with its insanely good Void Acoustics sound system and underground vibe. It's everything that an urban club should be, and so long as the crowd isn't too bridge-and-tunnelly or douchey, it's one of the best places to dance in the city.
101 Sixth Street (at Mission)

Mighty (photo: fred zilla)

Mighty
A popular, albeit hidden, nightclub under the freeway where SOMA, the Mission and Potrero Hill meet. Plenty of House music nights as well as noted Burning Man DJs spin here.
119 Utah (at 15th Street)

Q Bar
The tourists and tacky gays can have Badlands and its newer sister across the street, Toad Hall, but we'll take Q Bar when it comes to dancing in the Castro. Wednesdays has been for Booty Call for the last six years, hosted by Juanita More and Joshua J, but lately there have been some other cool things cropping up on the weekends too, like Homo Erectus on the first Saturday of every month, and the electro-themed Hard Fridays. Again, like Monarch, depending on the DJ and how the crowd shakes out, it's the one of the only spaces in the city that can feel like a crowded, sweaty night in a Manhattan club with music that's current without being too radio-friendly.
456 Castro (at 18th Street)

Public Works (photo: Julia D. / Yelp)

Public Works
When this place opened over two years ago, it was a breath of fresh air in bringing a warehouse-y, cool club vibe back to the S.F. scene after about a decade of club closings and failures. We dig the raw wood aesthetic around the bar, and the sound system, and for bigger events the upstairs offers two alternative hangouts to the main floor, including a cool and cozy dancefloor with its own bar at the front of the building. Also, there's ample outdoor space with no nearby neighbors to worry about if you need to hoot and holler while you smoke, and there's an art gallery space too.
161 Erie Street (at Mission)

Honorable mentions

Makeout Room

Roccapulco

1015

Cat Club

Jay Barmann, Andrew Dalton, Rose Garrett, and Brock Keeling all contributed to this report.

The team (wonderfully pictured here) behind last year's almost-purchase of the Eagle Tavern will instead open Audio Discotech later this month. The new digs, located at 316 11th Street (at Folsom), will compliment the neighborhood's nightlife strip that already features Beatbox and DNA Lounge. Described as a '70s Cadillac, expect gold and mirror accents, leather banquettes, wood floors with "splashes of cream, burgundy, and burnt orange."

Bringing dance back into the nightlife scene, the new space will also feature a prominent DJ booth in front of an eight-foot infinity mirror as well as a a sunken, spring-loaded dance floor in the center of the room, 3D projection, and the industry’s first tufted wall imbedded with 1,000 LED lights.

DJ David Carvalho will christen the decks on the first night, August 16.

The new boîte de nuit will pair with Bergerac, the new restaurant/bar featuring chef Randy Lewis and bar dude Russell Davis, set to open in the same buidling later this year.

Bob Horowitz snapped this show of Luther at Dore Alley. Not content at sporting S&M masks on special occasion, this DC-based duo look like this whenever they perform. Delightful.

Peter Rauhofer, a name known to many who have attended big club parties, listened to a remix of a pop song, or gone to a gay circuit event in the last decade and a half, died today due to complications from brain cancer. He was 48.

His manager reported the news via Facebook, saying that his mother is transporting him back to Austria, where he was originally from, to be buried, but that "his heart will always be in New York City."

Rauhofer's manager only reported three weeks ago, on April 17, that Rauhofer had been diagnosed with brain cancer after being rushed to the hospital following a seizure.

As his manager writes, poignantly, today:

It makes me sad, not only that I have lost a friend, but that the world has lost an amazing talent and that future generations will never get to understand the magic that Peter created night after night all over the world. He is gone too soon but we will always have the vast body of music that Peter left for us. Through his music, Peter will live forever. The brightest stars always burn out too soon. Peter, you were loved and you will be terribly missed. Goodbye my friend. Please rest in peace knowing that you have brought so much joy to so many of us. I ask that his true fans keep his legacy alive by sharing his music with anyone who may not have had the opportunity to experience it for themselves.

Rauhofer owned Star 69 records, a tribal house label he founded in 1999, and he was a frequent Madonna collaborator. Until 2007, when the club closed, he was a resident DJ at Roxy in New York City, and made frequent appearances at clubs and events all over. He was also one of the early winners of the then new Grammy Award for remixing, in 2000, for his remix of Cher's "Believe," and you can find a bunch of his remixes currently floating around on Hype Machine.

Techno-disco-house DJs Honey Soundsystem, who host the popular Sunday night party at Holy Cow, are popping up tonight around the block at Beatbox (314 11th Street) with another local DJ collective, No Way Back. It should be a good dancey time for dance-music aficionados, and their friends.

For a preview, check out the Honeypotcast, or this track from No Way Back.

The fun starts at 10 p.m., and until 10:30 you can still purchase $10 tickets online. And this is assuming you aren't trying to go to the Hunky Jesus Contest, which will be happening across the street.

The lineup is as follows:

JASON KENDIG
CONOR
ROBOT HUSTLE
SOLAR
P-PLAY
JOSH CHEON