San Francisco is known for its historic music scene. Whether you’ve lived here your whole life or are just visiting, chances are you’ve heard of the Summer of Love and SF-based bands like the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, or Santana. Just as historic as the music itself is the city’s oldest free concert series—Stern Grove Festival!

Though many locals frequent this SF summer classic, not everyone is familiar with the history behind the annual event series. Before Stern Grove was a public park run by San Francisco’s Recreation & Parks Department (RPD), the land was homesteaded by a man named Alfred Greene who built the “Trocadero Inn” in 1892—a building which still exists in the Grove today!

A few decades later in 1932, Rosalie Meyer Stern—a celebrated civic and social leader in SF—purchased the 12 acres from the Greene family in honor of her late husband, Sigmund Stern (who also happened to be the president of Levi Strauss and Company). In addition to naming the park after her husband, Rosalie gifted the space to the city with the understanding that it would always be used to host free performances for the public. In 1932, the SF Symphony performed the first concert at Stern Grove, and by 1938 Rosalie had created the Stern Grove Festival Association, a non-profit dedicated to free music in the park.

Since then, the festival has grown in size and hosted legendary acts like Patti Smith, The Flaming Lips, Indigo Girls, and Santana, as well as younger acts in recent years including Thundercat, Toro y Moi, and Mitski. The 2024 lineup perfectly walks the line between legacy artists like Commodores, Herbie Hancock, and Chaka Khan, and newer stars like Franc Moody and Alex G. Check out the rest of the lineup here and be sure to visit their website to learn how to reserve your free tickets on Eventbrite. The first batch of tickets for each show are released exactly one month prior to the show date at 2 PM PST, so make sure to set an alarm!

How is SF Parks Alliance involved? When there aren’t concerts, the park is open to the public to walk amongst the tall, tangling Eucalyptus trees and enjoy amenities including tennis courts and a children’s playground on the south side of the park. As of just a few days ago, SF Parks Alliance began renovations at the playground as part of our Let’sPlaySF! Initiative in partnership with RPD that’s transforming 13 playgrounds across San Francisco. The playground is scheduled to re-open this winter and will be the 12th of 13 playground completed as part of the Let’sPlaySF! initiative. 

Regardless of the ways our city and parks may change, you can count on free live music at Stern Grove every Sunday from late June to late August. As the festival enters its 87th season, Stern Grove Festival is more committed than ever to making live music accessible to all!