Dead & Company will celebrate the Grateful Dead‘s 60th anniversary with a trio of concerts in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park this weekend — but for some fans, the highly anticipated festivities have been soured by astronomical ticket prices.
Deadheads are reeling from sticker shock as a general admission three-day pass runs for $635 on Ticketmaster. Folks looking to splurge on VIP tickets will have to drop an eye-watering $1,725 for up-front viewing privileges, upgraded restrooms and exclusive food and drink vendors. (Meanwhile, a resale three-day general admission ticket is currently available for $279 on Seatgeek.)
These staggering figures are unfortunately common in today’s live music landscape, but for many longtime Grateful Dead fans, it’s a bridge too far — and a betrayal of the legendary jam band’s original ethos of community and inclusivity.
Dead and Company Ticket Prices Are a “Real ‘F— You’ to the Fans”
“This whole thing is just a big money grab, a real ‘fuck you’ to the fans,” said the father of journalist Carly Schwartz, who reported on the steep ticket prices for the San Francisco Standard. “It totally goes against what the Grateful Dead was all about. Jerry [Garcia] is rolling over in his grave.”
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Schwartz also noted in her story that prior to Garcia’s death in 1995, the most expensive Grateful Dead concert ticket cost about $35, or about $73 adjusted for inflation. The San Francisco natives also staged several free concerts in Golden Gate Park during the ’60s and ’70s.
Some disenchanted fans also pointed to the fatigue following Dead & Company’s “final tour” in 2023, followed by residencies at the Las Vegas Sphere in 2024 and 2025. One hardcore Dead fan told the Standard that the 60th anniversary shows are a “hype gimmick,” and the prices are antithetical to the culture of the band.
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“Now you have to let the money talk and dictate whether or not you make it into a show, they said. “It’s not necessarily fair for a culture and crowd that’s not supposed to be known for possessions or money. Who gets to go to these shows? How much is enough?”
Others have argued that the Dead & Company ticket prices are not commensurate with the quality of the venue.
“Are they fu**ing serious?! This is a damn polo field, not a 2.3 billion-dollar Sphere,” one Redditor wrote. “Single day tickets for the Sphere, if you got in on the presale, started somewhere around $145. And yet they’re planning on charging $100 more right off the bat?!! This is a joke, and honestly kind of disrespectful to the fans. … In my opinion it really shows that the city isn’t doing this for any commemorative reasons for the Dead, but rather, for the money. This is blatant price gouging.”
Nevertheless, the 60th anniversary shows are bound to draw tens of thousands of people to Golden Gate Park this weekend. Those who can’t attend (or can’t afford) the shows can watch the third and final performance in IMAX theaters across North America, where the concert will be streamed live on Aug. 3.
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Gallery Credit: Michael Gallucci
