San Francisco is gearing up for a historic musical celebration as Mayor Daniel Lurie announced plans for Dead & Company to perform at Golden Gate Park on August 1-3, 2025, in honor of the Grateful Dead’s 60th anniversary. This three-day concert series at the Polo Fields will mark a significant milestone for the iconic band, deeply rooted in the city’s cultural history, and is expected to draw up to 60,000 fans per day, delivering a major boost to the local economy.
The Grateful Dead, formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, became a defining voice of San Francisco’s counterculture movement, particularly in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood near Golden Gate Park. The band, originally known as the Warlocks, played their first show under the Grateful Dead name on December 4, 1965, in San Jose. Over the decades, they performed at least 14 free shows in Golden Gate Park, including a notable 1967 Human Be-In event that foreshadowed the Summer of Love. The upcoming concerts will be a homecoming for Dead & Company, a spinoff featuring original Grateful Dead members Bob Weir and Mickey Hart, alongside John Mayer, Oteil Burbridge, Jeff Chimenti, and Jay Lane.
Mayor Lurie shared the news on May 12, 2025, via social media, stating, “We have some really big news. Dead & Co., three shows, August 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, right here in the city that is the home of the Grateful Dead.” He emphasized the band’s deep ties to San Francisco, from Jerry Garcia’s childhood in the Ingleside (sometimes noted as Excelsior) neighborhood to their communal gatherings in Haight-Ashbury. The mayor’s announcement highlighted the cultural and economic significance of the event, projecting tens of millions in revenue for local businesses, as a similar three-day run by Dead & Company in 2023 generated $31 million.
The concerts, pending approval by the San Francisco Recreation and Park Commission on May 15, 2025, will be produced by Another Planet Entertainment in partnership with Live Nation and the city’s Recreation and Park Department. The timing aligns with the 10th anniversary of Dead & Company and comes just one week before the annual Outside Lands Festival, amplifying Golden Gate Park’s role as a music hub in August. Phil Ginsburg, General Manager of the Recreation and Park Department, noted, “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.”
This event also follows the Grateful Dead’s 50th anniversary celebration in 2015, which featured the “Fare Thee Well” concerts with surviving members Weir, Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, and the late Phil Lesh, who passed away in October 2024. Dead & Company’s last San Francisco performance was a three-night run at Oracle Park in July 2023, initially billed as their farewell tour, though they’ve since continued performing, including residencies at the Las Vegas Sphere.
For Deadheads and music lovers, this Golden Gate Park series promises to be a once-in-a-generation celebration of the Grateful Dead’s enduring legacy. Stay tuned for ticketing details and further announcements from the band, expected soon after the mayor’s reveal.
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