The Grateful Dead toasts its 60th with concerts at San Francisco's Golden Gate Park
Dead & Company, featuring original Grateful Dead members Bob Weir and Mickey Hart, will play Golden Gate Park's Polo Field starting Friday with an estimated 60,000 attendees each day. The last time the band played that part of the park was in 1991 — a free show following the death of concert promoter and longtime Deadhead Bill Graham.
Certainly, times have changed.
A general admissions ticket for all three days is $635 — a shock for many longtime fans who remember when a joint cost more than a Dead concert ticket.
But Deadhead David Aberdeen is thrilled anyway.
'This is the spiritual home of the Grateful Dead,' said Aberdeen, who works at Amoeba Music in the bohemian, flower-powered Haight-Ashbury neighborhood. 'It seems very right to me that they celebrate it in this way.'
Formed in 1965, the Grateful Dead is synonymous with San Francisco and its counterculture. Members lived in a dirt-cheap Victorian in the Haight and later became a significant part of 1967's Summer of Love.
That summer eventually soured into bad acid trips and police raids, and prompted the band's move to Marin County on the other end of the Golden Gate Bridge. But new Deadheads kept cropping up — even after iconic guitarist and singer Jerry Garcia 's 1995 death — aided by cover bands and offshoots like Dead & Company.
'There are 18-year-olds who were obviously not even a twinkle in somebody's eyes when Jerry died, and these 18-year-olds get the values of Deadheads,' said former Grateful Dead publicist and author Dennis McNally.
Fitting in, feeling at home
Deadheads can reel off why and how, and the moment they fell in love with the music. Fans love that no two shows are the same; the band plays different songs each time. They also embrace the community that comes with a Dead show.
Sunshine Powers didn't have friends until age 13, when she stepped off a city bus and into the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood.
'I, all of a sudden, felt like I fit in. Or like I didn't have to fit in,' says Powers, now 45 and the owner of tie-dye emporium Love on Haight. 'I don't know which one it was, but I know it was like, OK.'
Similarly, her friend Taylor Swope, 47, survived a tough freshman year at a new school with the help of a Grateful Dead mixtape. The owner of the Little Hippie gift shop is driving from Brooklyn, New York, to sell merchandise, reconnect with friends and see the shows.
'The sense of, 'I found my people, I didn't fit in anywhere else and then I found this, and I felt at home.' So that's a big part of it,' she said of the allure.
Magical live shows
Sometimes, becoming a Deadhead is a process.
Thor Cromer, 60, had attended several Dead shows, but was ambivalent about the hippies. That changed on March 15, 1990, in Landover, Maryland.
'That show, whatever it was, whatever magic hit,' he said, 'it was injected right into my brain.'
Cromer, who worked for the U.S. Senate then, eventually took time off to follow the band on tour and saw an estimated 400 shows from spring 1990 until Garcia's death.
Cromer now works in technology and is flying in from Boston to join scores of fellow 'rail riders' who dance in the rows closest to the stage.
Aberdeen, 62, saw his first Dead show in 1984. As the only person in his college group with a driver's license, he was tapped to drive a crowded VW Bug from Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, to Syracuse, New York.
'I thought it was pretty weird,' he said. 'But I liked it.'
He fell in love the following summer, when the Dead played a venue near his college.
Aberdeen remembers rain pouring down in the middle of the show and a giant rainbow appearing over the band when they returned for their second act. They played 'Comes a Time,' a rarely played Garcia ballad.
'There is a lot of excitement, and there will be a lot of people here,' Aberdeen said. 'Who knows when we'll have an opportunity to get together like this again?'
Fans were able to see Dead & Company in Las Vegas earlier this year, but no new dates have been announced. Guitarist Bob Weir is 77, and drummers Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann are 81 and 79, respectively. Besides Garcia, founding members Ron 'Pigpen' McKernan on keyboards died in 1973 and bassist Phil Lesh died last year at age 84.
Multiple events planned for Dead's 60th
Mayor Daniel Lurie, who is not a Deadhead but counts 'Sugar Magnolia' as his favorite Dead song, is overjoyed at the economic boost as San Francisco recovers from pandemic-related hits to its tech and tourism sectors.
