The Tenderloin Museum presents 10-piece reggae band ELeNA in concert at Dodge Alley as part of its Sounds of the Tenderloin live music series and in collaboration with the Tenderloin Community Benefit District.
Thursday October 27, 2022
Performance 6-7pm; Block Party from 5-8pm
Dodge Place, San Francisco, CA 94102
Free! Outdoors!
ELeNA is the musical project of David Saenz, a familiar face in the Tenderloin because of his many years producing and engineering records at the historic Hyde Street Studios. ELeNA’s sound is rooted in reggae music, but this high-energy 10-piece outfit traverses ska, cumbia, latin jazz and hip hop with a punk rock edge. Lyrically, the band discusses the worlds’ social political and ecological problems, interpersonal relationships issues, and love.
Born in Los Angeles to Ecuadorian parents, Saenz moved to Ecuador at a young age and developed his interest in music via the Ecuadorian skate & punk rock scene. That scene and its punk ethos made an impression on Saenz, and when he moved to San Francisco at the age of 18, he led a punk rock band called the Alcoholics until 2014, and then later a ska/punk band called Sick Pigeon. Concurrently, Saenz was honing his skills as a sound engineer and producer, and his talents landed him an opportunity to work at the legendary Hyde Street Studios in the Tenderloin. He started ELeNA in January of 2020, and this new project features many of the regular studio musicians with whom Saenz has collaborated at Hyde Street, including GRAMMY award winning drummer Thomas Pridgen.
This performance is one of several Thursday night activations organized by the TLCBD to transform Dodge Place, a neglected alleyway in the Tenderloin, into a healthy and aesthetically positive community experience for nearby families and seniors. These Thursday happenings are pilot activities for more permanent community-led physical improvements including a living green wall, planter boxes, murals, and colorful design and lighting elements. The October 27th block party sports a “Carnival Night” theme, so in addition to live music, TLCBD will be hosting a variety of activities and games such as bingo, a ping-pong tournament, air hockey, skeeball, ring toss, basketball, & arcade games. Join us and the residents of Dodge Place to reclaim this alleyway for the community, socialize with friends & neighbors, and rock with the big band champion sound of ELeNA!
All are welcome at Dodge Place on Thursday, October 27th from 5-8pm, with the musical performance from 6-7pm. Free to attend; food & drink by Shovels Bar & Grille available for purchase.
Tenderloin Museum’s Sounds of the Tenderloin series animates the neighborhood’s undersung cultural history through live performances that explore, deepen, and complicate participants’ understanding of Tenderloin history while supporting local working musicians and creating accessible cultural activities for the neighborhood residents. Support for this event and TLM’s Sounds of the Tenderloin live music series generously provided by Hardly Strictly Bluegrass.