Market Street Arts and The Living Earth Show Partner To Transform Vacant Bar Into Experimental Music Hub

Market Street Arts and The Living Earth Show have announced an innovative partnership that will turn a vacant bar into an experimental music hub.

The 2024-25 series, Roar Shack Live!, will breathe new life into 34-7th Street, the former home of renowned cocktail lounge Mr. Smith's, turning it into a dynamic venue for experimental chamber music and multidisciplinary performances.

Through the partnership, The Living Earth Show will present ten site-specific, immersive productions showcasing San Francisco's role as a center for cultural innovation. The series debuts on Friday, September 20, 2024, with Music For Hard Times, an ambient masterpiece and audiovisual love letter to San Francisco created by The Living Earth Show, composer Danny Clay, and visual artist Jon Fischer. To create accessible creative hubs in Mid-Market, all performances will be pay-what-you-can, ranging from $1–$100. Tickets are available now at thelivingearthshow.com/roarshacklive.

"This partnership exemplifies our vision for Mid-Market as a world-class arts and entertainment district in the heart of San Francisco," said Steve Gibson, Executive Director of Mid Market Foundation. "By transforming vacant spaces into dynamic cultural hubs, we're fostering an ecosystem that attracts visitors and bolsters local businesses. Our collaboration with The Living Earth Show, alongside other recent partnerships, strengthens the creative network in the area. The Busk it! and Make it! programs enliven the streets, weaving these diverse hubs together. These initiatives collectively reimagine Mid-Market as an innovative, creative destination that showcases San Francisco's pioneering spirit."

"Roar Shack Live! isn't just a performance series—it's a creative laboratory in the heart of Mid-Market,” said Andy Meyerson, co-founder and Artistic Director of The Living Earth Show. “We're harnessing the district's raw energy to craft boundary-pushing, multisensory experiences that could only emerge from San Francisco. Our aim is to show that San Francisco is a place where culture is created, not just consumed.”

"As an organization based in San Francisco—since we met as San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) graduate students—presenting these performances on Market Street allows us to bring the work that we tour around the world to audiences here at home. This location inspires us to push artistic boundaries while keeping our work accessible through our pay-what-you-can model,” adds Travis Andrews, co-founder and executive director of The Living Earth Show. “By refining our productions here before touring them globally, we're helping to transform Mid Market into an incubator for world-class art. It's about creating a ripple effect—from this historic thoroughfare to stages across the globe."

Music for Hard Times connects virtuosic classical instrumental practice to what it means to be a human being, crafting an enveloping coziness that draws the listener inwards. The piece allows anyone to experience the uncomplicated pleasure of making and listening to beautiful sounds. This act, the artists postulate, is both a practice and a resource to support and uplift the higher order needs for healing, solace, peace, comfort, and space.

“I am thrilled to have found the Living Earth Show crew and so excited to have life on the ground floor of our building,” said Max Young. “I believe it is a direct result of San Francisco finally realizing that providing basic safety and cleanliness will allow small business, and mid and big business, to grow. The work done by the Mid Market Foundation through their safety program and their arts advocacy is truly making an impact in a neighborhood that is the heartbeat of San Francisco.”

Young adds, “The Mid Market neighborhood is the intersection of so many parts of SF. It houses the most diverse group of neighbors I have ever experienced in the city, and it has more buildings and seats for arts and entertainment than any other neighborhood in SF, all intermixed with housing and offices for thousands of people. I loved running my business in the area and loved being a part of the first revival of Mid-Market from 2000 - 2015, and I am excited to see the next group of entrepreneurs bring their energy and passion to the Mid-Market area.”

The 2024-25 season will feature collaborations with acclaimed artists such as Samuel Carl Adams, Mark Applebaum, Sarah Hennies, M. Lamar, Honey Mahogany, Terry Riley, and Zachary James Watkins. 

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