'They are the reason why so many people know and love San Francisco,' he said.
The weekend features parties, shows and celebrations throughout the city. Grahame Lesh & Friends will perform three nights starting Thursday. Lesh is the son of Phil Lesh.
On Friday, which would have been Garcia's 83rd birthday, officials will rename a street after the San Francisco native. On Saturday, visitors can celebrate the city's annual Jerry Day at the Jerry Garcia Amphitheater located in a park near Garcia's childhood home.
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USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
One Dead & Company fan's nearly 50-year journey to Golden Gate Park
SAN FRANCISCO – Here's a prediction for you: The Dead will never die. Not going to happen. Ever. Why? Because at this point, 60 years after the Grateful Dead made their mark on this psychedelic town, it's no longer about the band personnel as much as it is all about The Vibe. Sure, the music creates that vibe, which summons the tribe with its swirling jam-band sound, but arguably those tunes can be conjured by others possessing the right Dead mojo. All to say that Dead & Company's final show of a three-night stand in Golden Gate Park Sunday, Aug. 3, was nothing less than a reaffirmation that what the original quintet forged with spirited abandon is likely to live on well past any mortal expiration dates. Anchored by two original members, guitarist Bob Weir and drummer Mickey Hart (drummer Bill Kreutzmann has retired to Hawaii), Dead & Company tore through two sets filled with hits that left 60,000 fans singing, twirling, grooving and communing in a large but orderly field, with not a disagreement in sight. As the "Scarlet Begonias" lyric goes, "Strangers stopping strangers / just to shake their hand." Credit goes to singer and guitarist John Mayer in particular, who has taken on the Jerry Garcia mantle with both reverent study and spirited abandon. His blistering, weaving solos on songs like "China Cat Sunflower," "Shakedown Street," "Deal" and "Sugar Magnolia" deftly mixed his blues chops with Garcia's trademark flights of fancy. But if there was a closing night highlight, that came courtesy of the frontman from the evening's opening act, the Trey Anastasio Band. Anastasio, Phish's co-founder, who memorably anchored guitar and singing duties for the Dead's 2015 Fare Thee Well tour, joined the band for the second-set opener, "Scarlet Begonias," which transitioned memorably into "Fire on the Mountain," a one-two punch known to Deadheads as "Scarlet-Fire." Seeing Anastasio resume his lead guitar duties with the band was to witness a man in the midst of a joyous epiphany, never more so than when he and Mayer faced each other for dueling solos. If the Polo Fields in Golden Gate Park could have levitated, they would have. For those keeping track, the other songs the band broke out Sunday included "I Know You Rider" (which pro forma came right out of "China Chat Sunflower"), the Buffalo Springfield tune "Broken Arrow," the Weir-John Barlow-Brent Mydland rocker "Hell in a Bucket," the retro "Cumberland Blues" and the close-out favorite, "Touch of Grey." Weir, who at 77 looked like a bearded poncho-wearing gun slinger, mostly contributed his trademark up-stroke rhythm chords, and occasionally took the mic. His voice, once a youthful bellow on staples such as "Samson and Delilah," is now more of a whisper, and it was deftly dispatched to handle songs such as "Standing on the Moon" and "Sugaree." Looking around the crowd, it was fascinating to note the breadth of ages, which suggests that by continuing in various incarnations since 2005, a decade after Garcia's death in 1995, the band has managed to mainline its music into a new generation of fans. Stints like the one the group performed at the Sphere in Las Vegas, which brought an appropriately trippy visual sensibility to a vast catalog of trippy tunes, has also helped keep the band's legacy alive. It was hard not to chuckle looking around at the various T-shirts and hoodies that read "Dead & Company Final Tour 2021," right next to another one that said the same thing only with a different year. Speaking of years, it was 1979 when I dashed to my seats inside Madison Square Garden, a high-schooler newly baptized into the world of the Grateful Dead. Of course, by then, I had a small suitcase full of Maxell tapes from epic Dead shows in 1969 and 1972 and felt that, by 1979, I had essentially missed the Dead bus. If someone back then had said, "Rest easy, you'll see most of these guys conjure this ephemeral magic in 2025," I'd have surmised the drugs must have been powerful. And yet, here we are. Mark my words, at some point soon folks will roll out to a concert to hear the Dead do their musical best, and not one of the original members will be there. And it won't matter. Humans may fade way, but the music never stops.


