People in Plazas puts 130-plus free noon concerts in Financial District plazas from July through September. The July tango set is gone, but the circuit runs to the 29th — here's the schedule and where to sit.

If you were eyeing Sumi Lee's tango set at 101 California last week, you missed it — that one was Tuesday, July 28. Don't sweat it. It was a single stop on People in Plazas, the free summer music festival that drops more than 130 concerts into Financial District plazas from July through September, noon to 1 p.m., and it runs all the way to Sept. 29.

Here's the shape of it: local professional musicians play hour-long lunchtime sets in about 15 outdoor spaces on or near Market Street, from the Embarcadero to Fourth Street. No ticket, no cover — you walk up. The regular stages are 101 California, 555 California, 425 Market, 333 Market, 303 2nd Street, and Rincon Center, and the genres swing hard from set to set: Cuban, trad jazz, swing, R&B, Filipina folk, Bollywood blues.

The upcoming ones worth planning a lunch around:

  • Tue, Aug 4 — The Sampaguitas (Filipina folk), 101 California; Aleta Simone (Americana), 303 2nd Street
  • Wed, Aug 5 — Aki Kumar (Bollywood blues), 425 Market; Sandor e Su Mechanica (Cuban), 555 California
  • Tue, Aug 11 — Gaucho, 101 California
  • Thu, Aug 20 — Orquesta Típica Tarareando (tango and beyond), 333 Market; Twango (French jazz), Rincon Center

The insider read: 101 California is the pick if you actually want to sit down. Its plaza has real concrete benches and planters, so you're not eating a burrito standing on a corner. The wild card is Rincon Center — those sets play in the landmark atrium with the rain-column fountain, which makes it the move on a too-hot or too-windy day when the open plazas empty out.

Getting there is easy: Embarcadero BART/Muni drops you a couple of blocks from 101 California and Rincon Center; Montgomery is your stop for the Market Street and 555 California shows. Nothing's sold on site, so bring lunch or grab something from the FiDi cart-and-cafe glut on the way.

If you've only got the hour: take the noon slot at 101 California, claim a bench by 11:50, eat while you listen, and you're back at your desk by 1:05. The whole point of this festival is that it costs you nothing but the walk.