August 1, 2026 | Jerry Garcia Amphitheater
by Dave Golden
The 24th Annual Jerry Day brought Deadheads to celebrate what would have been Jerry Garcia’s 84th birthday. More than a concert, Jerry Day honors Garcia’s roots in San Francisco’s Excelsior District while bringing together the Bay Area’s Deadhead community for an afternoon of music and remembrance. The celebration continued into the evening as neighborhood bars and music venues hosted Jerry Day performances throughout the Excelsior.
This year’s event carried extra weight, coming during a summer that has also said goodbye to two more members of the Grateful Dead family, Phil Lesh in 2024 and Bob Weir this past January. Grateful Dead jams on Haight Street and the upcoming Forever Grateful celebration in Golden Gate Park have kept that legacy front and center in San Francisco all summer, and made an afternoon like Jerry Day feel like exactly the right way to mark it.
Spencer Krenz & Friends opened the afternoon with an acoustic set before Stu Allen joined the band for “Friend of the Devil” and “Brokedown Palace.” Melvin Seals & JGB teamed up with members of Jazz Mafia, giving songs including “Eyes of the World” and “Sugaree” a jazz-influenced feel, along with an instrumental version of “Come Together.”
Stu Allen & Mars Hotel closed the day with an 18-song Grateful Dead set that opened with “Alabama Getaway.” Mid-set, the band paused for the annual toast, top hats and all, before a short instrumental “Happy Birthday, Jerry Garcia!” rolled into “China Cat Sunflower.” The set closed with “The Music Never Stopped,” bringing another Jerry Day to a close and setting the stage for next year’s milestone 25th anniversary.
