Rudy Colombini, the frontman for a Rolling Stones cover band, is neither humble nor demure about his labor of love: San Francisco’s Music City, a complex dedicated to musicians and musicianship, at every level. It might sound straight out of Nashville, but it’s right here in the city’s Lower Nob Hill neighborhood.
San Francisco, CA
Meet the Man Behind San Francisco’s Musical ‘Star Factory’
“This is the most important fucking artistic project in the United States,” Colombini told The Standard.
The three-floor facility—which opened 20 new rehearsal spaces Friday—provides future stars with everything from living space to rehearsal rooms, engaged audiences and an array of refreshments. In the venture’s fundraising materials, Colombini is just as grandiose, describing the complex as “Motown Records, CBGB, the Chelsea Hotel, Abbey Road Studios, the Berklee School of Music, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, all in one building in San Francisco.”
The expansion comes at a time when San Francisco scouts for an artistic renaissance, the smoke signals of which include vinyl store openings, new music venues, expanded art spaces and entire neighborhoods enlivened by the arts.
A consummate showman who has been playing live music in San Francisco for 51 years, Colombini is used to performing. His band, The Unauthorized Rolling Stones, once opened for Elton John, and Colombini played at the Mill Valley institution Sweetwater Music Hall years ago—and also had a sold-out show there last week.
“I’ve played in every major venue,” he said. “And every shithole.”
But this gig—the passion project of his life—is the vision for which he put everything on the line, financially backing the venture thanks to the money he made as a real estate developer.
“I was born to do this,” he said. “It started out as a philanthropic project. It ended up a legacy.”
The superlative-slinging lead singer calls Music City a “star factory,” a place where emerging musicians can practice, perform and connect. There are affordable hotel and hostel rooms where touring artists can stay, store their gear and connect with a music-loving community. The bar and restaurant of the campus-like artist incubator is slated to open within 10 days, after final approval of the city’s Department of Public Health.
But the real star of the show here is the new rehearsal and venue spaces that have been under construction for the past six years, all of which are equipped with audio-visual capabilities, allowing bands to perform live online. Audience members walking into Music City can see two bands playing at once—one they hear (in the venue) and one they don’t (in the rehearsal space), beckoning passersby on Bush Street.
“There isn’t anything like this on the planet,” Colombini said. “We’ll give you a grand if you find it.”
According to Colombini, what budding musicians need most is an audience. With the number of people cycling through the complex—groups in the rehearsal spaces, guests in the hostel and hotel, the public at the bar and restaurant—there’s an organic listenership built into the building.
“There will easily be 700 to 800 people on-site,” he said.
He imagines a band rehearsing with the blinds down in the refurbished rehearsal studios—spaces that bridge the historic (original brick walls) with the modern (top-of-the-line equipment)—then streaming directly to one of the building’s venues or on a ClearChannel radio station.
Music lovers can pick up drinks from the alleyway window on Fern Street, dine in the on-site restaurant serving elevated gastropub fare and watch a multitude of bands rehearse in the stylish rehearsal spaces or take in a show at one of the four venues.
“Music is our thrill, our delight,” Colombini said. “It’s the most important antidepressant.”
It’s been a long time coming, but, to paraphase the Stones, time was on his side. The project was put on pause during the pandemic, and for a long stretch, Music City has had only one rehearsal space—a room adjacent to the hotel accommodations that had earlier been used as a common space.
The room has been continuously booked, said the hotel’s front desk receptionist, Isaac Lawrence, demonstrating the demand for more space.
Rehearsal spaces are affordable at Music City, ranging from $15 to $45 an hour, a fraction of what studios typically charge. From Jan. 5 to Jan. 12, Music City is offering its rehearsal spaces free of charge in connection with the opening celebration.
“There’s a great sense of community,” Lawrence said. “You have all these different groups commingling, between the rehearsal spaces and the guests and the permanent residents.”
Music City also houses the San Francisco Music Hall of Fame, a self-paced exhibition that spotlights local musicians who made it big.
