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Furthur, Phoenix, Kings of Leon Enliven Outside Lands

Bob Weir and Phil Lesh shared the stage in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park for the first time in almost 20 years Saturday night as part of the third annual Outside Lands festival. The longtime bandmates, who co-headlined Outside Lands with their current project Furthur, last appeared together in Golden Gate Park when the Grateful Dead played a Bill Graham memorial in the park in 1991. Furthur’s Outside Lands performance consisted of one long, extended set, including “ Cassidy,” “Loser,” “Let It Grow,” Pink Floyd’s “Time” and “Breathe Reprise,” “Death Don’t Have No Mercy,” “Fire on the Mountain,” “The Other One,” “The Eleven,” “Terrapin Station,” “Unbroken Chain,” “Morning Dew” and “I Know You Rider.” Though Golden Gate Park has hosted numerous important Grateful Dead-related shows since the 1960s, Saturday marked the first time a member of the Grateful Dead appeared at Outside Lands.

Kings of Leon served as the festival’s other headlining act. The band mixed its current hits such as “Sex on Fire” with covers like the Pixies’ “Where Is My Mind.” The band helped anchor the festival’s more crowded day—in total the event drew 80,000 fans over the two days. The packed event was in part due to Phoenix, who played before Kings of Leon and in some estimation outdrew the event’s headliner. The Strokes, who championed Kings of Leon early on, also appeared at the festival as part of their reunion tour. Though the band did not perform with the Kings, lead singer Julian Casablancas did ask the crowd if they were ready for “some Grateful Dead action.”

In total, the festival has raised nearly three million dollars for the San Francisco Recreation & Park Department since its inception in 2008.