The Living Earth Show 2025–2026 ROAR SHACK LIVE! Season Announced
Experimental music, drag, dance, and storytelling return to Mid-Market with a two-year lease extension through 2027
By: A.A. Cristi Sep. 24, 2025
The Living Earth Show has announced the 2025–26 season of Roar Shack Live!, a yearlong series of multidisciplinary performances that transforms a once-vacant bar at 34 7th Street into a hub for experimental music, drag, dance, and storytelling.
Following a sold-out inaugural season that welcomed more than 1,000 visitors, Roar Shack Live! has secured a lease extension through 2027 in partnership with Market Street Arts, continuing its role as one of the initiative’s flagship Creative Hubs.
The season opens on Thursday, September 25, with Honey Mahogany Presents: Black Thursday, a program celebrating Black queer artistry. October 29–30 features Koollook, led by choreographer Babatunji, followed on November 3 by Smells Like Queen Spirit: An Evening of Gay Grunge, created by Peaches Christ and Edwin Outwater. Composer Mark Applebaum leads the experimental band Bucket List in performances on December 19–20.
The new year includes another Black Thursday in January (date TBA) and a major expansion into the PIVOT Festival at Herbst Theatre, presented by San Francisco Performances January 30–February 1, 2026. There, audiences will encounter Legacies, a new song cycle written for The Living Earth Show by the Sleeping Giant Composers Collective (Timo Andres, Christopher Cerrone, Jacob Cooper, Ted Hearne, Robert Honstein, and Andrew Norman). The PIVOT lineup will also highlight Roar Shack-incubated works including Trust Me (with Lynnee Breedlove), Koollooꓘ (with Babatunji), and Bucket List (with Applebaum). A duo recital, Parallel Play, featuring percussionist Andy Meyerson and San Francisco Ballet soloist Myles Thatcher, will also appear in the program.
Back at Roar Shack in February, Juba Kalamka curates Sex Workers’ Art Show (date TBA). Spring 2026 will showcase Sahba Aminikia’s Shahnameh (Book of Kings) in March, Danny Clay’s Possible Paths to Play On in April, and a new project from PeachOut Productions in May.
With pay-what-you-can ticketing ($1–$100), the season emphasizes accessibility and collaboration. Performances feature Bay Area artists including Honey Mahogany, Peaches Christ, Babatunji, Mark Applebaum, Lynnee Breedlove, Sahba Aminikia, and Danny Clay, and spotlight queer and trans cultural leaders. Together with partners San Francisco Performances and Market Street Arts, Roar Shack Live! continues to link Mid-Market’s experimental scene to San Francisco’s wider cultural landscape.
San Francisco / Bay Area Awards - Live Stats
Best Musical - Top 3
1.
URINETOWN (Ghostlight Theatre Ensemble)
16.8% of votes
2.
THE DAY THE SKY TURNED ORANGE (San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Company / Z Space)
9% of votes
3.
SWEENEY TODD (Cabrillo Stage)
8.7% of votes
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