Dead & Company to play Golden Gate Park show to commemorate Grateful Dead’s 60th anniversary

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — The Grateful Dead, or at least its surviving members, will return to Golden Gate Park this summer to commemorate the iconic band’s 60th anniversary. On Monday, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie announced that Dead & Company will be playing three ticketed shows at the Golden Gate Park Polo Fields on Aug. 1, 2 and 3.

Formed in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury neighborhood in the mid-60s, the Grateful Dead became synonymous with the city’s psychedelic “Summer of Love” era. While many of the band’s contemporaries, like Big Brother and the Holding Company and Quicksilver Messenger Service, faded away by the early-70s, the Dead persisted.

Touring on into the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s, the Grateful Dead spawned legions of “Dead Heads” who would follow the band from gig to gig, creating a kind of hippie carnival festival around the group.

Following the deaths of founding guitarist Jerry Garcia, the band toured as The Other Ones and later The Dead. The current incarnation, Dead & Company, got underway in 2015 and is led by original singer/guitarist Bob Weir and long-time drummer Mickey Hart.

Guitarist John Mayer is also a regular member of the band’s lineup.

Founding drummer Bill Kreutzmann left the group in 2023.

“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,” said Mayor Lurie. “Sixty years later, we’re still enjoying their music—and this summer, we get to enjoy the music of Dead & Company once again. The weekend will celebrate our city’s creative spirit, boost our local economy, and bring generations of fans together. This is more than just a concert—it’s a San Francisco homecoming.”

“Golden Gate Park and the Grateful Dead share a rich, intertwined history that helped shape a cultural era,” said “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. 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.”

The proposal for this summer’s concerts will go before the Recreation and Parks Commission on Thursday. If approved, the concert series will be presented by Another Planet Entertainment and co-produced with Live Nation in partnership with SF Rec and Parks.

The concerts, according to Mayor Lurie’s office, are expected to draw up to 60,000 people a day. A three-day concert event featuring Dead & Company in 2023 generated $31 million in local economic activity, according to the mayor’s office.