Thursday June 11, 2026 | 5-8pm
At Dodge Alley (Turk & Larkin St.)
Free to attend | No registration required
$15 vouchers for food/drink at nearby businesses first come first serve
Kick off summer in the Tenderloin with an evening of changui, the African-rooted party music from Cuba’s Oriente. The show features Latin-Grammy nominated vocalist Jose Andres “El Sinsonte,” master of the genre’s improvised décima form, performing with a local trio of Afro-Cuban and Latin jazz talent, Kai Lyons (tres, vocals), Einar Leliebre (percussion, vocals), and Ernesto Mazar (bass, vocals).
The Tenderloin Museum and TLCBD continue monthly “2nd Thursday at Dodge Alley” block parties featuring live music and presented as part of TLM’s ongoing “Sounds of the Tenderloin” program series. On June 11, TLM welcomes a master musician and special visitor from Cuba and some of the Bay’s most dedicated practitioners of Afro-Cuban music to share an evening of changüí, the folkloric Afro-Cuban party music from the country’s mountainous Eastern province. The lineup will feature:
Jose Andres aka “El Sinsonte” - lead vocals and auxiliary percussion - Jose Andres is the lead singer/songwriter of the Latin-Grammy nominated Changüí Guantanamo; and a living master of the 10-line Decima poetry.
Einar Leliebre - lead percussion and second voice - Einar Leliebre (“Tito”) is rated “First Level” (the highest level for musicians in Cuba) both as a percussionist and vocalist, and has toured the world in Afro-Cuban folkloric troupes. He recently accompanied Omar Sosa on the Bata Drums at SFJAZZ's Miner Auditorium with the Stanford Big Band.
Ernesto Mazar - baby bass and backup vocals - Ernesto Mazar toured the world with Charanga Habanera for a decade. He is the bassist in Omar Sosa’s Quarteto Americano. He was offered the prime spot as the steady bassist for Los Van Van, Cuba's most world-renowned band.
Kai Lyons - “tres” Cuban guitar and backup vocals - Born and raised in San Francisco (Excelsior District), Kai Lyons graduated from Ruth Asawa School of the Arts with the Excellence in Guitar award. He currently teaches at SFState, CSU East Bay, and the Berkeley Jazzschool. He has studied music in Cuba 16 times.
For years, Lyons has been an evangelist for changüí in the Bay Area; he regularly hosts sessions that share the history and legacy of this deeply-rooted and specific Afro-Cuban tradition as well as invite people to participate in the music and keep its spirit alive. Lyons says Changüí:
“(it) is a music born in Eastern Cuba from descendants of the Congo, as well as immigrants from Haiti. It is the product of a melting pot, a gumbo of distinct cultures (Indigenous, Spanish and, most importantly, African). It is music of the people, for the people. A music directly tied, even intertwined with the Black experience and immigrant voices. Having Afro-Cuban changüí music present in SF contributes to the legacy of a city with a strong record of diversity, arts and community.”
Our Tenderloin is the most vivid realization of “melting pot” as it applies to cities; changuí will be right at home in Dodge Alley! This June 11 “2nd Thursdays at Dodge Alley” is programmed in collaboration with the TLCBD & SF Office of Economic and Workforce Development. A limited number of vouchers for free food and drink at local businesses will be available!
Free, outdoor, music-centric happenings at a once notorious Tenderloin alley began in 2022 through a collaboration between TLM, the Tenderloin Community Benefit District, and longtime residents of the alley. These events were some of the first “Sounds of the Tenderloin” programs, a series of events “animating the TL’s under-sung cultural history through live music” that began with a grant from Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, continued with more support from the State of CA’s Museum Grant Program, and now exists as a monthly block party at Dodge Place. Since those initial shows, the alley has benefited from substantial community investment, including a Community Challenge Grant project that brought two stunning murals to the alley and an ongoing grant through the TLCBD to bring monthly music to the Alley along with free food/drink vouchers to spend at adjacent businesses. TLM is thrilled to return to programming Dodge Alley and to grow the vibrancy of this amazing community space and truly urban venue.