The 24th annual Jerry Day brings free concerts featuring Melvin Seals & JGB to the Jerry Garcia Amphitheater in McLaren Park on Saturday, August 1, 11:30 a.m.–5:45 p.m. No ticket or RSVP required.

The 24th annual Jerry Day takes over the Jerry Garcia Amphitheater at McLaren Park on Saturday, August 1, running 11:30 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. Admission is free. No ticket, no RSVP — just show up.

This year's bill: Melvin Seals & JGB (with Jazz Mafia), Stu Allen & Mars Hotel, and Spencer Krenz & Friends performing a Garcia/Grisman tribute. Seals played Hammond B-3 alongside Garcia for 15 years and has kept touring the catalog ever since — of the three acts, he has the deepest direct line to the source material. The show lands on Garcia's birthday (August 1, 1942), and the city officially recognizes the date as Jerry Garcia Day per a 2022 mayoral proclamation.

Garcia grew up on what's now Jerry Garcia Street (formerly Harrington Street, near Alemany Boulevard) in the Excelsior, and the amphitheater bearing his name sits in McLaren Park less than a mile north — a tighter neighborhood connection than most legacy-tribute festivals manage. Mayor Daniel Lurie signed the resolution for "Jerry Garcia Street" on May 2, 2025, stating, "Jerry gave San Francisco and its people lasting memories and music." The Friends of Jerry Garcia Amphitheater (FOJGA), the 501(c)3 nonprofit behind the event, bill it as the 24th year running.

Getting there: Drop the car. Parking at the amphitheater is extremely limited and the organizers are explicit: do not park on Mansell Street. The 29 Sunset Muni runs directly through the park on Mansell — ask the driver to call your stop. From BART, ride to Balboa Park Station, then catch the 29 on Ocean Avenue heading southeast. Afterparties across the Excelsior kick off at 5:30 p.m. and run to 10 p.m.

If you've got two hours: Arrive at the 11:30 a.m. opener — Spencer Krenz's Garcia/Grisman set is the most specific thing on the bill, and McLaren Park in the morning fog is half the reason to come. Stay through Melvin Seals' first set and you've had the full day.

Donor packages with reserved seating are available at jerryday.org.