It’s all part of a larger project by Colombini to put San Francisco back on the musical map, a city he called an “international star factory” but whose reputation has been diminished over the past 25 years.
The longtime musician cited a report put together by the London-based organization Sound Diplomacy that found many flaws in the city’s sustenance and promotion of its music scene and history. The Standard viewed a copy of the report, not made available to the public, which recommended “to create a multi-use music hub for the local community” as a priority. Colombini sees his Music City as that hub.
“I never had the big hit I wanted,” Colombini said, reflecting on his musical career. “This is my big hit.”
The people cheering and banging drums on the front steps of San Francisco’s Hall of Justice are usually quietly keeping the calendars and paperwork on track for the city’s courts.
Those court clerks are now hitting the picket lines, citing the need for better staffing and more training. It’s the second time the group has gone on strike since 2024, and this strike may last a lot longer than the last one.
Defense attorneys, prosecutors and judges agree that court clerks are the engines that keep the justice system running. Without them, it all grinds to a slow crawl.
“You all run this ship like the Navy,” District 9 Supervisor Jackie Fielder said to a group of city clerks.
The strike is essentially a continuation of an averted strike that occurred in October 2025.
“We’re not asking for private jets or unicorns,” Superior Court clerk employee Ben Thompson said. “We’re just asking for effective tools with which we can do our job and training and just more of us.”
Thompson said the training is needed to bring current employees up to speed on occasional changes in laws.
Another big issue is staffing, something that clerks said has been an ongoing issue since October 2024, the last time they went on a one-day strike.
Court management issued their latest statement on Wednesday, in which the court’s executive officer, Brandon Riley, said they have been at an impasse with the union since December.
The statement also said Riley and his team has been negotiating with the union in good faith. He pointed out the tentative agreement the union came to with the courts in October 2025, but it fell apart when union members rejected it.
California’s superior courts are all funded by the state. In 2024, Sacramento cut back on court money by $97 million statewide due to overall budget concerns.
While there have been efforts to backfill those funds, they’ve never been fully restored.
Inside court on Thursday, the clerk’s office was closed, leaving the public with lots of unanswered questions. Attorneys and bailiffs described a slightly chaotic day in court.
Arraignments were all funneled to one courtroom and most other court procedures were funneled to another one. Most of those procedures were quickly continued.
At the civil courthouse, while workers rallied outside, a date-stamping machine was set up inside so people could stamp their own documents and place them in locked bins.
Notices were also posted at the family law clinic and small claims courts, noting limited available services while the strike is in progress.
According to a union spokesperson, there has been no date set for negotiations to resume, meaning the courthouse logjams could stretch for days, weeks or more.
The San Francisco Giants are likely to break camp with one of their top prospects on the 26-man roster. But they’re all getting plenty of work in camp.
The thing is, just because a prospect doesn’t make a 26-man opening day roster doesn’t mean they can’t help a Major League team at some point in the season. Others, for now, are working on developing talent.
In this exercise, five prospects that are part of Major League camp were selected to determine if they’re real depth this season or if they’re marketing names — for now. Marketing names can become real depth before one knows it, such as the first Giants prospect listed.
Bryce Eldridge: Real Depth
Eldridge has nothing left to prove at the minor league level after he was selected in the first round in the 2023 MLB draft. Back then, he was the classic example of a marketing name, one that creates buzz in the organization and with fans.
But, after more than two years of development and a taste of the Majors, he’s real depth. He’s expected to make the opening day roster and share time at first base and designated hitter with Rafael Devers, one of the game’s most established sluggers.
On Wednesday, he hit his first spring training home run, one of three in the 13-12 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.
Blake Tidwell: Real Depth
Tidwell was acquired from the New York Mets in July in the Tyler Rogers trade. He only pitched in four games for the Mets, so he still has prospect status. But that MLB service time, combined with his early impressions in camp, make him real depth for a team that only has one or two spots available on the pitching staff.
