How Another Planet Entertainment Has Helped Spur San Francisco’s Live Music Revival

Like most contemporary American cities, San Francisco has been slow to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Once known for its flourishing nightlife scene, high-end hotels and world class restaurants, San Francisco remained dark in the earlier months and years that followed the devastating shutdown of cultural life in the city.

But with tourists finally returning and the city’s financial district humming back to life, live music has both returned and emerged as one of its most visible and effective recovery tools for the area — and no company has been more central to that effort than Another Planet Entertainment.

The Bay Area–based independent promoter, best known as the operator of Outside Lands, has turned Golden Gate Park and other civic spaces into engines of economic activity and cultural vitality. In 2025, Another Planet produced three consecutive weekends of large-scale concerts in the park, drawing nearly half a million fans, generating a conservative estimate of $150 million in economic impact, and, just as importantly, broadcasting an image of San Francisco as vibrant and welcoming.

“San Francisco has been down since COVID, some of it reality but much of it perception,” says Allen Scott, partner at Another Planet. “We’re changing that narrative, and we’re doing our part by bringing people back to the city through music.”

Since its launch in 2008, Outside Lands has grown into the largest independently owned festival in North America, selling 56,000 tickets per day over its three-day run each August. But its impact extends far beyond Golden Gate Park. The festival brings in hundreds of thousands of visitors who fill hotels, ride public transit and eat at local restaurants.

Outside Lands’ distinctive mix of food, beverage and music also reflects San Francisco’s identity. More than 100 local restaurants now serve festival-goers each year, alongside curated wine and beer programs that highlight the Bay Area’s culinary heritage.

“The food is as impressive as the music lineup,” Scott says. “It’s uniquely San Francisco — you can’t replicate it anywhere else.”

Scott said San Francisco’s newly elected Mayor Daniel Lurie, who took office in January, played an important role in green-lighting an expansion of the company’s concert series at Golden Gate Park. Another Planet is the only company with a city permit allowing it to stage ticketed concerts at Golden Gate Park and Lurie was instrumental in winning the approval to expand the series.

In 2025, the company staged a 60th anniversary celebration of the Grateful Dead, Aug. 1-3, by booking a weekend of music from Dead and Company. That three-day show was followed the next week, Aug. 8-10, by Outside Lands, which included headliners Doja Cat, Tyler, the Creator, Beck, Vampire Weekend and Ludacris. Then on Aug. 15, Another Planet staged a headline concert featuring Zach Bryan along with Kings of Leon and Turnpike Troubadours for a stadium-sized night. The three distinct weekends drew different audiences but a shared outcome — millions spent by visitors from across the world visiting San Francisco.

The Dead and Co. shows, which coincided with Jerry Garcia’s birthday, sold 168,000 tickets and grossed more than $38 million alone. “The mayor’s office and the parks department understood the cultural significance,” Scott says. “It was a civic moment for the city.”

For city officials, Another Planet has become a reliable partner in revitalization. All Golden Gate Park events are full cost-recovery, meaning San Francisco pays nothing out of pocket. Another Planet reimburses city departments — including police, fire, Muni and Public Works — often in the seven-figure range, while Rec and Park retains all revenues to reinvest in the system.

That partnership extends to neighborhood engagement. Another Planet mails event information to nearly 30,000 households surrounding the park, operates a multilingual community hotline and runs shuttle programs to ease traffic. “These are our neighbors,” Scott says. “We live here too, and we take the responsibility seriously.”

APE’s impact hasn’t been limited to Golden Gate Park. In 2023, the company staged a 25,000-capacity Skrillex show at Civic Center Plaza, a bold activation in a public space that Scott says “wouldn’t have happened pre-COVID.”

For city leaders, the benefits are clear: live music brings in visitors, boosts local spending and creates media moments that push back on narratives that the city is in decline. For Another Planet, the strategy is about longevity. “We’re not a multinational company,” Scott says. “We live here and work here. Our focus is on Northern California, and we want to be part of the city’s revival.”

That revival will soon include the reopening of the historic Castro Theater, which Another Planet is currently renovating into a 1,400-capacity multi-use venue. Scheduled to reopen in early 2026, the theater will host music, film, comedy, podcasts and LGBTQ+ programming, with as many as 275 events annually.

“The Castro is an iconic building, not just for the district but for all of San Francisco,” Scott says. “We couldn’t be happier to become stewards of its next chapter.”

Live music won’t solve every challenge San Francisco faces, but Another Planet’s success demonstrates how cultural investment can change the conversation. By drawing hundreds of thousands of fans and millions in visitor spending, the company has turned Golden Gate Park into a stage for both music and civic renewal.

“Outside Lands and these park shows prove San Francisco is still a global cultural destination,” Scott says. “We want to be here for decades, and we want the city to be stronger because of it.”