Major League Soccer is making a deliberate move into the music world, and San Diego FC is leading the way. The club has partnered with artist and creative entrepreneur SHAVONE. to launch the Playmakers Music Collective, a new initiative designed to bring musicians into the league’s cultural ecosystem while shining a light on homegrown talent from the city.
The launch is not simply a branding exercise. It comes with a full original release, a live performance in front of a massive crowd, and a clear roadmap for what comes next signaling that both MLS and San Diego FC are treating this as a genuine creative investment rather than a one-time moment.
The debut track and the artists behind it
At the heart of the launch is SDFSHE, an original song written and executive produced by SHAVONE, with production handled by San Diego-based beatmaker Matthew Beazie Beats Arellano. The track brings together three rising women artists from the city, Santa Mykah, Ms. Connie, and Isaura.
Released on streaming platforms on April 10, the song made its live debut the following day when it was performed in front of more than 30,000 fans at San Diego FC’s April 11 match. The moment gave the release an immediate sense of scale and positioned the collective as something with real visibility from day one.
The song’s title is a deliberate nod to the club itself, and its lineup reflects a focused intention to center women’s voices in a space professional soccer where that has not always been the norm. SHAVONE. has spoken about writing the record with a clear sense of purpose: building access for artists in San Diego, particularly women, and demonstrating what becomes possible when a league chooses to invest in the creative communities that define its cities.
What the Playmakers Music Collective actually is
The Playmakers Music Collective is an extension of San Diego FC’s existing Playmakers program, which was already built around creating pathways for the city’s creative community. The music arm expands that mission specifically into original releases and collaborative artist projects.
SHAVONE. steps into the initiative as its founding artist in residence, bringing her creative company, Future of Creatives, into the collaboration. Together, they will help shape the direction of future music releases and programming tied to the club throughout the season.
Tony Martinez, founder of both Barrio Junto and the San Diego FC MLS Music Playmakers Collective, has described the launch as a natural progression of what the broader Playmakers initiative was always meant to do give artists a platform that genuinely reflects the culture they represent, at a level that matches the communities around the club.
A club built around culture from the start
San Diego FC has made cultural identity a defining part of its brand since the beginning. The club’s ownership group includes prominent creative figures such as Issa Rae and Tems, both of whom bring significant weight to conversations about music, entertainment, and representation. The addition of a dedicated music platform is consistent with that foundation, connecting the sport to a wider creative world rather than keeping them separate.
MLS and San Diego FC promoted the launch across social media with visuals and messaging that framed it as a first for the league a signal that the collective is being positioned as something worth paying attention to beyond a single city or club.
What comes next
SDFSHE is being framed explicitly as an opening chapter rather than a standalone moment. Additional music tied to San Diego FC’s inaugural season is already in development, with a larger project expected to arrive later in 2026. That timeline suggests the Playmakers Music Collective is intended to build momentum across the course of the season, giving the initiative room to grow its audience and deepen its impact as the club continues to establish itself in the league.
For the artists involved and for the women in San Diego’s music scene more broadly the collective represents something relatively rare, a major sports institution actively creating infrastructure for local creative careers, rather than simply borrowing from culture when it’s convenient.
