In the final days of summer, Flower Piano will fill the San Francisco Botanical Garden with music.
During the annual event’s 11th anniversary this September 10th through 20th, 12 pianos will be spread out across the plant collections spanning the garden’s 55 acres. Each will host a wide range of scheduled professional and community partner performances, along with time for open play, when anyone is invited to sit down at the keys.
“Flower Piano is a gift to all of us. There is no other event quite like it,” says Dean Mermell, who co-founded the event with Mauro ffortissimo.
(Courtesy of Flower Piano)
The two launched Sunset Piano in 2013, when ffortissimo covertly rolled an old grand piano onto the bluffs over Half Moon Bay, attracting thousands before the county ordered the piano removed. Since then, Sunset Piano has expanded this impromptu musical and social experiment, temporarily placing pianos in a wide variety of unexpected natural and urban settings around the Bay Area every year, from the top of Montara Mountain to Market Street.
But Flower Piano, a collaboration with San Francisco Botanical Garden, is Sunset Piano’s largest and most ambitious undertaking. “Where else can you see virtuoso-level performances in a mind-blowing natural setting, surrounded on all sides by an adoring public just a few feet away?” continues Mermell. “Everyday superstars show up all the time, people who have never even performed in front of a live audience, and they are absolutely amazing musicians. All this makes Flower Piano possibly the world’s only interactive music festival.”
This year, the Botanical Garden’s Celebration Garden will be transformed into the upgraded musical landscape: Zoox Lounge at Flower Piano. Tickets—which start at $40 and include both single-day and all-access, three-day weekend passes—provide priority entry to the festival, special performances from local headliners, access to premium bars, food from local makers, lounge seating, dedicated restrooms, and the flexibility to relax and enjoy all areas of the festival at will.
(Courtesy of Flower Piano)
The full Flower Piano program features more than 100 performances, including solos, duos, and ensembles. Familiar favorites such as Sarah Cahill, Serene, Allison Lovejoy, Sixth Station Trio, and Latin Grammy nominee Ramiro Boero in a special program with the Awesome Orchestra will be joined by several new artists and special performances.
In the Lounge, performers will include Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers, Diana Gameros and Friends, Liz Kennedy, Sumi Lee Tango Quartet, and more. It will also host the opening night event on Thursday, September 10th, featuring La Gente SF, and bring the festival to a close on Sunday, September 20th, with the Kev Choice Chamber Ensemble.
Other events in 2026 will include the third annual Flower Piano Fashion Show, which invites visitors to strut the catwalk in their best Flower Piano-themed outfit on Saturday, September 19th, from 2pm to 4pm. There will also be an assortment of family programming, such as a Family Dance-Along with the San Francisco Ballet School; the interactive fairytale opera Enchanted Melodies from the San Francisco Opera; a whimsical puppet show from Rabbit Hole Theater; a garden treasure hunt; and more, thanks to generous support from the Sue Ann & Bob Schiff Children's Fund.
(Courtesy of Flower Piano)
"The most memorable experiences in our parks are the ones that surprise us, bring us together, and leave us seeing a familiar place in a new way,” says San Francisco Recreation and Park Department general manager, Sarah Madland. “That's exactly what Flower Piano has done for more than a decade, delighting hundreds of thousands of visitors and showcasing Golden Gate Park as one of the world's great public spaces."
General admission to Flower Piano is free for all Gardens of Golden Gate Park Members, San Francisco residents, veterans regardless of residency, and families receiving SNAP or CalFresh benefits via the Museums For All program. General admission for anyone not included in those categories is $18 for adults, $7 for seniors and youth ages 12-17, $3 for kids ages 5-11, and $37 for families.
// ‘Flower Piano’ takes place Thursday, September 10th through Sunday, September 20th; San Francisco Botanical Garden, 1199 9th Ave. (Golden Gate Park), get schedules, details, and pricing info at gggp.org/flowerpiano
