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.
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.