Jerry Garcia to Be Honored by the San Francisco Giants

On Aug. 9, Grateful Dead fans around the world will celebrate/mourn the 15th anniversary of guitarist/vocalist Jerry Garcia's passing. For their part, the San Francisco Giants are honoring the jam king with "Jerry Garcia Tribute Night," which will feature a rendition of the 'Star Spangled Banner' by the Dead rhythm guitarist Bob Weir and drummer Mickey Hart during the seventh inning stretch.

Those hoping for Hart to perform a 25-minute 'Drums/Space,' you're out of luck. But fear not -- he is attempting to set a Guinness World Record for the largest kazoo ensemble, wrangling 7,000 participants for 'Take Me Out to the Ball Game.' So, it'll sort of sound like 'Drums/Space.'

A "special event" ticket is being made available, to which fans will get to sit in a special "Jerry Garcia" section and take home a Garcia bobblehead that honors his Candlestick Park 'Banner' performance from 1993. Exactly how that's being portrayed, we're unsure. Fans are still responsible for getting their own munchies.

Also on hand for the festivities will be Dead cover bands doing some pregame jams, and Garcia's daughter Annabelle throwing out the first pitch.

That night, the Giants are scheduled to take on the Chicago Cubs. Garcia's last show with the Grateful Dead was on July 9, 1995 at Chicago's Soldier Field. Coincidence? Maybe, but we'll leave that for Dead Heads to speculate on.

For the last several years, San Francisco has been celebrating what they dub "the days between" -- named after the Garcia tune of the same name -- where the city celebrates the late musician for eight days, spanning from his birthday Aug. 1 through Aug. 9. Kicking off this year's celebration is "Jerry Day" at the Jerry Garcia Amphitheater in San Francisco, with longtime Garcia collaborator Melvin Seals performing with the JGB (aka Jerry Garcia Band).

Clearly, Garcia's memory will not fade away anytime soon.