Thousands pack San Francisco streets for Fillmore Jazz Festival despite its uncertain future
By John Ramos
July 5, 2025 / 7:13 PM PDT / CBS Sacramento
Tens of thousands of people jammed into 12 blocks of San Francisco on Saturday for the weekend-long Fillmore Jazz Festival.
But it almost didn’t happen this year. In April, organizers announced that the event would be canceled for financial reasons, only to be saved by an unnamed donor. But the future of the event may still be in doubt, and the biggest obstacle could be the city itself.
From the smooth sounds of Brazilian jazz to the joyful gospel music of Glide Memorial Church, the Fillmore Jazz Festival opened its two-day run, honoring styles of music that once earned the neighborhood the nickname “The Harlem of San Francisco.”
“You see it. It’s a great event,” said Shadow Hammond, a hat vendor whose father worked as a jazz saxophonist. “And it’s a nice area. The Fillmore District’s really famous. It’s been around for a while.”
And it was happening at a time when things can be pretty quiet in the city.
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“A weekend that’s normally dormant, July 4th, that tends to…all the San Franciscans leave,” said Timothy Omi, president of the Fillmore Merchant Association. “And we’re going to have 30,000 people coming up and down the corridor on two days, 30,000 each day.”
