Phil Lesh & Friends perform on the closing day of Stern Grove Festival at Sigmund Stern Grove in San Francisco on Aug. 14, 2022. Chloe Catajan/STAFF.

SAN FRANCISCO — Sigmund Stern Grove was jam-packed Sunday as San Francisco welcomed Phil Lesh and some of his friends at Stern Grove Festival. The show was the grand finale of the 85th season of the annual free festival. Bubbles and beachballs filled the air on an uncharacteristically sunny day as fans of Phil Lesh and The Grateful Dead were treated to a stellar afternoon of amazing music. The 82-year-old Berkeley native is still going strong and touring after beating cancer twice, in 2006 and 2015. Lesh was at the top of his game as he jammed with a bevy of talented musicians.

Phil Lesh.

Many in the audience had their phones raised, recording portions of the show on their phones, reminiscent of old Grateful Dead bootleggers.

Lesh was joined by eight bandmates, while he was at the helm on bass and vocals. Grahame Lesh, Phil’s son and member of opening band Midnight North, carried a majority of the lead vocals while manning rhythm guitar.

Scott Metzger of Grateful Dead tribute band Almost Dead shined on electric guitar and vocals. Guitar virtuoso Stanley Jordan, who’s played with greats like Quincy Jones and Dizzy Gillespie, was masterful with his fret hammering technique on guitar. Frequent Lesh collaborator John Molo, who’s also toured with Bruce Hornsby and The Range and is a member of local band Moonalice, sat in on drums.

Jason Crosby, who’s worked with Lesh as well as Dave Matthews, handled the keys. Stuart Bogie played both saxophone and flute. The roster was capped by Katie Jacoby on violin and Mikaela Davis on harp. Both sang, in addition to accompanying Midnight North.

Phil Lesh & Friends perform on the closing day of Stern Grove Festival at Sigmund Stern Grove in San Francisco on Aug. 14, 2022.

The band blazed through a monster two-hour set of Grateful Dead classics with no breaks. Many songs were intricately interwoven together. After coming on stage and dramatically tuning their instruments simultaneously, the players launched into moody, psychedelic rock tune “Dark Star.”

The crowd became noticeably livelier as the band transitioned into “St. Stephen,” followed by “Shakedown Street.” Attendees seemed to move as one while dancing to the upbeat, folky ditties, and participated eagerly on the latter, adding a resounding “Whoo!” where needed.

The mood flipped back to downtempo grooves as the band launched into the moody, melancholic “Lady with a Fan” before transitioning into “Terrapin Station.” Grahame and Phil Lesh traded off on lead vocals on both songs seamlessly. The layering of harp, violin, sax and classical guitar in improvisation illustrated the jam band’s talent at simultaneously listening to each other while skillfully playing individual solos that somehow merged together in a musical tapestry.

The depth and complexity of this orchestration is characteristic of Phil Lesh’s symphonic method of composing songs that have enough room to allow musicians to find their own space for improvisation within the framework of the composition.

Grahame Lesh took command of lead vocals as the band launched into “Jack O Roses,” then traded off with Scott Metzger for “Let It Grow.” On “Playing With The Band,” Jacoby shined during her violin solo and was equally matched by Davis’ ethereal harp. Their improv continued harmoniously into the next song, led by the masterful Jordan. Using his famously ambidextrous hammering technique, Jordan’s classical guitar acrobatics coalesced into a beautiful jazzy, instrumental version of “Somewhere Over The Rainbow.” Davis sang, accompanying Lesh on “Mountains Of The Moon,” before the band closed on an upbeat note with “Uncle John’s Band.”

Midnight North performs on the closing day of Stern Grove Festival at Sigmund Stern Grove in San Francisco on Aug. 14, 2022.

The show kicked off with a set from Bay Area folk rock band Midnight North, featuring Grahame Lesh, Elliott Peck and Connor O’Sullivan on bass and vocals, and Nathan Graham on drums. The band played an abbreviated set featuring a selection of songs from its previous albums. Jacoby and Davis joined them for “Green Country.” They wrapped up their set with the title track from their 2021 album, There’s Always A Story.

Upon wrapping the show, Phil Lesh mentioned this was the very first time he’d ever played Stern Grove Festival. The musician, the recipient of a liver transplant in 1998, asking the audience to consider being an organ donor.

The Stern Grove Festival returns for their 86th season next summer.