The 2026 Fillmore Jazz Festival schedule is now live — Kim Nalley closes Saturday, Lavay Smith closes Sunday, and Roger Glenn's Latin Jazz Ensemble is on the Sutter Stage. Free, July 4–5, 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Fillmore Street.

The schedule for San Francisco's free Fillmore Jazz Festival is live at fillmorejazzfest.com, and both weekend closers are worth building a day around.

The festival runs Saturday and Sunday, July 4–5, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., across 12 blocks of Fillmore Street from Jackson to Eddy — free admission, no ticket, no RSVP. Five venues in play: three outdoor stages (California, Sutter, Eddy) and two indoor venues at Calvary Presbyterian Church and Jones Memorial UMC.

Saturday: Kim Nalley closes the California Stage from 4:30 to 6 p.m. — she's one of the Bay Area's strongest jazz vocalists and reliably draws a crowd. Before that, Roger Glenn's Latin Jazz Ensemble takes the Sutter Stage from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Glenn is a Fillmore fixture; the vibraphonist has been a recurring draw at this festival for years. Indoors, the Curtis Family C-Notes play Jones Memorial from 3 to 4:30 p.m. — quieter, cooler, and worth ducking into.

Sunday: Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers close the California Stage from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Smith has been one of SF's definitive swing vocalists since the '90s. If she's on the schedule, she's the reason to stay until closing.

Food on the street includes Minnie Bell's Soul Movement (which also anchors a festival bar), Bao Bao Express, and The Creamy Goat, among 200-plus vendor and artisan booths. Sheba Piano Lounge holds down a bar at Post and Sutter.

One piece of context: this festival nearly didn't happen in 2025 — organizers announced cancellation over financial trouble before a last-minute anonymous donor came through. The future isn't guaranteed. If you've been meaning to go and keep putting it off, this is the year to actually go.

The move: California Stage fills up by 4:15 p.m. on both days. Get ahead of the crowd by starting at the 4 p.m. Sutter Stage set, then walking south to California by 4:20.