SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — San Francisco is getting ready to host thousands of people and almost a month of weekend concerts. It starts with Dead and Company on Friday.
For the next three weekends, Golden Gate Park will be transformed into “the music capital of the world. 60 thousand people a day are expected to attend Dead and Company all three days this weekend,” said San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie.
Allen Scott, president of concerts and festivals at Another Planet, the organizer of the Golden Gate Park shows, gave us more insight into what the next three weekends will look like starting with Fridays show.
“This is all celebrating the history of Dead and Company and the music of the Grateful Dead, and so we have a lot of nods throughout the site to that history. Next weekend is Outside Lands and we have a lot of new surprises,” said Scott. “And then for Zack Byran and Kings of Leon that is the first country concert ever at Golden Gate Park so we are going to have a whole country vibe that weekend.”
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These concerts are projected to bring in $150 million into the city’s economy. SFPD says safety will be key.
“The San Francisco Police Department will have a full deployment of officers. I repeat, a full deployment of officers working all three weekends for your safety,” said Paul Yep, Interim San Francisco Police Chief.
Residents along the park are gearing up to see this quiet part of the city transformed.
“It’s a little bit of a mixed bag in that parking gets crazy and there are lots of people around which is sort of chaotic, but I also feel like it’s a good boost for the businesses in the area, a good boost for San Francisco,” said Kevin Wetzel, San Francisco resident.
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City leaders recognized the inconvenience, but said residents will benefit from this.
“Each year, there is a pool of about $35,000 for the Sunset and Richmond neighborhoods that roll over. They decide how they want to use those funds,” said Phil Ginsburg, San Francisco Park and Recreation general manager.
The city’s Hotel Council is already seeing a boost with many hotels sold out.
“We have Dead and Company back in town and we are so happy about that. The boomers are going to be coming in from around the world to experience that feeling they had, and we are going to do incredible as a city. Of course, it’s good for the hotels but it’s also great for the restaurants and the coffee shops,” said Alex Bastian, CEO Hotel Council of San Francisco.
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Aside from established businesses, some young entrepreneurs are also looking forward to the concerts.
“They put up a lemonade stand; they make cookies and the people who walk by love it,” said Wetzel.
Expect a lot of music, thousands of people and road closures. The city recommends taking public transit.
More music events are already planned well into September.
Thursday, Mayor Daniel Lurie announced that Shaboozey is headlining a free concert at Civic Center on September 13.
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