Dead & Company Kick Off GD60 Grateful Dead Anniversary Celebration With Billy Strings & Grahame Lesh [Photos/Videos]

To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Grateful Dead (a.k.a. GD60), Dead & Company pulled out all the stops by throwing a massive, 60,000-person-a-night, three-day weekend, fittingly, in the heart of San Francisco at the fabled Golden Gate Park. The 2025 anniversary of these musical icons began on Friday with a celebration led by surviving band members Bob Weir and Mickey Hart, their superstar bandmates, and some very special guests, including guitar wizard Billy Strings and his psychedelic bluegrass band, who opened the night.

Flanked by massive, multi-story video screens, Strings’ simply clad quintet greeted the throngs roaring Deadheads with a quick howdy before kicking things off with a delicate and beatific “Gild The Lily”. Banjo player Billy Failing and fiddler Alex Hargreaves both shot out of the gate in fine form, but, as usual, it was Strings himself leading the charge.

Billy Strings – “Gild The Lily” – 8/1/25

Following the second tune, a jangly “Dust In A Baggie”, and the subsequent, somewhat slippery “Sally Johnson”, Billy and the band turned to “Shady Grove”—a traditional folk tune performed by Jerry Garcia’s bluegrass supergroup Old & In The Way and later recorded by Garcia and David Grisman for their acoustic album of the same name—making quick note of how honored they were to have the chance to bring some bluegrass to the party.

After some prolonged psychedelic jamming on “Hellbender” and “Away From The Mire”, the band bowed to bluegrass tradition by gathering around a single mic to harmonize on a pair of Dead-centric tunes—the first, “If Your Hair Is Too Long, There’s Sin In Your Heart”, featuring the lyric, “You’ll live a life of fear and dread if you listen to the Grateful Dead,” the second, “Pig In A Pen”, likely intended as a nod to founding Grateful Dead keyboardist Rob “Pigpen” McKernan.

Strings only had an hour, so there wasn’t much time for pleasantries. The few times he did address the crowd, he expressed appreciation for the unity of the Grateful Dead community and gratitude to be a part of such a special celebration. The last few tunes of his set tumbled out in an audience-pleasing mix of psychedelic jams, culminating with a pairing of another Jerry Garcia and David Grisman-favored traditional, “Dreadful Wind & Rain”, and his song “Thunder”, featuring lyrics penned by Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter. Strings and his band surely won themselves new fans around the world before ceding the stage to the night’s headlining act.

The crowd was in full throat from the opening notes of “Feel Like A Stranger” and didn’t let up all night. Though the lingering sun made the light show somewhat less impressive at first, the sound was impeccable—as one would expect from the band that helped revolutionize live sound with the help of audio wizard John Meyer, who co-created the iconic Wall of Sound with Owsley “Bear” Stanley, and whose company, Meyer Sound, carried that legacy forward by providing the state-of-the-art system for the GD60 shows.

Dead & Company – “Feel Like A Stranger” – 8/1/25

Besides a couple of covers—including a very perky “Dancing in the Street” by Martha Reeves and the Vandellas and Johnny Cash’s “Big River”—the first set was mostly comprised of deliberate, bluesy psychedelic jams that evolved from more rigid structures, like “Tennessee Jed”, which saw some stellar work from John Mayer, “Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo”, and the jubilant “Althea” that closed the first set.

In the second set, Dead & Company rolled out the red carpet for a couple of special guests. Since the 50th anniversary Fare Thee Well shows, the Grateful Dead’s “Core Four” surviving members lost a pillar with the passing of bassist Phil Lesh, but his presence was very much felt as his son Grahame Lesh (who is hosting a series of massive after-parties to celebrate his father’s legacy) helped open set two. First, he took lead vocal duty during his father’s signature song, “Box of Rain”, while playing Phil’s “Big Brown” bass. Then, he switched to his father’s late-’70s/early-’80s Doug Irwin custom axe for the ensuing “Playing in the Band” explorations.

Dead & Company With Grahame Lesh – “Box Of Rain” – 8/1/25

Later in the set, Billy Strings returned to the stage to sit in on a powerful “Wharf Rat”, honoring the spirit of Jerry Garcia on what would have been his 83rd birthday with soulful, soaring solos that captured the emotional depth of the song and a thrilling, heartfelt interplay with Mayer.

Dead & Company With Billy Strings – “Wharf Rat” – 8/1/25

[Video: Todd Norris]

After closing the set with “Not Fade Away” and leaving the crowd to clap and sing during the encore break, Dead & Company finished night one on a reflective note with Bob Dylan‘s “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door”—a fitting tribute to the Grateful Dead’s long, strange trip and to those we’ve lost along the way.

Click below to check out fan-shot videos and a gallery of photos from night one courtesy of Jay Blakesberg, Alive Coverage, and Chloe Weir. Scroll down to view the entire setlist.

With beloved alt-country iconoclast Sturgill Simpson scheduled to open the festivities on Saturday and Phish’s Trey Anastasio joining the fun on Sunday, there is plenty of love light left to shine.

Tune in live with nightly pay-per-view streams via nugs and get a complimentary 60-day All Access subscription. [Editor’s note: Live For Live Music is a nugs affiliate. Purchasing your Dead & Company Golden Gate Park livestreams via the links on this page helps support our work covering the Dead and the rest of the live music universe. Thank you for reading!]

Dead & Company – “Dancing In The Streets” (Martha Reeves And The Vandellas) – 8/1/25

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Dead & Company – “Tennessee Jed” – 8/1/25

[Video: Drummerzzo]

Dead & Company – “Althea” – 8/1/25

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Dead & Company – “Estimated Prophet” > “Eyes Of The World” – 8/1/25
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Dead & Company w/ Grahame Lesh  – “Playing In The Band” – 8/1/25

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Dead & Company – “Estimated Prophet” > “Eyes Of The World” – 8/1/25

[Video: StoopidGrateful]

Dead & Company – “Not Fade Away” – 8/1/25

[Video: billzlose]

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Setlist: Billy Strings | Golden Gate Park | San Francisco, CA | 8/1/25
Set: Gild the Lily, Dust In A Baggie, Sally Johnson, Shady Grove, Hellbender, Away From The Mire, If Your Hair Is Too Long, There’s Sin In Your Heart1, Pig In A Pen1,2, Red Daisy, Harbor of Love, California Sober, Dreadful Wind & Rain > Thunder

Setlist: Dead & Company | Golden Gate Park | San Francisco, CA | 8/1/25
Set 1: Feel Like a Stranger, Dancing in the Street (Martha Reeves and the Vandellas) > Tennessee Jed, Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo > Big River (Johnny Cash), Althea
Set 2: Box of Rain (Grahame Lesh on vocals), Playing in the Band (with Grahame Lesh) (with elements of Miles Davis’ “All Blues”) > Estimated Prophet > Eyes of the World (with Oteil bass solo)  > Terrapin Station > Drums > Space > Wharf Rat (with Billy Strings) (With elements of ‘The Other One’), Not Fade Away (The Crickets)
Encore: Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (Bob Dylan)