Mayor Daniel Lurie on Monday announced a plan to deliver a “once-in-a-generation musical celebration”: three Dead & Company shows in August in Golden Gate Park.
“From Haight-Ashbury and the Grateful Dead house to Excelsior, where Jerry Garcia grew up, the Grateful Dead is embedded in San Francisco’s history,” said Lurie. “This is more than just a concert — it’s a San Francisco homecoming.”
The concert series is part of Lurie’s effort to expand cultural events in the city.
Dead & Company, a spinoff band featuring guitarist and singer John Mayer, played a three-night run at Oracle Park in July 2023 that was supposed to be its last ever. Since then, however, the band has had two runs at the Las Vegas Sphere. The current residency at the Sphere wraps up with shows Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
While the SF show will be Dead & Company’s inaugural appearance in Golden Gate Park, the original Grateful Dead band performed at least 14 times there, according to Far Out magazine, including in 1967, when it played alongside Jefferson Airplane, Big Brother, and others in the Human Be-In, a concert that kicked off the Summer of Love. In 1991, the band played its last show in the park — a tribute to concert promoter Bill Graham, who died in a helicopter crash days earlier.
This summer’s concerts, which must be approved by the Recreation and Park Commission at a meeting Thursday, are expected to draw up to 60,000 per day Aug. 1, 2, and 3 at the park’s Polo Fields. That’s more than three times the capacity of the Chase Center.
The shows could generate tens of millions of dollars in economic activity, Lurie’s office said. Dead & Company’s three concerts in 2023 generated $31 million in local economic activity.
“Celebrating their 60th anniversary with a Dead & Company performance in the very place where the Summer of Love took root is a powerful tribute to their legacy,” said Recreation and Park Department General Manager Phil Ginsburg. “These concerts not only honor their cultural impact but also shine a light on the park’s surrounding neighborhood — its restaurants, local businesses, and vibrant community.”