Lesher Center for the Arts
Home Lesher Arts MenuSFJAZZ Presents @ The Lesher Center
SFJAZZ is excited to partner with Diablo Regional Arts Association and Lesher Center Presents on another season of concert events in Contra Costa County. Curated by SFJAZZ, this thrilling series returns for a second year in residence at Walnut Creek’s Lesher Center for the Arts during the 2026-27 Season.
We’re going BIG for our second season with eight extraordinary concerts that feature a broad spectrum of internationally acclaimed jazz artists! Take advantage of this early offer to purchase the best seats at the best prices:
Order our complete, 8-show package and save up to $156 per person!
Order our 5-show sampler package and save up to $72 per person!
Explore the artists that make our 2026-27 SFJAZZ Presents @ The Lesher Center season and order today!*
BUY AN 8-SHOW FULL SERIES PACKAGE
BUY A 5-SHOW SAMPLER PACKAGE
* When purchasing your package, you will be prompted to select seats for both the Hofmann Theater and the Lesher Theater. Four shows in the series take place in the 785-seat Hofmann Theater (Payton, SFJAZZ Collective, Trio Da Paz, and The Hot Sardines) and four shows take place in the 297-seat Margaret Lesher Theater (Parlato, Rose, Mayo, and The Fred Hersch Trio).
Single tickets for SFJAZZ Presents @ the Lesher Center are now on sale! Visit individual event pages to book your seats.
Learn More!
Sign up for our Lesher Center eNews to receive notices on upcoming events, special offers and more!
The Hot Sardines
SFJAZZ Presents @ The Lesher Center presented by Lesher Center and Diablo Regional Arts Association
- Date: 04/10/2027 7:30 PM
- Location: Lesher Center for the Arts
1601 Civic Drive
Walnut Creek, California 94596 - Introduction: Playing their own brand of reinvigorated classic jazz that is “simply phenomenal” (The Times, London)
BUY AN 8-SHOW FULL SERIES PACKAGE
SFJAZZ is excited to partner with Diablo Regional Arts Association and the Lesher Center Presents Headliners series on another season of concert events in Contra Costa County. Curated by SFJAZZ, this thrilling line-up of internationally recognized jazz artists returns for a second year in residence at Walnut Creek’s Lesher Center for the Arts during the 2026-27 Season.
THE HOT SARDINES
April 10, 2027, 7:30pm
Hofmann Theater
ABOUT THE HOT SARDINES
Emerging a decade ago from the underground parties of Brooklyn to touring worldwide and recording a string of albums that’s racked up more than 60 million streams, the Hot Sardines’ own “potent and assured” (The New York Times), “simply phenomenal” (The Times, London) brand of reinvigorated classic jazz landed them at the center of a whirlwind.
In 2024, cofounders Elizabeth Bougerol (vocals) and Evan Palazzo (piano) debuted the Sardines' new project at Carnegie Hall, selling out within hours. Banned Jazz is a celebration of joy as an act of resistance and the unifying power of music, recounting how political forces in the U.S. and Europe tried (and failed) to suppress the music of Louis Armstrong, Josephine Baker, Benny Goodman and more, with its messages of cultural, racial, and sexual freedom. Frontwoman and powerhouse storyteller Bougerol weaves vivid historical vignettes — of dancehall raids, black-market recordings, and Nazi-era laws that made playing (or even hearing) jazz a punishable offense — into an electrifying live-music experience. Her rallying cry “These are times that need live music” has never felt truer.