The Stern Grove Festival is an admission-free series of

performing arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which are the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Perfo ...

events held during the summer months in San Francisco. Established in 1938, the festival is held at Sigmund Stern Grove, a

eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as ...

-wooded natural

amphitheater An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...

on a site about two miles (three kilometers) south of

Golden Gate Park Golden Gate Park, located in San Francisco, California, United States, is a large urban park consisting of of public grounds. It is administered by the San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department, which began in 1871 to oversee the developm ...

that ranges from 19th Avenue and Sloat Boulevard west to 34th Avenue. This festival went on hiatus in 194245 due to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

and in 2020 due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...

Background

Early plans for the Grove as a musical venue in the 1930s focused on maintaining the natural contour of the amphitheater bowl, with the surrounding garden, grassy slopes, and eucalyptus trees emphasizing the nature-oriented feel as a venue. Rosalie M. Stern saw the area's potential “because of its peaceful beauty, its historic interest, and, being below sea level, it is shielded from cold winds and fogs.” The Sigmund Stern Memorial Grove was dedicated June 4, 1932, and the first open air symphony concert was held two weeks later.

History

The first summer concert of the first annual Stern Grove Festival was held on July 10, 1938 and performed by the Bay Region Symphony of the

Federal Music Project The Federal Music Project (FMP) was a part of the New Deal program Federal Project Number One provided by the U.S. federal government which employed musicians, conductors and composers during the Great Depression. In addition to performing thousan ...

. In 1943, the

San Francisco Ballet San Francisco Ballet is the oldest ballet company in the United States, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet under the leadership of ballet master Adolph Bolm. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Fra ...

performed at the Stern Grove Festival for the first time and has since become a staple in the summer season lineup. In 1963, during the 25th Anniversary Season, the

San Francisco Symphony The San Francisco Symphony (SFS), founded in 1911, is an American orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980 the orchestra has been resident at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall in the city's Hayes Valley neighborhood. The San F ...

performed; the photographer

Ansel Adams Ansel Easton Adams (February 20, 1902 – April 22, 1984) was an American landscape photographer and environmentalist known for his Monochrome photography, black-and-white images of the American West. He helped found Group f/64, an association ...

was in attendance and took a series of photographs of the grove. Three years later, in 1966, the Festival had its first ever jazz concert, with

Turk Murphy Melvin Edward Alton "Turk" Murphy (December 16, 1915 – May 30, 1987) was an American trombonist and bandleader, who played traditional and Dixieland jazz. Biography He was born in Palermo, California, United States. Murphy served in the Nav ...

, John Handy, and

Vince Guaraldi Vincent Anthony Guaraldi (; né Dellaglio, July 17, 1928 – February 6, 1976) was an American jazz pianist best known for composing music for animated television adaptations of the ''Peanuts'' comic strip. His compositions for this series includ ...

performing; the concert was taped and televised nationally on the

Bell Telephone Hour ''The Bell Telephone Hour'' (also known as ''The Telephone Hour'') is a concert series that began April 29, 1940, on NBC Radio, and was heard on NBC until June 30, 1958. Sponsored by Bell Telephone as the name implies, it showcased the best in ...

. In 1980, a documentary about Stern Grove aired on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

stations across the country. Renovations on the Sigmund Stern Grove began in 2004 and were completed in time for the opening of its 68th season in June 2005. In May 2020, the Stern Grove Festival was canceled for the first time since World War II due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

; however, a TV special entitled "Best of Fest" was aired using archival footage of the festival and attracted more than half a million viewers.

Notable acts

Some notable acts who have performed at the Stern Grove Festival have included: Leann Rhymes (2022),

The Isley Brothers The Isley Brothers ( ) are an American musical group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley in the 1950s. With a career spanning over seven decade ...

(2019),

Ziggy Marley David Nesta "Ziggy" Marley (born 17 October 1968) is a Jamaican singer, songwriter, musician, actor and philanthropist. He is the son of reggae icon Bob Marley and Rita Marley. He led the family band Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers until 20 ...

(2018),

Kool & the Gang Kool & the Gang is an American R&B/soul/funk band formed in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1964 by brothers Robert "Kool" Bell and Ronald Bell, with Dennis "Dee Tee" Thomas, Robert "Spike" Mickens, Charles Smith, George Brown, and Ricky West. ...

(2017),

Janelle Monae Janelle may refer to: * Janelle (given names) * Janelle (surnames) * 20673 Janelle, asteroid Fictional characters: * Janelle, a.k.a. Janae Timmins * Janelle Duco, in episode " From a Whisper to a Scream" of television series ''Grey's Anatomy'' S ...

(2016),

Julieta Venegas Julieta Venegas Percevault (; born November 24, 1970) is an American-born Mexican singer, songwriter, instrumentalist and producer who sings pop-rock-indie in Spanish. She went on to join several bands including Mexican ska band Tijuana No!. Ve ...

(2016),

Randy Newman Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist known for his Southern-accented singing style, early Americana-influenced songs (often with mordant or satirical lyrics), and vari ...

(2015),

Talib Kweli Talib Kweli Greene (; born October 3, 1975) is an American rapper. He earned recognition early on through his collaboration with fellow Brooklyn rapper Mos Def in 1997, when they formed the group Black Star. Kweli's musical career continued with ...

(2015),

Smokey Robinson William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive director. He was the founder and front man of the Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he was also chief ...

(2014), Michael McDonald (2013),

Anita Baker Anita Denise Baker (born January 26, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter. She is one of the most popular singers of soulful ballads, especially renowned for her work during the height of the quiet storm period in the 1980s. Starting her career ...

(2012), and

Roberta Flack Roberta Cleopatra Flack (born February 10, 1937) is a retired American singer. She topped the ''Billboard'' charts with the No. 1 singles " The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", " Killing Me Softly with His Song", " Feel Like Makin' Love", " W ...

(2009).

Digital

Stern Grove Festival's YouTube channel features concert videos and pre-concert talks that began with the 2006 Stern Grove Festival season.

References

External links

*
Official history of Stern Grove Festival performances (1970–present)

Video tour of park and amphitheater
{{Authority control Culture of San Francisco Festivals in the San Francisco Bay Area Music of the San Francisco Bay Area Summer festivals Sunset District, San Francisco Recurring events established in 1938 1938 establishments in California Festivals established in 1938 Music festivals established in 1938