Stern Grove Festival, one of the longest-running outdoor music festivals in the country, is proud to reveal the 2022 music lineup for its 85th annual summer concert season. The ten-week event series continues to be free for all attendees of all ages, although fans must first RSVP in advance to reserve their spot for each concert at www.sterngrove.org with online reservations to the season opener beginning on Tuesday, May 31.
Kicking off on Sunday, June 12, Stern Grove will make its highly-anticipated return with a music lineup as eclectic and diverse as the city it calls home. With a continued emphasis on diversity and inclusivity, Stern Grove Festival will once again offer a wide range of musical performances where the sounds of rock, hip-hop, jazz, folk, classical, funk, and blues all define the concert-going experience for music lovers from across the Bay Area and far beyond.
The 2022 schedule is available below and online at www.sterngrove.org:
June 12: Tower of Power, Too $hort
June 19: Toro Y Moi, Hello Yello
June 26: Liz Phair, Madi Diaz
July 3: Cold War Kids, Geographer
July 10: Old Crow Medicine Show, Molly Tuttle
July 17: Cat Power, Spelling
July 24: LeAnn Rimes, Amythyst Kiah
July 31: San Francisco Symphony
August 7: Taj Mahal, Monophonics
August 14: The Big Picnic featuring Phil Lesh & Friends, Midnight North
The 2022 concert season kicks off June 12 with a rare co-headlining performance from two legendary artists with deep Bay Area roots – the iconic soul/funk/R&B outfit Tower of Power and the multi-platinum selling emcee Too $hort. This will mark a long-awaited performance from the two acts who were originally set to headline the 2021 Festival’s Big Picnic before it was unexpectedly cut short due to extensive water damage to the Grove.
The next concert on June 19 features one of most of the decade's most influential musicians Toro Y Moi from the creative mind of Oakland-resident Chaz Bear, who is also releasing his highly-anticipated seventh studio album Mahal this coming Friday; followed by a performance on June 26 featuring 90s indie rockstar Liz Phair, who just released her latest album last summer following an 11-year hiatus from recording music.
The month of July will then begin with a Fourth of July weekend concert featuring alt-rockers Cold War Kids who just released the band's final album of their New Age Norms trilogy to rave reviews; followed by shows from Nashville-based Americana string band Old Crow Medicine Show on July 10 as the group preps for the release of their next album later this year; acclaimed indie songstress Cat Power on July 17, who just released her latest collection of cover songs this past January; and iconic county music singer LeAnn Rimes on July 24.
On July 31, Stern Grove Festival will also welcome to its stage a returning favorite, the San Francisco Symphony (SFS) led by conductor Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser. Since its inaugural concert in 1938, Stern Grove Festival has partnered every year with the SFS to offer a world-class performance to the public, which also marks the only opportunity for fans to see an admission-free performance by the SFS.
Multi-accomplished blues musician Taj Mahal will perform on Sunday, August 7. Fans that afternoon will be treated to a medley of hits across the blues pioneer’s 50+ year musical career.
The 2022 concert season concludes on Sunday, August 14 with the Festival’s annual fundraiser, The Big Picnic, featuring Phil Lesh and Friends, which is fronted by none other than one of the original founding members of the Grateful Dead. This season-ending Big Picnic fundraiser will once again help to raise funds in support of the Festival’s mission to provide admission-free concerts and arts education programs for the residents of the Bay Area, with a limited number of tables available for purchase today. For more information on table reservations, interested donors can email bigpicnic@sterngrove.org.
“We are excited to highlight so many legendary Bay Area artists in our 85th season and also to continue our trend in recent years of presenting more and more high profile artists at Stern Grove Festival. From my perspective, this is our best lineup ever, and we truly hope that everyone can find at least one artist that appeals to them over the course of our summer season, ” said Executive Director Bob Fiedler.
All concerts for the 2022 season will begin at 2:00 p.m. PT at Sigmund Stern Grove, a historic park and concert meadow located at 19th Avenue and Sloat Boulevard in the city’s Sunset District that offers an unparalleled outdoor setting for music lovers of all ages. Although the Grove experienced extensive damage last fall due to a major water main rupture and while all renovations are not yet complete, the original site has now been approved for in-person audiences again this summer.
Admission to each concert will continue to remain free to the public, although the Festival will once again implement an online ticket reservation system which made its successful debut last season. At 2:00 p.m. PT exactly 12 days prior to each event, an online portal will be opened through www.sterngrove.org to offer free passes on a first-come, first-served basis. For, example, tickets to the June 12 concert will be available to reserve on Tuesday, March 31 at 2:00 p.m. PT.
Stern Grove Festival will also be live streaming nearly all of its shows this year in order to reach as many music fans as possible, especially those unable to attend in-person. Stay tuned for more details surrounding the virtual live stream experience, which will kick off in conjunction with each Sunday concert starting at 2:00 p.m. PT via www.sterngrove.org.
Stern Grove Festival would like to thank the 2022 sponsors for their support, including San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department, Lisa & Douglas Goldman Fund, Grants for the Arts, William & Flora Hewlett Foundation, Waymo, Bloomberg, John & Marcia Goldman Foundation, Kaiser Permanente, National Endowment for the Arts, The Bernard Osher Foundation, Anchor Brewing, William G. Gilmore Foundation, Xfinity, The Fairmont Hotel, Mixhalo, and Sound on Stage. Local media partners also include KPIX-TV, SF Media Co., and SFMTA.
Stay tuned as more details surrounding the 2022 season will be announced in the coming weeks, including additional ticket reservation sign-ups, weekly food truck lineups, and more.
Learn more at www.sterngrove.org, and make sure to follow along on social media including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
