Poppy in San Francisco

About Poppy

Poppy started as a YouTube oddity in 2014, posting weird thirty-second clips that somehow felt creepy and hypnotic. Her early music mixed bubblegum pop with unsettling production and imagery that made people uncomfortable on purpose. She's collaborated with producers like Grimes and Morgan Simpson, shifting between glossy pop-punk on records like Flux and heavier, more experimental sounds on Desire: I Want to Turn Into You. Her thing is refusing to stay in one lane. One moment she's doing infectious pop hooks, the next she's in a rabbit hole of industrial noise and conceptual weirdness. Live, she commands a room with an almost cult-like intensity, and her fanbase treats her output like a puzzle to decode. She's essentially proof that you don't need a clear genre to build something genuinely weird and genuinely hers.

Poppy's shows are tight and deliberately eerie. She moves with mechanical precision, the crowd hangs on every moment, and there's an unsettling focus to the whole thing that makes it feel less like entertainment and more like witnessing something you shouldn't.

Known for Lowlife, Scary Mask, Lil Hellraiser, Bloodmoney, Choke

Poppy + San Francisco

Poppy rolled through The Independent in September 2025 with the kind of set that reminded you why she's managed to stay genuinely weird in pop music. The San Francisco crowd got eight songs that ranged from the sleek, synth-driven "Same Old Tricks" through "The Take Over" and "Hands Up"—tracks that showcase her ability to switch between industrial-pop sharpness and something closer to hyperpop chaos. "Sex and Candy" landed somewhere unexpected in the middle of it all, while deeper cuts like "Living In a Daydream" and "I Feel a Way About You" gave the night texture. It's the kind of show that feels like Poppy testing the temperature of each room, refusing to play it safe.

Poppy in San Francisco News

• Poppy at the Fillmore SF: Controlled Chaos to Launch 2025 Tour Rock Cellar Magazine · Mar 14, 2025
• Review: Poppy's Tour Kickoff in SF Was Beautiful Chaos KQED · Mar 12, 2025
• REVIEW: Poppy reigns as scream queen at Fillmore tour opener RIFF Magazine · Mar 12, 2025
• Poppy Reveals Opening Acts for Her Upcoming Tour, Covers Sabrina Carpenter’s “Taste” MetalSucks · Feb 7, 2025
• POPPY announces 'They're All Around Us' North American headline tour Revolver Magazine · Nov 19, 2024

Live Music in San Francisco

San Francisco's experimental pop and alternative electronic scene has always had room for artists who don't fit neatly into lanes. The city's history with industrial pop, art-pop, and left-field electronic music creates an audience that respects weirdness and technical precision in equal measure. Poppy's particular brand of genre-hopping—moving between hyperpop, industrial, and synth-pop textures—lands differently here than in markets that prefer their pop more straightforward. The Independent itself represents that sweet spot where ambitious touring acts can build real connection with a crowd that actually listens.

San Francisco road trip to see Poppy?

Stay in Hayes Valley or the Mission—both neighborhoods have the kind of restaurants and bars that make a weekend feel deliberate rather than touristy. Head to State Bird Provisions for dinner if you can get in; it's precise and inventive without being pretentious. Spend a day in Muir Woods or hiking around Twin Peaks for actual views of the city. The de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park is worth a couple hours if the weather holds. Hit up a coffee place on Valencia Street in the Mission just to sit and watch the neighborhood move around you.