Dead & Company Kick Off Grateful Dead’s 60th Anniversary in Golden Gate Park: Every Song From Night 1

The spirit of the Grateful Dead is alive and well — and it’s lighting up Golden Gate Park. On Friday night, tens of thousands of Deadheads gathered in San Francisco for the first of three historic shows by Dead & Company, honoring 60 years since the Grateful Dead first formed in 1965.

It was a night filled with nostalgia, surprises, and a powerful reminder of the band’s timeless legacy. This performance marked the group’s return to the stage after nearly a year-long break following their final tour stop at Las Vegas’ Sphere in July 2023.

Opening the night was jamgrass prodigy Billy Strings, who warmed up the crowd with his high-energy set before joining Dead & Company later in the evening for a fan-favorite moment.

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Dead & Company — featuring Grateful Dead founders Bobby Weir and Mickey Hart, joined by John Mayer, Oteil Burbridge, Jeff Chimenti, and Jay Lane — delivered two full sets of crowd-pleasing music, diving deep into the Dead’s expansive songbook.

Among the night’s most emotional highlights was a surprise appearance by Grahame Lesh, who joined the band to perform “Box of Rain” — a song famously sung by his late father, Phil Lesh, one of the Grateful Dead’s founding members.

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Later in the show, Billy Strings returned to the stage for a powerful rendition of “Wharf Rat.” And fittingly, the band closed the night with a stirring encore of Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door,” honoring what would have been Jerry Garcia’s 83rd birthday.

Here’s the full Night 1 setlist from Dead & Company’s 60th Anniversary Celebration at Golden Gate Park (August 1, 2025):

Set One:

1. Shakedown Street
2. Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo
3. Mr. Charlie
4. Me and My Uncle
5. Brown-Eyed Women
6. High Time
7. Box of Rain (with Grahame Lesh)
8. Don’t Ease Me In

Set Two:

9. Help on the Way > Slipknot!
10. Franklin’s Tower
11. Wharf Rat (with Billy Strings)
12. The Other One
13. Drums > Space
14. Cumberland Blues
15. Morning Dew

Encore:

16. Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (Bob Dylan cover, tribute to Jerry Garcia)

With two more shows left in the weekend run — and a strict “no repeats” tradition — fans are eagerly awaiting what surprises Saturday and Sunday will bring. Country-rocker Sturgill Simpson (performing as Johnny Blue Skies) is set to open night two, while Phish frontman Trey Anastasio will help kick off the final night on Sunday.

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If night one is any indication, the rest of the weekend will be an unforgettable celebration of music, memory, and the lasting magic of the Grateful Dead.