Five Bay Area Artists Not to Miss at Noise Pop 2026

This week, for the 33rd year in a row, Noise Pop will fill the Bay Area’s clubs, art spaces, concert halls and dive bars with live music, bringing together top-tier local artists with cult-favorite touring acts. The homegrown festival runs Feb. 19–March 1, and features over 150 bands at 20 different venues, with Tortoise, Stephen Malkmus, Wisp and Cupcakke at the top of the lineup.

Unlike weekend-long fests with hefty ticket prices, Noise Pop is what you make it. Fans can purchase affordable individual tickets to one-off shows, or choose to go all in with badges that allow access to multiple concerts throughout each night.

The festival’s producers also work with the city to put on San Francisco Music Week, running Feb. 23–March 1. It overlaps with Noise Pop and features concerts as well as an industry summit, talks and workshops.

During a year when San Francisco is losing two beloved independent venues — the Bottom of the Hill and Thee Parkside — it’s as important as ever to plug in and support your local scene. Below you’ll find five Bay Area acts not to miss at the festival.

Giraffage

Feb. 21, 9:30 p.m.
Public Works, San Francisco

Giraffage emerged a decade ago with head-in-the-cloud beats evoking a hazy daydream. His most recent music (especially in his duo with Ryan Hemsworth, Bodysync) is much less cerebral. The San Jose-born electronic musician goes in on feel-good, four-on-the-floor beats that vibrate with the adrenaline-fueled energy of a ’90s jock jam. Stretching and hydrating is a must before Giraffage’s sweat-inducing set at Public Works during Noise Pop’s first weekend.

Lyrics Born

Feb. 27, 8 p.m.
Gray Area, San Francisco

Over his 30-plus-year career, Lyrics Born has cemented himself as a laid-back wordsmith whose songs are as likely to get the dance floor moving as they are to hit listeners in the heart with pieces of life wisdom. His solo debut Later That Day made Rolling Stone’s list of the 200 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time; he’s put out no shortage of funk-drenched bangers since, most recently his 2024 album Goodbye, Sticky Rice.

clipping.

Feb. 27, 7 p.m.
UC Theatre, Berkeley

Before he starred in Hamilton and Blindspotting, Daveed Diggs came up in clipping., a hip-hop trio that pairs his tongue-twisting lyricism with jagged, experimental production by William Hutson and Jonathan Snipes. clipping.’s 2025 album Dead Channel Sky pulses with the intensity of a warehouse rave, with industrial beats that match Diggs’ careening verses. This is an album for letting go, moving your body and, who knows, maybe even hopping into the mosh pit.

Jay Som

Feb. 28, 6:30 p.m.
Gray Area, San Francisco

Jay Som began writing songs in her suburban East Bay bedroom, and her take on indie rock — punchy yet heartrending, catchy yet off-kilter enough to make you pause and ponder — has since caught the ear of big names like Paramore’s Hayley Williams, who features on Jay Som’s 2025 album Belong. It’s Jay Som’s first release in six years, and Noise Pop will mark a welcome return to her hometown stage.

Hugo De La Lune

Feb. 28, 7 and 8:30 p.m.
SFJAZZ, San Francisco

Hugo De La Lune calls themself African Dracula, and indeed, it’s not hard to imagine their haunting, sultry vocals echoing from a dark piano bar in Interview with a Vampire. The emerging singer-songwriter has an arresting vocal range befitting of their high-drama storytelling, which is bound to captivate listeners during their two back-to-back shows at SFJAZZ.