Dead & Company’s Golden Gate Park Celebration Of 60 Years Of The Grateful Dead: Every Song From Night 1

Tens of thousands of Deadheads descended on San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park on Friday night for the first of Dead & Company’s three weekend shows celebrating 60 years of the Grateful Dead. The shows were consequential not just for the anniversary they commemorated, but for fans of the group, which had not performed anywhere other than Las Vegas’ Sphere since July 2023, when it concluded its final tour.

After an opening set by jamgrass phenom Billy Strings, Dead & Company – comprised of Grateful Dead founders Bobby Weir and Mickey Hart, alongside John Mayer, Oteil Burbridge, Jeff Chimenti and Jay Lane – dove into its catalog with gusto for two crowd-pleasing sets that spanned material from the Dead’s 30-year career. Highlights included guest appearances by Grahame Lesh (for “Box of Rain,” the beloved Dead song written and sung by his late father, Grateful Dead founding member Phil Lesh) and Strings (for the Dead classic “Wharf Rat”), as well as a touching encore of Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” that honored the date, which would have been Grateful Dead frontman Jerry Garcia’s 83rd birthday.

Dead & Company’s setlist choices on Friday leave plenty of options on the table for fans returning on Saturday and Sunday – the band rarely, if ever, repeats a song during these sorts of runs – including classics like “Touch of Grey,” “Casey Jones” and “Truckin’.” On Saturday, Sturgill Simpson will open the show under his “Johnny Blue Skies” moniker, while on Sunday, Phish frontman Trey Anastasio will kick off the festivities.

Here’s a look at Dead & Company’s full opening-night setlist for its three-show San Francisco run celebrating 60 years of the Grateful Dead.