San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie announced Monday that he will propose holding three Dead and Company concerts this summer at Golden Gate Park in celebration of the Grateful Dead’s 60th anniversary.
If approved, the ticketed concerts will take place Aug. 1 through Aug. 3 at the Polo Fields in Golden Gate Park.
Expected to draw up to 60,000 attendees each day, Lurie said that the shows will bring a boost to local businesses, restaurants, and hotels. Lurie estimates that the weekend could generate tens of millions of dollars, as the Dead and Company’s three-day show in 2023 generated $31 million in local economic activity.
“The weekend will celebrate our city’s creative spirit, boost our local economy, and bring generations of fans together,” Lurie said. “This is more than just a concert — it’s a San Francisco homecoming.”
The Grateful Dead’s psychedelic rock sound was deeply rooted to the counterculture scene of San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury neighborhood in the 1960s.
“Golden Gate Park and the Grateful Dead share a rich, intertwined history that helped shape a cultural era,” San Francisco Recreation and Park General Manager Phil Ginsburg said in a statement. “Celebrating their 60th anniversary with a Dead and Company performance in the very place where the Summer of Love took root is a powerful tribute to their legacy.”
A band ‘embedded’ in city’s history
Dead and Company formed in 2015 with former Grateful Dead members including Bob Weir and Mickey Hart, along with singer John Mayer. The band primarily plays covers of Grateful Dead songs.
“From Haight-Ashbury and the Grateful Dead house to Ingleside, where Jerry Garcia grew up, the Grateful Dead is embedded in San Francisco’s history,” Lurie said in a statement. “Sixty years later, we’re still enjoying their music — and this summer, we get to enjoy the music of Dead and Company once again.”
The proposal will go before the Recreation and Park Commission on Thursday. The concerts will be presented by Another Planet Entertainment and co-produced with Live Nation in partnership with the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department.
“Sixty years later, we’re still enjoying their music — and this summer, we get to enjoy the music of Dead and Company once again.” Mayor Daniel Lurie
To accommodate the tens of thousands of people expected to attend the concerts, a “comprehensive transportation plan” will be developed to help encourage use of public transit and minimize impacts to the neighborhoods surrounding Golden Gate Park, according to the news release. Enhanced security and extensive cleanup efforts will also be employed.
The proposed concerts will take place the weekend before the annual three-day Outside Lands Music Festival, which is also expected to draw mass crowds of concertgoers to Golden Gate Park.
If approved by the Recreation and Park Commission, more details will be announced in the near future.