Grateful Dead Rings in 60 Years with Epic Golden Gate Park Shows
Riley Carter here. Okay, but like… why is this a thing?
Dead & Company is poised to welcome roughly 60,000 fans per day at Golden Gate Park’s Polo Field this Friday through Sunday as part of the Grateful Dead’s 60th anniversary celebrations, marking the band’s first appearance in that section of the park since 1991.
The concert series carries a sticker shock for longtime followers: a general admission pass for all three nights costs $635. That price tag may feel surreal compared to the era when a joint was pricier than a ticket, but many Deadheads are still convinced this is the perfect way to honor the group’s legacy (Associated Press, New York Post).
Formed in 1965 in the Haight-Ashbury district, the Grateful Dead quickly became synonymous with San Francisco’s counterculture vibe and the 1967 Summer of Love. Band members once squeezed into a budget Victorian house in the neighborhood before city raids and souring acid trips prompted a move across the Golden Gate Bridge to Marin County.
Even after Jerry Garcia died in 1995, the spirit lived on through tribute bands and spinoffs like Dead & Company. As former publicist Dennis McNally pointed out, teenagers born decades after Garcia’s passing still embrace the core values of Deadheads—spontaneity, community and improvisation (Associated Press).
Sunshine Powers, now 45, remembers stepping off a bus into Haight-Ashbury at age 13 and feeling like she didn’t have to force anything to fit in. She went on to launch the tie-dye shop Love on Haight, turning a teenage revelation into a lifelong business.
Taylor Swope, 47, survived a brutal freshman year thanks to a mixtape of Dead classics. The Little Hippie gift shop owner is driving in from Brooklyn to sell merch, reunite with old friends and soak up the live magic that sold her on the band in the first place.
Thor Cromer, now 60 and based in Boston, shrugged off his initial ambivalence about hippies until a March 1990 show in Landover, Maryland lit something inside him. He subsequently logged close to 400 concerts in support of Jerry Garcia before his death, trading a Senate office for a life on the road.
Deadhead David Aberdeen, 62 and an Amoeba Music staffer in the heart of Haight-Ashbury, drove friends to their first show back in 1984 and remembers rain pouring down only to yield a vibrant rainbow during “Comes a Time.” To him, this three-day bash at the Polo Field is more than a concert; it’s a spiritual homecoming.
With each performance promising a unique set list and communal vibe, the weekend is shaping up to blend nostalgia with fresh energy from a new generation of fans. What surprises will Dead & Company drop between landmark tunes and rarely played deep cuts?
Alright, cool, so like, see you under the stars.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and Associated Press, New York Post
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
