The Deadheads Are Coming, and SF Is Ready. Next Up, 2 More Weekends of Live Music

San Francisco is preparing to see up to 60,000 people a day for the Grateful Dead’s 60th anniversary festival in Golden Gate Park this weekend, and Mayor Daniel Lurie said the city is ready.

Even for those not attending the concerts, people on the west side can expect to hear Grateful Dead classics, see Deadheads roaming the streets and find difficulty getting around Golden Gate Park.

At the park’s polo field — where the Dead haven’t played since 1991 — workers on Thursday were erecting a large stage where remaining members of the Grateful Dead will play as Dead & Company through Sunday.

Lurie stood at a podium in front of the stage in the field’s northwest corner, where stagehands were testing lights and setting up equipment. Next to Lurie stood San Francisco law enforcement, fire and parks leaders who took turns assuring the public the event would be a safe one.

“Our public safety teams and local law enforcement will be operating at full staffing, with additional personnel to manage the increases with all of these attendees and visitors,” Lurie said. “Our teams are equipped and trained to handle a variety of situations, and we are fully prepared for any emergencies that may arise during these weekends.”

The Dead & Company shows kick off a busy few weeks for the park, which is hosting two more events — Outside Lands and country musician Zach Bryan — over subsequent weekends.

“This is the first time ever there’s been three weekends of concerts in a row in Golden Gate Park,” said Allen Scott, president of concerts and festivals for Another Planet Entertainment, which produces Outside Lands as well as the new Golden Gate Park Concerts series.

Last year, the park hosted a bill led by System of a Down and the Deftones the weekend after Outside Lands, the first such show put on by Another Planet after city officials approved the expanded series.

Scott said they’re expecting 450,000 people coming to San Francisco over the next three weekends, 290,000 of whom are from outside the Bay Area.

“San Francisco has always been a cultural destination and a world-class city, and this … these three weekends will prove it,” Scott said.

Lurie encouraged all concertgoers to sign up for AlertSF by texting GGPC to 888777 and make plans with friends and family, as cellphone reception in San Francisco during large-scale events is notoriously unreliable.

“Over the next few weeks, we are going to keep everyone safe,” Lurie said. “We are going to shine on the global stage.”

City officials estimate the three concert weekends will bring in over $150 million into the city.

Phil Ginsburg, head of San Francisco’s Recreation and Parks Department, said music is part of the city’s history, and the back-to-back-to-back festival weekends in Golden Gate Park are equally historic.

“We’re not just hosting concerts; we’re bringing people together, boosting our economy, showing the world that San Francisco is alive and thriving and, perhaps most importantly, facilitating joy,” Ginsburg said.