By Tomás Mier
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September 30, 2025
Collier Schorr*
The historic Castro Theatre in San Francisco is reopening next year — and they got a queer music icon to do the honors of inaugurating it. On Tuesday, Sam Smith announced that they will bring their To Be Free concert residency to San Francisco for a run of eight shows next February.
“I love San Francisco, and The Castro, especially, has been so central to the Queer community here over the years,” Smith said in a press release. “These shows will also celebrate the official reopening, so it’s truly an honor to become part of this iconic venue’s history.”
Smith is scheduled to perform at the Castro Theatre on Feb. 10, 11, 13, 14, 17, 18, 20, and 21.
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The Castro, which first opened in 1922 as a movie palace, temporarily closed its doors in early 2024 to undergo extensive renovations. These renovations included restorations to its iconic neon sign, the installation of new chandeliers, a new cooling and heating system, additional restrooms, and improvements to ADA accessibility for patrons.
To celebrate the announcement of the new shows — with tickets on sale Oct. 7 at 10 a.m. PT — Smith also released a cover of Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine.”
The video features Smith walking through the Castro Theatre mid-renovation, strolling the streets of San Francisco’s historic queer district, and finally standing among queer fans outside the lit-up theatre, where Smith collects tickets at the entrance.
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Smith is currently hosting their New York City residency for “To Be Free” at the Warsaw. They have shows scheduled for 12 dates in October, six in November, and six more in December. The residency runs — now set for NY and SF — celebrate Smith’s single of the same name, “To Be Free.”
“I’ve never had a recording experience like I did making this song. It’s one vocal-and-guitar take from start to finish — one live performance of me and my friend Simon [Aldred] in a pure state of music and expression,” they said of the song. “I wrote it five years ago while writing my last album, Gloria, and then parked it because I knew it was not a song for that album. It was created during a time in my life where I became free within myself.”
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