San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie announced an immersive exhibition and free concert honoring the Grateful Dead coming to Golden Gate Park on Sept. 5.
The exhibition, entitled “Forever Grateful, Golden Gate Park,” will bring art, multimedia installations, projections and hands-on experiences to tell the story of one of San Francisco’s most influential bands, said a news release from the mayor. From Sept. 5 to Oct. 25, the ticketed exhibit will be hosted at the San Francisco County Fair Building, or Hall of Flowers, at 1199 9th Ave.
Over Labor Day weekend, the kickoff of “Forever Grateful, Golden Gate Park” will include a free concert at Robin Williams Meadow from Grahame Lesh and Friends, a band headed by the son of Grateful Dead founding member Phil Lesh.
“There’s nothing like free music in San Francisco,” said Grahame Lesh in the news release. “It’s something that the Grateful Dead discovered early on in the ’60s and something I got to witness and be a part of in the 2020s with my dad as a member of Phil Lesh and Friends. Music is for everyone, and I am honored to celebrate the band’s legacy and history in San Francisco — in Golden Gate Park — with all of you, the wonderful Deadhead community!”
Led by the Haight Street Art Center, the exhibit builds upon the existing exhibition “Forever Grateful,” which is on display through Sept. 20 in the Haight. It includes more than 400 paintings, lithographs, instruments and vinyl records from the Grateful Dead’s journey from 1965 to 1995. However, San Francisco Recreation and Park Department General Manager Sarah Madland said the story of the Grateful Dead is inseparable from Golden Gate Park, which led the exhibition to be brought to the place where the history of the band unfolded.
“Forever Grateful, Golden Gate Park” expands the exhibition by featuring Jerry Garcia’s BMW and the “Furthur” bus, which became an icon of the 1960s counterculture and psychedelic era. The immersive experience will also include rare memorabilia and multimedia installations.
Lurie said he hopes the exhibit will continue to bring together San Francisco art and culture, which can bolster tourism and the local economy in the city. The release said the “Summer of Music,” which featured one weekend of Dead & Company shows last year, drew thousands to the city, generating more than $150 million in economic activity.
“Art and music define San Francisco, and they have for decades, thanks to groups like the Grateful Dead and the community they created,” Lurie said in the release. “When we celebrate that legacy, we celebrate not only one period of our history but also the creative energy that still makes San Francisco special today.”
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