Stern Grove Festival Drops Epic 2025 Lineup (Yes, It’s Still Free!)
One of San Francisco’s most treasured summer traditions is back—and it’s bigger, bolder, and groovier than ever. Stern Grove Festival, the nation’s longest-running free outdoor music festival, has officially announced its 2025 lineup, and it’s packed with living legends, indie icons, genre-defying stars, and homegrown Bay Area talent.
Headlining the 88th season are Diana Ross, Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley & Stephen Marley, Sleater-Kinney, Girl Talk, Chromeo, Phantogram, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Orville Peck, The Pointer Sisters, and many more.
The free weekly concerts return every Sunday from June 15 to August 17, 2025, with shows nestled in the scenic redwoods and eucalyptus trees of Stern Grove (19th Ave & Sloat Blvd).
The season wraps with a blockbuster Big Picnic Weekend, featuring back-to-back concerts on Saturday, August 16 and Sunday, August 17—including Diana Ross herself closing out the summer.
Concerts typically start at 2pm.
🎟️ New Ticketing System: Enter “Lottery” to Win Free Tickets
To make things fairer and easier, Stern Grove is rolling out a new ticket lottery system this year. All tickets remain 100% free, but hopeful attendees will now enter a weekly drawing online at sterngrove.org/ticket-info.
Didn’t win the lottery? No problem! The festival is launching Community Box Offices across San Francisco, where folks can reserve tickets in person the day before each concert. At least 1,000 free tickets will be made available citywide every week.
How does the lottery work?
- Six weeks before, you’ll be able to enter the online lottery for a chance to get tickets.
- The lottery will be open for 1 week – so you have plenty of time to enter.
- Four weeks before, you’ll get an email letting you know whether or not you’ve won and how to claim your tickets.
- You have one week to claim your tickets. If you don’t, we consider that ticket as available to someone else. After that one week claim period has occurred we will do an internal assessment to determine if we can release more tickets . In most cases, its highly likely that this will occur. If so, then we would run the same lottery for a brand new batch of winners 4-5 weeks out from each event . No need to re- register either.
🪑 Want VIP Treatment? Reserve a Table
For those looking for a more luxe experience (and have $2,000-$5,000 to spend, depending on the concert), reserved tables for 10 are available for each show, with a donation that supports the nonprofit festival. Or, if you don’t have a crew of 10, you can join a “community table” for $200-$500 depending on the concert
🌞 Volunteer for Free Tickets
Come help out the festival and volunteer at a show or on their Street Team. All volunteers receive a ticket to a future show.
Stern Grove will have more information about volunteering on our website soon. Please email volunteer@sterngrove.org for more information
🔊 Expanded DJ Lineup Featuring Bay Area Radio Favorites
This year’s shows will also spotlight the Bay’s rich radio culture, with local DJs from KEXP, KALW, and KPFA kicking off the vibe every Sunday (except for the Symphony performance). Expect crowd-pleasing sets from names like J Boogie, Wonway Posibul, DJ Lady Ryan, and many more.
🎶 2025 Stern Grove Lineup
- June 15: The California Honeydrops + The Dip – Lottery opens May 4
- June 22: Channel Tres + ASTU – Lottery opens May 11
- June 29: Sleater-Kinney + Destroy Boys – Lottery opens May 18
- July 6: San Francisco Symphony ft. Taimane (No DJ) – Lottery opens May 25
- July 13: Phantogram + Ha Vay – Lottery opens June 1
- July 20: Girl Talk + Chromeo – Lottery opens June 8
- July 27: Orville Peck + Jaime Wyatt – Lottery opens June 15
- August 3: Michael Franti & Spearhead + Black London – Lottery opens June 22
- August 10: The Pointer Sisters + Lyrics Born – Lottery opens June 29
- Saturday, August 16: Damian Marley & Stephen Marley (Big Picnic Day 1) – Lottery opens July 5
- August 17: Diana Ross (Big Picnic Day 2) – Lottery opens July 6
🎤 Local Legends Share the Stage
True to its community roots, Stern Grove Festival also shines a light on local music heroes—from Lyrics Born (Berkeley) and ASTU (Oakland) to Ha Vay (SF) and Black London (Oakland).
Founded in 1938 by Rosalie Meyer Stern with a mission to make the arts free and accessible, the festival has stayed true to its vision for nearly nine decades. Today, the tradition is upheld by her descendants and supported by thousands of fans who come together to celebrate music, nature, and community.
So bring a blanket, pack a picnic (or reserve that VIP table), and get ready to dance under the trees all summer long. Because in a world where ticket prices are skyrocketing, Stern Grove remains priceless—and free for everyone.
For the full schedule, ticket info, and to enter the lottery: visit www.sterngrove.org.
