Thousands pack into Sigmund Stern Recreation Grove to enjoy a concert at the Stern Grove Festival in San Francisco, Calif. on Sunday, July 21, 2024. (Alise Maripuu/Bay City News)

THIS SUMMER’S free Stern Grove Festival in San Francisco includes performances by Diana Ross, Stephen and Damian Marley, Sleater-Kinney and Orville Peck, just to name a few. The free festival kicks off June 15 with Oakland-based retro-soul band The California Honeydrops. 

Here’s the schedule:

June 15: The California Honeydrops, The Dip
June 22: Channel Tres, ASTU
June 29: Sleater-Kinney, Destroy Boys
July 6: San Francisco Symphony with special guest Taimane
July 13: Phantogram, Ha Vay
July 20: Girl Talk, Chromeo
July 27: Orville Peck, Jaime Wyatt
Aug. 3: Michael Franti & Spearhead, Black London
Aug. 10: The Pointer Sisters, Lyrics Born
Aug. 16: Damian ‘Jr. Gong’ Marley & Stephen Marley
Aug. 17: Diana Ross

Local acts include Lyrics Born of Berkeley, ASTU of Oakland, Sacramento-based band Destroy Boys, Ha Vay of San Francisco, and Oakland-based band Black London.

This series marks the 88th season of Stern Grove Festival, which takes place under the towering eucalyptus trees of Sigmund Stern Recreation Grove. 

Attendees must get a different ticket for each concert. 

There are multiple ways to obtain free tickets. An online lottery will begin six weeks before each concert and remain open for one week. Lottery winners will be notified four weeks before each concert and will be required to claim their tickets. 

Organizers hold another lottery round four or five weeks before a concert if more tickets are available. 

In addition, 1,000 tickets will be available the day before the concert at local box offices on a first-come, first-served basis.

Tickets will also be released in giveaways through the festival’s partner organizations such as DoTheBay and Amoeba Music. People who volunteer at the festival will also be given a ticket for a future show. 

For close-up seating, concertgoers may reserve tables at a cost. 

More information about lottery opening dates and table reservations can be found at sterngrove.org

Alise is a general assignment reporter with a focus on covering government, elections, housing, crime, courts and entertainment in San Francisco and on the Peninsula. Alise is a Bay Area native from San Carlos. She studied history at University of California, Santa Cruz and first started journalism at Skyline College’s school newspaper in San Bruno. She has interned for Bay City News and for Eesti Rahvusringhääling, or Estonian Public Broadcasting. She has covered everything from the removal of former San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus to the divisive battle over the Great Highway on San Francisco’s west side. Please send her any tips.