About

About US

History

About US

Stern Grove Festival is a non-profit organization making free live music accessible to all since 1938.

THE ORIGINAL FREE MUSIC FESTIVAL

We believe music inspires, transforms and unites a community.

Join us for a summer afternoon of magic at Stern Grove Festival, where every moment is an opportunity for discovery, connection, and joyous celebration. For 87 years as a non-profit organization, all proceeds of our events go towards bringing free live music to San Francisco, ensuring that everyone can experience the magic of music in nature.

Stern Grove Festival’s Impact Since 1938

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Money Raised

Free Concerts

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Concert Attendees

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How We Work

All of our concerts are funded by individual donors, sponsors, and organizations so you can trust that 100% of your donation goes directly to funding our Festival. We raise nearly $4M every year so we can continue to support our community, staff and musicians by paying fair and equitable rates.

We need to raise $40 per person to keep our concerts free. Consider donating today to help us continue our amazing tradition.

Ready to give the gift of free live music?

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OUR

HISTORY

1847

Stern Grove site homesteaded by Alfred Greene and his wife. Alfred Greene’s nephew, George, plants the first eucalyptus trees on the property.

April 21, 1869

Rosalie Meyer is born.

1892

Alfred Greene builds the “Trocadero Inn,” a suburban resort.

October 3, 1892

Sigmund Stern and Rosalie Meyer marry in San Francisco, at her parents’ home on the corner of Pine and Gough.

1919

Rosalie Meyer Stern joins the San Francisco Playground Commission and, with Sigmund, begins a search for a suitable property to donate to the City for recreational purposes.

April 24, 1928

Sigmund Stern passes away.

April 14, 1931

Rosalie Meyer Stern buys the Greene family’s 12 acres of land for $50,000. She names the site Sigmund Stern Grove in honor of her husband.

September 16, 1931

Mrs. Stern offers the Grove to San Francisco Mayor Angelo Rossi to be used expressly for recreational activities. Renovation work begins shortly after with the architects Gardiner Daily, Bernard Maybeck, and William Gladstone Merchant.

June 4, 1932

Sigmund Stern Recreation Grove is officially dedicated by Mayor Rossi.

1931

Rosalie M. Stern purchased Stern Grove and gave it as a gift to the City of San Francisco in 1931, in memory of her husband Sigmund, a prominent civic leader. Mrs. Stern determined that the site would be preserved as a park in which the public could enjoy admission-free music, dance, and theater performances.

June 19, 1932

SF Symphony performed the first concert at Stern Grove.

1938

Rosalie Stern founded the non-profit: Stern Grove Festival Association, to present “a summer series that is distinctly a forward mark in newness, designed to educate and entertain the public.”

July 10, 1938

First summer concert of the first Stern Grove Festival, performed by the Bay Region Symphony of the Federal Music Project. The first season ran every Sunday until September 25 (12 programs) and the San Francisco Symphony performed twice.

February 1956

Rosalie Meyer Stern passes away. Her daughter, Elise Stern Hass is named Festival Chair.

1963

The Festival celebrates its 25th Anniversary Season with a performance by the San Francisco Symphony. Ansel Adams, in the audience that day, takes a series of photographs of the Grove.

1968

Rhoda Goldman, Elise S. Haas’s daughter, becomes Festival Chair.

1969

Preservation Hall Jazz Band performs for the first time at Stern Grove Festival. They performed nearly every year until 1999.

1987

Stern Grove Festival Celebrates its 50th Anniversary.

1996

Rhoda Goldman passes away. Her son, Dr. Douglas E. Goldman assumes the Chair of the Festival.

June 19, 2005

Stern Grove Festival kicks off its 68th Season with the opening of the newly renovated Sigmund Stern Grove with a concert featuring Lucinda Williams and John Doe. Following a ribbon-cutting ceremony, Supervisor Bevan Dufty declares “Stern Grove Festival Day” in San Francisco.

February 26, 2020

Douglas E. Goldman retires as Chair. His son Matthew W. Goldman is named the new Board Chair.