Dead & Company to return to San Francisco
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John Mayer, Jay Lane, Bob Weir and Mickey Hart of Dead & Company perform onstage in Los Angeles. Photo: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
San Franciscans will have the chance to re-experience the Grateful Dead's most renowned hits at a "once-in-a-generation musical celebration" this summer commemorating the band's 60th anniversary.
Why it matters: The homegrown, psychedelic rock band, founded in Palo Alto in 1965, was a pioneer in the counterculture movement and remains a Bay Area fan favorite decades later.
Driving the news: Mayor Daniel Lurie on Monday announced plans for a three-day concert series with Dead & Company, a spinoff group with longtime Dead members Bob Weir and Mickey Hart, at Golden Gate Park's Polo Fields from Aug. 1-3.
- The event is part of a wider effort to expand cultural and musical events in San Francisco to help boost business activity.
- The concert series will be Dead & Company's first public performance outside their ongoing Las Vegas residency since 2023, when the band ended its farewell tour at Oracle Park.
- It will also mark the first anniversary after bassist Phil Lesh's death and will coincide with the birthday of late founding member Jerry Garcia.
What they're saying: "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."
The intrigue: The concert series is the first big entertainment-related initiative he has spearheaded that isn't an extension of former Mayor London Breed's portfolio.
- It's expected to draw about 180,000 attendees, with potential to generate tens of millions of dollars for the local economy, according to the mayor's office.
- The band's three-day run in San Francisco in 2023 produced $31 million in economic revenue.
Catch up quick: As an offshoot of Grateful Dead, Dead & Company honors the jam band's eclectic psychedelic style by playing covers of songs that have come to define the city's 1960s counterculture era.
- Though the group officially disbanded after Garcia died in 1995, surviving members have gone on to perform in various offshoots, including as The Other Ones, The Dead, Furthur and, most recently, Dead & Company.
Between the lines: Dead & Company pays homage to the band's non-commercial approach to music through improvisation in live performances and an emphasis on experimental sound — a blend of folk, blues, rock, reggae and more — that has long drawn diehard Deadheads while resonating with today's younger audiences.
- San Francisco recently paid homage to that legacy by renaming Harrington Street, where Garcia grew up, "Jerry Garcia Street."
What's next: The Recreation and Park Commission will vote on Lurie's proposal on May 15, with passage likely.