Forbes
2 hours ago
- Forbes
Grateful Dead: 60 Years of Celebration
Grateful Dead photographed in NYC, June, 1967. Publicity photo from the exhibition and coffee table book: An American beauty - Grateful Dead 1965-1995. © Ron Rakow / Retro Photo Archive Courtesy of the artist and David Kordansky Gallery What is it about the Grateful Dead that had tens of thousands of fans heading to Golden Gate Park last weekend for the three-day celebration of their sixty years of music? And tens of thousands more streaming the shows on or seeing the final show in Imax theaters or listening to the performances on Sirius XM. In Los Angeles, the David Kordansky Gallery has an exhibition of photographs, An American Beauty: Grateful Dead 1965-1995 on view until August 16th, and have also put out a gorgeous coffee table book of the exhibition and that includes many more photographs, curated by Jay Blakesberg and his daughter Ricki Blakesberg, with text by Kordansky high school friend, fellow Deadhead and content curator at Kordansky, poet Stuart Krimko, available at the gallery and online. Wall of Sound, Oakland Coliseum, Oakland, CA, June 8, 1974. Publicity photo from the exhibition and coffee table book: An American beauty - Grateful Dead 1965-1995 Alvan Meyerowtiz/ © Retro Photo Archive, Courtesy of the artist and David Kordansky Gallery The Dead's fans span several generations and have outlived many of the original members including Ron McKernan (Pigpen), Jerry Garcia, and Phil Lesh, From the original line up only Bob Weir (who was the youngest member) and Mickey Hart will perform at this weekend's celebration. Bill Kreutzmann, one of the original drummers now lives in Hawaii where he performs with Mahalo Dead, and Grateful Mahalo. In Golden Gate Park, Weir and Hart will be joined by their Dead & Co, confreres John Mayer, Jeff Chimenti, and Jay Lane. Opening acts for each night are Billy Strings, Sturgill Stimpson, and Trey Attanasio. I saw the Dead many times in high school, several times later while Garcia was still alive and have, more recently, been to several Dead & Co, and Wolf Brothers Shows. If I try to think back to what made the band compelling in its original incarnation, surely part of it was the stamina of the band. The New Riders of the Purple Sage often opened the evening with Jerry Garcia sitting in on pedal steel. They would play for two hours or so, and then the Dead would come on and play for anywhere between three to five hours. What grabbed the audience, then and now, was the feeling of being taken on a voyage, or in many cases a trip, where the evening was one long performance, and it became a game or a matter of insider cred to guess what song they were playing and admire how it morphed into what they would play next. They played a lot of cover songs but when they did, it was always as if it was their song to begin with, and their interpretations could add a layer of emotion be it wistful, joyous, or boastful. Grateful Dead, Mary Poppins Umbrella Festival and Be-In, El Camino Park, Palo Alto, CA, July 2, 1967. Publicity photo for An American Beauty: Grateful Dead 1965-1995, David Kordansky Gallery © Ron Rakow/ Retro Photo Archive, Courtesy of the artist and David Kordanasky Gallery In those early days, when Pigpen was on the keyboards and was one of their main vocalists, Good Morning Little School Girl , could be a drawn-out blues jam heavy with lascivious intent. And when they played St. Stephen was an almost reverent incantation into the darker reaches of the universe. Garcia was like some great artisanal weaver, threading the notes and sweet tones of his guitar into the band's rhythms, playing his electric guitar in ways inspired by his bluegrass and blues background. When the Dead ended the night playing Not Fade Away and Johnny B. Goode you were satisfied but wanted to come back for more. No two performances were alike, and the shows were not all equally good in quality, but attending allowed you to discuss various set lists, songs, etc.