Emily Zisman

Saturday October 17th, we will host the final driveway concert of 2026 in front of my wee red door in the Oakland hills.

I’m stoked to welcome Aireene Espiritu to share her songs and stories with the neighborhood. Aireene plays a mix of stompin’, swayin’, timeless and soulful Americana reminiscent of front porch storytelling, of ghosts and the living, times of laughter and tears. Aireene performs solo and with her band Aireene & The Itch. She is also part of Filipina-American folk trio, The Sampaguitas, and creator, producer of A Color-Coded Symphony Project whose aim is to nurture intercultural openness and explore how we are connected to the rest of the world.

““A rare breed of artist, soul singer, folk troubadour, a skiffle tear-stained street singer with a heart as big as the history of the music that drives her…a storyteller without borders or cultural limitations.” – No Depression” 

We will open the gates at 6616 Mokelumne Ave. for camping chairs around 6pm. Find a cozy spot and bring something to drink and/or throw on the grill. I’ll warm us all up with a few songs at about 7pm and then Aireene will gather us together from 8pm-9pm to share her beautiful work with us.

Save the date! See you at the house!

I’m excited to join Amber Lee Baker as an official collaborator for the 2026 Cotati Accordion Festival this year!

We will be sharing the weekend with the best of the best Accordion afficionados including our friends Junk Parlor!

If you’ve yet to make plans or are just plain curious grab your tickets and spend the day with us!

Tickets Here!

Sunday, July 12th I spend an hour singing to the folks in the park at the Whale’s Tail in Golden Gate Park in partnership with Illuminate Live!

Music starts at 12pm with Tim and goes all the way to 5pm with me starting at 4pm. Come stake out a spot on the grass and hang for the day!

14th Ave EAST Meadow On JFK Promenade. West of the Rose Garden in GG Park.

See you on the lawn!

Two of the Bay Area’s most honest songwriters. One very special room.

Join us for a rare house concert in a converted grocery store in Berkeley. High ceilings, good acoustics, and the kind of space that makes music feel like it was meant just for you.

I’m so very excited to join my friend Briget Boyle for an afternoon of storytelling and original music.

With gritty, vulnerable lyrics, powerhouse vocals, and her vintage Gibson J45 ringing like a truth-telling bell, Briget Boyle brings the raw edge of ’90s rock into deeply human territory. Her songs confront grief, love, identity, and chaos with unflinching honesty. “These are great songs.” — No Depression

This is the kind of night that reminds you why live music matters. Limited seats. Bring something to drink and someone you love.

$20 suggested donation. No one turned away for lack of funds, and if you have a little extra to give, you are welcome to do so!

More information HERE! See you THERE!

<3 EmZis

This week I’m joined by Alie Halla. If you frequent many a Bay Area farmer’s markets, you may have heard her voice wafting over the shuffling of feet and murmerings about the local fare.

Come and take a deeper dive into her stories and songs! She’s a sophisticated songwriter who makes fastidious use of the spectrum to express the human condition.

The music starts at 7pm and we trade songs and stories until 10pm.

See you at Blush!

This is an exciting lineup and a great cause. I’ve been volunteering for the Alameda County Food Bank through various organizations for over a decade. Things are getting tough out there for a lot of people and the Food Banks are feeling it. Here is one way to provide support for families in need over the holidays. All you have to do is show up and enjoy some really finely crafted, well-honed, local music.

Doors at 7

$20-$2000 (and beyond) suggested donation

Bring something to drink if you like!

See you at the Monkey House!

<3

EmZis

Interview: Emily Zisman

So… “The original concept was to feature sidewalk street performers – hence the title of the series,” says Lee. “The early seasons presented dancers, fashion designers, cultural performers, independent filmmakers, magicians, other artistic and novelty acts, and rising musical talents.”

So you can likely see why I was so excited to have been interviewed at Sidewalks.tv….

Sidewalks is a regional show situated in the Bay Area, but it has a wide and colorful roster of local and global celebrities, giving this humble, local gem a broader experience. I am enamored that a show with such humble and varied artistic roots has continued its mission to capture the creative experiences of the artists we love.

I’m not usually supposed to say things like this but I’m a proud local bitch and these people have been extraordinarily sinficant contributors to my musical journey in the Bay Area so here it is: Cindy Rhodes and her husband Ray Alvarado have not only been my champions for many years, they have been the champions of so many musicians and artists in the Bay. Whether it’s behind the camera or up in your face asking you all the intimate questions about your life and career, they have been there every precarious and precocious step of the way. I love this team and these people. And I love the Bay Area arts and music scene. And this is a very proud moment for me. <3

Check out my conversation with Cindy Rhodes and check out Sidewalks.Tv for more interviews with artists from all corners of entertainment.

My friend Sara is having a birthday concert in her backyard (and YOU are invited)!

The deets:

Doors to the backyard will open at 5:00pm on Saturday, June 14, and the music will start at 6:00. There will be two one-hour sets with a 15-30 minute break in between. Feel free to bring any snacks/drinks to share (or just for you!). Tickets are sliding scale, $20-40 (or more, if you really like to support artists!) and there may be some available at the door, too. I’ll have some chairs and pillows set up, but feel free to bring anything else that will make you comfortable. Please be mindful and respectful of neighbors, and I can’t wait to have you join as we bring together sweet community with sweet music!

Here’s a little Maddy, if you’re not familiar (she’s amaaaaaazing): https://www.madelinetasquin.com/

Madeline Tasquin is an artist of the in-between — composing from the liminal space where grief meets beauty, where ancestral ache meets quantum physics, where the olive grove burns and the calendula blooms. Her new body of work lives in the superpositionality of it all — between the rational and the mysterious, the garden and the war zone, the hymn and the scream. Wordplay and raw testimony. Art-pop and folk. Poetry and fart jokes. A tapestry of harmonic entanglement stitched from complexity, tenderness, and the nerve to stay with what hurts.

“I am one little door in a great portal opening.”
— Superposition

GET TICKETS HERE: https://lu.ma/j54rqixg

YOU MAY NEED TO COPY AND PASTE THE LINK INTO A NEW WINDOW BECAUSE WORDPRESS IS BROKEN.

See you there!!

<3 EmZis

Joining some friends in the sun for some songs! Come on out to Golden Gate Park for some live music and stories.

I play from 4-5pm before I have to skedaddle off to Blush with the Americano Social Club.

Come for the music and stay for all of it! Pack a picnic and make your Hump Day special.

See you out there!

I’ll be joining a fabulous lineup of singers and musicians to showcase the songwriting legacy of Concord California.

Tickets can be purchased here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tunes-from-our-backyard-tickets-1125750452909?aff=ebdssbdestsearch

There’s some great stuff to dive into here and, being a Bay Area baby, I’m stoked to be a part of this local, lyrical elucidation.

Join us and the Concord Historical Society for an evening of locally inspired songs with local musicians.

DiD I MENTION, it’s LOCAL?!

see you there <3

EmZis