Tidwell may not make the team out of camp for opening day. But he’s one of those prospects that could make his way to San Francisco during the season due to injury or underperformance. It’s an example of using the time in spring training wisely and paving the way for a future promotion.
Will Bednar: Real Depth
The Giants have been waiting for their first-round pick in the 2021 MLB draft to pay off, and this might be the year that Will Bednar finally makes the jump to the Majors. He’s in Major League camp and he’s been converted into a reliever in the past couple of seasons.
He went 2-3 with a 5.68 ERA in 38 games, his full season as a reliever. But he’s impressed the new coaching staff during camp and there’s enough buzz around him to consider him a potential call-up during the season. He’s in his fifth professional season so the Rule 5 draft is a consideration this coming offseason.
Parks Harber: Marketing Name
For now, the young third baseman is going to create a lot of buzz in the farm system in 2026, but he isn’t a threat to anyone’s job yet. Picked up in the Camilo Doval trade, he only has 102 minor league games under his belt after he was signed as an undrafted free agent by the New York Yankees. He got his first spring training hit on Wednesday. His career slash of .312/.413/.528 is encouraging but he hasn’t played higher than High-A Eugene.
Bo Davidson: Marketing Name
The Giants signed Davidson as an undrafted free agent and he’s starting to generate real buzz in spring training as a non-roster invitee. He’s not quite real depth yet because he has yet to play above Double-A Richmond. But the way he’s playing in the spring he should be at Sacramento sometime this season, which puts him in the position to be real depth.
He’s hit well at every stop, but he showed off more power than ever last season. He hit a career-best 18 home runs and 70 RBI as he slashed .281/.376/.468. He played 42 games at Richmond last season.
The San Francisco Giants weren’t giving up that undefeated spring training slate without a fight, apparently.
Wednesday’s game between the Giants and the Milwaukee Brewers came down to a raucous ninth inning that saw the two teams combine for seven runs. Milwaukee had the final at-bat and rallied to win, 13-12.
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A lot happened in this one, not the least of which was Harrison Bader’s home run putting a dent in a food truck.
Here are three important takeaways from the game.
Adrian Houser’s Giants Debut
Before this game got out of hand, Adrian Houser made his first spring training start and looked solid.
He pitched two innings, giving up three hits, one run and one walk. He also allowed a home run. He threw 36 pitches, 23 of which were strikes. The right-hander figures to be the third or fourth starter in the rotation, depending upon how San Francisco wants to line up Houser and Tyler Mahle behind Logan Webb and Robbie Ray.
Houser resurrected his career last season with the Chicago White Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays, as he combined to go 8-5 with a 3.31 ERA in 21 starts, with 92 strikeouts and 38 walks in 125 innings. It was his best season since going 10-6 with Milwaukee in 2021.
Power Surge
The Giants are looking for more slug in their lineup in 2026. Part of that is a long-term project that included signing Willy Adames last offseason and trading for Rafael Devers last June. Both hit at least 30 home runs last season. That’s sustainable power for San Francisco. But they could use more and some of that was on display in Wednesday’s game.
Bader’s home run got a lot of attention. But two other Giants hit home runs, each slugging their first of spring training. Luis Matos, an outfielder that was the designated hitter, slammed one in the second inning. Then, Bryce Eldridge, who played first base, hit one in the third inning.
San Francisco’s ability to compete offensively with the top teams in the National League won’ just hinge on Adames and Devers. It will hinge on what others can produce, too. From that standpoint Wednesday was a good day.
Parkr Harber’s Instant Offense
Parks Harber isn’t going to make the opening day roster. But that’s not expected. The top prospect, acquired in the Camilo Doval trade from the New York Yankees, is off to a solid start to his first spring training with the Giants.
He entered Wednesday’s game as a pinch-hitter and in his only at-bat he claimed a hit and drove in a run. It pushed his spring training batting average to .333. The downside? It was his first hit of spring training. But, the fact that a young player entered the game as a pinch hitter and drove in a run is a good sign for his ability to come off the bench later in his career and give the Giants something.
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