Stanford Live Announces the 2025 Summer@Live Concert Series at Frost Amphitheater
The Summer@Live Concert series will return to Frost Amphitheater this July. Formerly known as the Stanford Live Arts Festival, the annual concert series highlights the Bay Area’s vibrant mix of cultures, showcases a wide-range of musical styles, and is designed for audiences of all ages. This year’s Summer@Live welcomes TAMASHA: An Extravaganza of Desi Fusion featuring Bollywood star Raja Kumari on July 12, and the return of audience favorites—the San Francisco Symphony on July 10 and 17 and the IMUA Hawaii Festival with Jake Shimabukuro, on July 19, back after its first edition at Frost in 2023.
"Summer time at Stanford Live is a time of celebration. Our annual series in July invites the communities of the Bay Area to share in the transformative power of music and art. It is a time to come together—to connect with one another and share moments together on the grounds of Frost Amphitheater on the University’s campus. This year, we celebrate the vibrant diasporic cultures of India and Hawaii while welcoming back the San Francisco Symphony, a true cultural treasure of the Bay Area. It is a time to meet, play, and bring together voices from all corners of the world."
The San Francisco Symphony returns for its sixth year at Frost with two distinct programs. On July 10, conductor Stephanie Childress and violinist Blake Pouliot will present Tchaikovsky Spectacular featuring selections from Sleeping Beauty, the Romeo and Juliet Fantasy-Overture, his violin concerto, and the iconic 1812 Overture. The Symphony returns July 17 with The Movie Music of Hans Zimmer, conducted by Sarah Hicks, highlighting scores from films including The Lion King, Interstellar, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Dune. The San Francisco Symphony performances are generously supported by Sakurako & William Fisher.
On Saturday, July 12, TAMASHA: An Extravaganza of Desi Fusion is an evening-long program that highlights both emerging and established voices from South Asia. Event headliner will be Bollywood star Raja Kumari, the Grammy-nominated artist, rapper, and songwriter celebrated for blending Indian classical music with hip-hop, R&B, and electronic influences. A pioneer of global fusion music, she has collaborated with artists like Iggy Azalea, Sidhu Moosewala, Divine, and John Legend. The evening begins at 5 PM with a DJ set by Vani, followed by a dance party with the Bay Area’s Duniya Dance & Drum Company, a drag performance from The Masala Mahal featuring Bindi Masala, Chai Auntea, and Shaidy Bee, and will be MC’d by comedian and musician Abby Govindan.
TAMASHA is guest curated by Karishma Bhagani, one of Stanford Live’s 2024–25 season Curatorial Fellows and PhD Candidate in Theater and Performance Studies at Stanford University.
“Tamasha means a grand show, spectacle or celebration in Hindi. This word traveled across the Kala Paani (Indian Ocean) and was adopted by the Swahili coast to mean festival. Similar to the migration and adoption of phrases across different languages and cultures, this year’s festival foregrounds comedians, musicians, singers and dancers whose practices are deeply rooted within Indian traditions and have evolved to incorporate practices from Black performance traditions. Some of these include fusing Indian musical and dance practices with rap, hip hop, voguing, and African rhythms and dance.”
Closing the series on July 19, the IMUA Hawaii Festival: Jake Shimabukuro & Friends will present Island sounds from artists moving Hawaiian music forward all in different ways. In the native Hawaiian culture, “Imua” means to move forward or towards a goal. The IMUA Hawai'i Festival will present the legendary ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro, the “Queen of Hawaiian Soul” Paula Fuga, and special guests Seven Suns.
VIP offerings this year include private entrance access, elevated food and beverage options with table service, and flexible seating arrangements that allow patrons to purchase any number of seats at VIP tables.
Tickets go on sale to the public April 18 at 10 AM, with a members-only presale running April 14–17. Pricing ranges from $35–$50 for lawn seating to $135–$150 for VIP experiences. Tickets will be available online, by phone, or at the Stanford Live Ticket Office.
About Stanford Live
Stanford Live presents a wide range of the finest performances from around the world, fostering a vibrant learning community and providing distinctive experiences through the performing arts. With its home at Bing Concert Hall and Frost Amphitheater, Stanford Live draws on the breadth and depth of Stanford University to connect performance to the significant issues, ideas, and discoveries of our time. Stanford Live includes a wealth of collaborators and partners, including Stanford academic departments and individual faculty members, Stanford students, off-campus arts institutions, and community organizations. Crucially, Stanford Live supports the university’s focus on placing the arts at the heart of a Stanford education.