… They drew one further into the Dead's world. At times, there was a feeling one had at those shows, an experience, that I can only compare to what golfers, surfers, and skiers are chasing – that moment when you leave the specific and become part of the whole. Dead fans have been chasing those moments since the 1960s. Deadhead dancing at Grateful Dead concert in Lewiston, ME on September 6, 1980. Publicity photo from the exhibition and coffee table book An American beauty - Grateful Dead 1965-1995 © Jay Blakesberg, courtesy of the artist and David Kordansky Gallery The Grateful Dead were pioneers in allowing audience members to tape their performances and take as many photos as they liked. Many articles and even a Harvard Business School case study have been written about how while other bands focused on record sales, the Grateful Dead gave priority to touring. The Dead focused on audience engagement. The bootleg recordings, photos and merchandise offered at what came to be known as Shakedown Street outside the concerts, built a database of fans, first as a mailing list, and later through email, allowing for direct ticket sales and bypassing ticket agencies and brokers, allowing them to control their revenue streams. Today we would look on the trading of recordings, which they encouraged by having 'taper' areas at concerts to insure better recordings, would be described today as content marketing. To return to the An American Beauty exhibition at Kordansky Gallery and the lavish book they produced. The text by Stuart Krimko is a thoughtful account of Grateful Dead history along with his own musings on their songs, the experience of seeing them in concert, the various band members over time, and their impact on their fans and society at large. The photos are curated by Jay Blakesberg and his daughter Ricki Blakesberg and grow out of an exhibition they mounted in Haight Ashbury that was expanded to a show at the Sphere in Las Vegas when Dead & Co., did their residencies there, and became this exhibition and catalogue. Among the photographers included beyond Blakesberg's own work are images by Rosie McGee, Ron Rakow, Paul Kagan, Elizabeth Sunflower, Herb Greene, Alvan Meyerowitz, Ben Haller, Jeffrey Price, Marianne Mayer, Bruce Polonsky, Adrian Boot, among others. Many of those photographers were present for a panel conversation at Kordansky Gallery for the opening of the exhibition moderated by Stuart Krimko, and Journalist Shirley Halperin. Ron Rakow and Rosie McGee told great stories about the early days of the band. There were stories about 'Bear' Owsley, and his important contributions, chemical and soundwise. And Ron Rakow told a great anecdote about his job interview with Jerry Garcia. Are these the greatest photos or the best photos ever shot of The Grateful Dead? Or the ultimate collection for a fan? Maybe not. But what I found particularly compelling is that they give you a sense of the band, as young and not so young, and the overwhelming feeling that the people taking the photographs were there, not as tourists, not purely on assignment, but as an extension of the band, as part of the experience. There is a section of photographs just on the crowds attending, which is great because like the bootlegs and photos, they extend what the Grateful Dead have come to mean. When I looked at the photos at Kordansky Gallery and in the book/ catalogue, I had the feeling of being there myself. That feeling is what makes these photographs so worth seeing, and is the same feeling all those attending, streaming or listening to Dead & Co, were chasing last weekend and will keep chasing.


