SAN JOSE, Calif. — Now that Dead & Company’s wildly successful shows have ended at Golden Gate Park, it’s San Jose’s turn to honor the 60th anniversary of the Grateful Dead in December.

San Jose Rocks, a nonprofit dedicated to highlighting Santa Clara County’s role in music history, has put its celebration plans into high gear to commemorate the site of the band’s first show as the Grateful Dead on Dec. 4, 1965. The performance happened at an “acid test” party at a house on South Fifth Street in downtown San Jose. The house is no longer there, but in fitting irony, the building that happens to be on that site today is San Jose City Hall.

Dan Orloff, founder and executive director of San Jose Rocks, said initial design work is completed on a bronze plaque to commemorate the historic event, which city officials agreed to earlier this year.

“San Jose was ground zero for the Grateful Dead’s cosmic launch, and it’s high time we crank up the volume on that legacy. This plaque is more than just bronze on a wall — it’s a shoutout to the night the music got weird, wild, and wonderfully historic right here in our city. San Jose Rocks is proud to mark the spot where the Dead were born and history got loud.”

Orloff says the goal is to dedicate the plaque on Dec. 4, 2025. As part of San Jose Rocks’ deal with the city, the nonprofit will be raising all the money to pay for the 20-by-30-inch bronze plaque — featuring the band’s iconic “Steal Your Face” logo — and the celebration around its installation. That’s where Orloff hopes that Grateful Dead fans in Silicon Valley and beyond will come in.

San Jose Rocks has arranged for a pretty cool donor gift, too. Contributors at various levels starting at $125 will receive limited-edition handbills or commemorative posters designed for this cause by artist Stanley Mouse, who created posters for the Bill Graham-promoted shows as well as album covers for the Grateful Dead and Journey. You can find out more at sanjoserocks.org/article/the-grateful-dead-tribute.

Even San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan — who was barely a teenager when Jerry Garcia died in 1995 — is backing the project, saying the Dead are an “undeniable part of San Jose’s rich musical history.”

“Our city council meetings are clearly not as exciting as a Dead show, but we’re proud to host a plaque for fans to honor the legendary band’s legacy where it all began, right here in San Jose,” Mahan said in a statement.

©2025 MediaNews Group, Inc. Visit at mercurynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.