Preview of coming attractions:
By Aidin Vaziri, Staff Writer July 7, 2025 - San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park is gearing up for a packed summer concert season, prompting a wave of closures that will reshape access to much of the park for nearly a month.
From late July through August, Another Planet Entertainment will host a series of large-scale concerts, including a three-night run by Dead & Company from Aug. 1-3 marking the 60th anniversary of the Grateful Dead, its annual Outside Lands festival from Aug. 8-10 and a one-night performance by Zach Bryan and Kings of Leon on Aug. 15.
In preparation, major portions of the park will be closed to vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists.
Golden Gate Park to close roads and meadows for month of concerts
Greg
Quick and Dirty
San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park is gearing up for a packed summer concert season, prompting a wave of closures that will reshape access to much of the park for nearly a month.
From late July through August, Another Planet Entertainment will host a series of large-scale concerts, including a three-night run by Dead & Company from Aug. 1-3 marking the 60th anniversary of the Grateful Dead, its annual Outside Lands festival from Aug. 8-10 and a one-night performance by Zach Bryan and Kings of Leon on Aug. 15.
In preparation, major portions of the park will be closed to vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists.
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A festival attendee walks across the polo field bicycle track during the Outside Lands music festival in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. Golden Gate Park will see major closures from July 23 to Aug. 20 as concerts including Outside Lands, Dead & Company, and Zach Bryan take over the park’s Polo Field and surrounding areas.
Adam Pardee/Special to The Chronicle
The Polo Field, the primary concert venue for the summer events, will be off-limits from July 23 to Aug. 20. Lindley Meadow, Hellman Hollow, Marx Meadow and several other open spaces will close on staggered dates through mid-August.
Middle Drive, a key east-west artery, will be closed to vehicles for the full stretch of the concert series.
Portions of John F. Kennedy Drive will also be shut down — not just to cars, but also to pedestrians and cyclists — from July 29 to Aug. 18.
On show days, the entire western end of the park will be closed to vehicles in the evening hours.
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Dead & Company will perform three shows in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park this summer, commemorating 60 years of Grateful Dead music. The park will see major closures from July 23 to Aug. 20.
Chloe Weir/Sphere Entertainment
The closures coincide with a flurry of performances, including Sturgill Simpson (performing as Johnny Blue Skies) for the Dead celebration, and festival performers Beck, Doja Cat, Hozier and Tyler, the Creator.
Additional detours will impact bicycles and cars, with Martin Luther King Jr. Drive limited to one-way traffic on non-show days and fully closed during concerts.
Organizers say the extended timeline allows for the reuse of infrastructure between events. Permit fees — including an estimated $750,000 from the Aug. 15 show alone — will help fund park maintenance and public programming.