SAN FRANCISCO — Golden Gate Park’s Labor Day weekend Grateful Dead celebration ends with four hours of free live music Monday.
Grahame Lesh & Friends are scheduled to play from 2 to 6 p.m. Sept. 7 at Robin Williams Meadow, next to the new Forever Grateful exhibition at the County Fair Building. The concert is free and no paid ticket is required.
The show is part of the opening weekend for Forever Grateful, Golden Gate Park, which opens Saturday, Sept. 5 and runs through Oct. 25. The exhibition is anchored by Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters’ Furthur bus and Jerry Garcia’s BMW.
What time is the Grahame Lesh free concert?
The official concert page lists 2–6 p.m. Monday, Sept. 7. The location is Robin Williams Meadow in the southeastern part of Golden Gate Park, near the Sharon Arts Studio, Koret Children’s Quarter and carousel.
San Francisco Recreation and Parks lists the meadow at Kezar Drive and Bowling Green Drive; another city parks directory uses 320 Bowling Green Drive.
Is the concert really free?
Yes. Haight Street Art Center and San Francisco Recreation and Parks both describe the Labor Day concert as free. The concert is the public opening-weekend event; it is separate from any ticketing that may apply to other exhibition or fundraiser programming.
Should you bring a chair?
No seating will be provided. The organizer says picnic blankets and chairs are allowed, but tarps, umbrellas and stakes are prohibited.
That means anyone planning to stay for a substantial part of the four-hour show should bring something low-profile to sit on rather than expecting rows of event chairs.
Will food and drinks be sold?
No. The organizer says no food or beverages will be sold at the concert. Pack-in/pack-out picnics are encouraged, but glass bottles and containers are prohibited in Golden Gate Park.
Bring a reusable water bottle. The event plans three hydration stations around the meadow, along with public restrooms. The organizer says each restroom area will include an ADA-accessible portable toilet.
What is the easiest way to get there?
The organizer strongly encourages public transportation, rideshare or bicycles because parking is limited in Golden Gate Park and surrounding neighborhoods.
Its transportation guide identifies the 5, 7, 21, 33 and N as the standard Muni lines providing convenient access. From the Haight, pedestrians can enter the park through the historic Alvord Bridge tunnel at Haight and Stanyan, which leads directly toward Robin Williams Meadow.
The concert also plans free valet bicycle parking in the East Meadow near Kezar Drive.
What about parking?
City park information lists street parking at Robin Williams Meadow, but both the venue and concert organizer warn that availability is limited. Driving may make sense for some visitors, but this is not an event where arriving shortly before 2 p.m. and assuming a nearby curb space is a reliable plan.
If you do drive, read the signs at the exact space. Labor Day does not make San Francisco parking meters free; our Labor Day parking guide explains which curb rules are enforced.
What is Forever Grateful?
The Golden Gate Park exhibition is the second half of Haight Street Art Center’s 2026 Grateful Dead project. The organizer says visitors move through an experiential environment with the Furthur bus, Garcia’s BMW, projections, artwork, performance and community installations.
The first Forever Grateful exhibition remains at Haight Street Art Center through Sept. 20 and contains more than 400 works chronicling the band’s visual culture from 1965 to 1995.
What else should you know?
No vending is allowed at the concert, overnight sleeping and camping are prohibited, and medical support will be on site. The practical combination is simple: bring a blanket or chair, layers for a San Francisco afternoon, a refillable bottle and whatever picnic food you want to carry back out.