6 days ago
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Dead & Company tickets for Golden Gate Park already topping $9,000 on StubHub
Tickets for Dead & Company 's three-night run at San Francisco's Golden Gate Park this summer were expected to sell out within hours of going on sale Friday morning, despite prices that surpassed those of major music festivals like Coachella, Outside Lands and BottleRock — and prices on the resale market have already soared into the thousands.
The shows, scheduled for August 1–3 at the Polo Field, commemorate 60 years of Grateful Dead music and will feature performances by bluegrass phenom Billy Strings (Aug 1), country rocker Sturgill Simpson in his Johnny Blue Skies persona (Aug. 2), and the Trey Anastasio Band (Aug. 3).
Each act will open with a 75-minute set before Dead & Company — featuring Grateful Dead veterans Bob Weir and Mickey Hart, joined by guitarist John Mayer, bassist Oteil Burbridge, pianist Jeff Chimenti and drummer Jay Lane — takes the stage.
General admission weekend passes originally started at $635, while single-day tickets were priced at $245. High-end packages escalated quickly, with VIP tiers reaching $6,236 and the Golden Road Super VIP package priced at $9,548.
That top-tier experience includes early venue access, a private viewing deck, complimentary dining and drinks, premium restrooms, concierge service, and a signed, limited-edition poster.
For those who missed the initial sale, the secondary market is offering a second chance — at a premium. As of Friday, StubHub listed three-day general admission passes for $898. VIP packages were priced up to $3,356, with some Golden Road Super VIP listings already topping $9,000 per day.
General admission single-day tickets, meanwhile, started at $338 and $896, depending on the date. Prices are expected to fluctuate, particularly one to two weeks before the event.
During the Grateful Dead's heyday, tickets typically cost between $8 and $24 — and many of the band's shows in Golden Gate Park between 1966 and 1991 were free.
According to Billboard Boxscore, after Dead & Company earned $21.6 million from six concerts at Las Vegas' Sphere in March, as part of a return engagement following a successful run last year.
