Grateful Dead's 60th Anniversary: San Francisco's Psychedelic Homecoming

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This has been a week like no other for me as the Grateful Dead, with a milestone that’s turned San Francisco into the pulsing heart of my legacy. The biggest headline echoing everywhere is my 60th anniversary—six decades since those first notes in a shambolic San Francisco Victorian, and now tens of thousands of Deadheads flood the city for an extended celebration. According to the San Francisco Chronicle and ABC News, Dead & Company, with my own Bob Weir and Mickey Hart at the helm, are playing a three-night run at Golden Gate Park’s Polo Field, starting August 1, marking the first time back at this iconic spot since the legendary 1991 free show after Bill Graham’s passing. There’s an expected crowd of 60,000 every night, with general admission tickets for the full stretch going for a hefty 635 dollars, which is causing a lot of reminiscing (and sticker shock) among fans who remember when a ticket cost less than a tie-dye T-shirt.

City officials, business owners, and even the mayor are spinning this as an economic windfall, with Mayor Daniel Lurie kicking off festivities and predicting the Dead’s homecoming will bring a massive boost to the local economy. Local stations like KTVU and ABC7 highlight that hotels are already sold out, bars in Haight-Ashbury are mounting special tributes and Dead-themed parties, and there’s a whole satellite wave of late-night live sets by cover bands including the Heart of Town series curated by Grahame Lesh, son of my late founding bassist Phil Lesh. Grahame gave an emotional interview recalling that he played alongside his dad in San Francisco up through Phil’s final months, calling the 60th a chance to gather “musicians who have been inspired by the Grateful Dead” and giving “the whole city a place to celebrate the music and community we love.”

It’s not just concerts—the anniversary has spawned exhibitions, pop-up shops, psychedelic tributes in Haight-Ashbury, and, striking a modern note, Zeam Media will host a livestreamed, shoppable birthday event for Jerry Garcia in collaboration with Retroactv.com on August 1. On social media, Grateful Dead hashtags are trending on X and Instagram, with Deadheads sharing travel stories, handmade memorabilia, and tributes to Jerry and Phil, keeping the Dead’s iconography very much alive. While some grumbling surfaces over ticket prices and the commercialization of Dead culture, there’s no shortage of new faces in tie-dye and old friends reuniting where it all began, fueling the sense that, even at 60, my legend is still growing. News outlets from all over, including ABC and the San Francisco Chronicle, are calling the Dead the spirit of the city, proof that genuine community and improvisation can outlast any fleeting trend. There are no major controversies or unconfirmed rumors at the moment—just the rare clarity of collective celebration, and a city-sized affirmation that the long, strange trip presses on.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This has been a week like no other for me
as the grateful Dead, with a milestone that's turned San
Francisco into the pulsing heart of my legacy. The biggest
headline echoing everywhere is my sixtieth anniversary, six decades since
those first notes in a shambalic San Francisco Victorian, and

(00:20):
now tens of thousands of Deadheads flood the city for
an extended celebration. According to the San Francisco Chronicle and
ABC News, Dead in company with my own Bob Weir
and Mickey Hart at the Helm are playing a three
night run at Golden Gate Park's Polo Field starting August first,
marking the first time back at this iconic spot since

(00:42):
the legendary nineteen ninety one free show after Bill Graham's passing.
There's an expected crowd of sixty thousand every night, with
general admission tickets for the full stretch going for a
hefty six hundred and thirty five dollars, which is causing
a lot of reminiscing and sticker shock among fans who
remember when a ticket costs less than a tied ie
T shirt. City officials, business owners, and even the mayor

(01:06):
are spinning this as an economic windfall, with Mayor Daniel
Lurie kicking off festivities and predicting the Dead's homecoming will
bring a massive boost to the local economy. Local stations
like KTVU and ABC seven highlight that hotels are already
sold out, bars in Haye Ashbury are mounting special tributes
and Dead themed parties, and there's a whole satellite wave

(01:27):
of late night live sets by cover bands, including the
Heart of Town series curated by Graham Lesh, son of
my late founding bassist Phil Lesh. Graham gave an emotional
interview recalling that he played alongside his dad in San
Francisco up through Phil's final months, calling the sixtieth a
chance to gather musicians who have been inspired by the
Grateful Dead and giving the whole city a place to

(01:50):
celebrate the music and community we love. It's not just concerts.
The anniversary has spawned exhibitions, pop up shops, psychedelic tributes
in asm and striking a modern note. ZAM Media will
host a live streamed Shoppable Birthday event for Jerry Garcia
in collaboration with retroact v dot Com on August first.

(02:15):
On social media, Grateful Dead hashtags are trending on x
and Instagram, with deadheads sharing travel stories, handmade memorabilia, and
tributes to Jerry and Phil, keeping the Dead's iconography very
much alive. While some grumbling surfaces over ticket prices and
the commercialization of dead culture, there's no shortage of new

(02:35):
faces in TIDI and old friends reuniting where it all began,
fueling this sense that even at sixty, my legend is
still growing. News outlets from all over, including ABC and
the San Francisco Chronicle, are calling the Dead the spirit
of the city, proof that genuine community and improvisation can

(02:56):
outlast any fleeting trend. There are no major controversies or
unconfirmed rumors at the moment, just the rare clarity of
collective celebration and a city sized affirmation that the long,
strange trip presses on. And that is it for today.
Make sure you hit the subscribe button and never miss
an update on Grateful Dead. Thanks for listening. This has

(03:18):
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