Eater
2 hours ago
- Eater
Beretta Fires Back With a New Mod Look After 17 Years in the Mission
is an award-winning food writer living and eating in San Francisco. Her work has appeared in Food & Wine, Bon Appétit, the New York Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, Eater SF, and Edible SF. The original Beretta on Valencia Street has officially reopened as of Sunday, August 3, revealing a new mod look with the same strong cocktails and pizza. After 17 years worth of stirring the risotto, some adventures in pandemic delivery, and all of the Valencia bike lane rigamarole, it was definitely due for a refresh. The team shut down for six weeks worth of deep renovations, and are now promising a refreshed Beretta. 'To reassure the people who love Beretta, it's not like we're not scratching everything and starting from new,' promises Adriano Paganini of the Back of the House group. 'It's just a version that's being polished up. In some ways, it's going back to what made Beretta special to start with.' Previously Beretta leaned into dark wood and leather, industrial light fixtures, and a few Victorian flourishes, like black floral wallpaper and a bird perched in the curled cursive logo (of the same era as Portlandia's 'Put a Bird On It'). Now designer Nathan Reed is reimagining the space in Italian retro-modern, loosely channeling a mod aesthetic from the '60s. That looks like new wine — red marble, twisted wire light fixtures, sleek molded chairs, and a couple of abstract murals in black and gold. They repainted the exterior in warm gold and toned up the interiors with mahogany and cherry hues. The interior of Beretta. Michelle Min In its early days, Beretta proved a smash success by leading with strong cocktails at recession prices. Even in the depths of the downturn, you could squeeze in at the bar, order a bourbon or rye drink for $9, and feast on fava bruschette. They're bringing back the Beretta classics originally developed by star bartender Thad Vogler, including the Acadian (rye, sloe gin, absinthe, honey, lemon) and Dolores Park Swizzle (white rum, absinthe, lime, maraschino). Beverage director Caterina Mirabelli's new-school options — a pretty pink Dust Till Dawn (mezcal, prickly pear, calamansi, ginger) and spicy Mojave Road Trip (vodka, pineapple, ancho verde, basil), for example — join those throwbacks. Chef Fredy Lopez has been in this kitchen since before the beginning — he worked at the Last Supper Club before it became Beretta, and he now oversees the menus at both Beretta and Delarosa. After several years of dealing with delivery options, Paganini is especially excited to flip back to bar snacks worth sitting down for. Expect a fun selection of stuzzichini and antipasti, from bite-size caponatina agrodolce (sweet and sour eggplant) and zucchini scapece (fried zucchini with mint and vinegar), to small plates of carpaccio di polpo (octopus carpaccio) and fritto misto (fried squid, prawns, fennel, and peppers). A cocktail at Beretta. Michelle Min The Roman-esque pizza still hits that slightly thinner and crispier crust, and seasonal toppings will spin as often as always, like a new white pie piled with stracchino, mortadella, and pistachios. Beretta only introduced pasta in the last few years, and there will be agnolotti pinched around roast chicken and marsala mushrooms, and an inky new linguine nere tossed with prawns and 'nduja. It's always had a reputation for risotto, however, so don't miss those comforting dishes rich with beef ossobuco and earthy porcini. Beretta originally opened on Valencia Street in 2008 on a foundation of cocktails and pizza. For over a decade, the bar stayed open every day of the week until 2 a.m., attracting an industry crowd and vibing into the night. It won't be open that late going forward. 'The business isn't there anymore, unfortunately,' Paganini says. 'I wish it was.' But like the vast majority of his restaurants, it will still be open on Mondays, for any cooks who could use a swizzle on their day off. A dish at Beretta. Back of the House group was established in 2009, a year after Beretta's debut, and now the company operates 42 restaurants and counting. The current lineup includes Italian trattorias Corzetti and Tailor's Son, Latin hotspots Lolinda and Cubita (formerly El Techo), colorful vegan fare from Wildseed, and countless burgers from Super Duper and fried chicken sandwiches from the Bird. A second location of Beretta started as a pop-up on Divisadero Street in 2020, then wound up sticking around; no changes to that location for now. Before he was a burger maestro of the Bay Area, Paganini grew up as the son of a tailor in Milan, rose through the ranks as a chef in London, and became a restaurateur in San Francisco, when he moved here for love in the '90s. His first restaurant was Cafe Adriano, followed by Pasta Pomodoro, which grew to 40 locations at one point, but all had closed by 2016. When Paganini and his partners took another shot on Beretta, he says they poured everything they had left back into that one restaurant. 'It could have been the end of our restaurant careers. So we were very lucky that this restaurant worked, and worked amazingly well.' Beretta is known for its pizza. Michelle Min So Beretta has always been a comeback story, and it's exciting to see Paganini take a break from opening new restaurants, to swing back and polish up his Cal-Italian classic. He personally ate at the bar every week, and grew close with chef and partner Ruggero Gadaldi, who died a few years ago. 'Beretta has always had an important spot in my heart,' Paganini says. 'I think of it very fondly, because of that, and because it was the first restaurant of our comeback.'