The "Summer of Love" Spirit is Alive and Well and on Tour

SAN FRANCISCO, June 26, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- It's often said that if people can remember the 1960s, they simply weren't there. Today it's clear that fifty years after the "Summer of Love", its cultural significance is more than a memory and continues to reverberate.

The Dead & Company, a band comprised of the legendary Jerry Garcia's Grateful Dead bandmates: Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, and Bill Kreutzmann, joined by musicians John Mayer, Oteil Burbridge and Jeff Chimenti is enjoying a successful tour to the delight of their music fans across the nation.

The Jerry Garcia Foundation and numerous other nonprofits are on tour with the band and are appearing in the charity outreach village known as Participation Row.

Now, the Jerry Garcia Foundation has invited another iconic name from the 1960s to participate on the tour: Jorma Kaukonen of the Jefferson Airplane who still performs with Hot Tuna, will join the tour via his Psylodelic Gallery. The gallery, established by Jorma and his wife Vanessa, showcases art inspired by the psychedelic era and is located at their Furpeace Ranch Center for Art and Culture in Pomeroy, Ohio. Jerry Garcia's visual art is on permanent display at the Psylodelic Gallery which is housed in a refurbished grain silo, (hence the pun.)

The Gallery will be featured in the Participation Row charity village, an area where nonprofits are encouraged to engage the community and share their good works.

"We are honored to play a small part at the Participation Row at the Blossom Music Center. All of us have an obligation to stand up and speak out for our causes; our voices matter," said the Kaukonens. "The Psylodelic Gallery celebrates the rich musical history and art of the 60s, and our mission has always been to speak out against cutting any funding for the arts."

The Kaukonens' went on to paraphrase President John F. Kennedy saying, "music and the arts are close to the center of a nation's purpose…and is a test of the quality of a nation's civilization."

The Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane's close links in the 1960s have been well documented: their iconic San Francisco psychedelic influences mingled together, and both bands often headlined at the Fillmore Auditorium.

The spirit of the summer of love is present on Dead & Company tour, and the ethos is speaking through those passionate about combining art with good causes.

In the name of creativity and conservation, the Jerry Garcia Foundation has initiated a butterfly preservation art project on this concert tour, and is giving free non-GMO Milkweed seed packets to the first 300 concertgoers to visit their tent at Participation Row. The seed packets were generously donated by the Save Our Monarchs Foundation. 

The audience is invited to participate in the "Plant A Garden, Be An Artist" visual art project by sharing their own nature themed photos on the Jerry Garcia Foundation's Facebook page, hashtagged with #SaveOurMonarchs, #SaveOurBees, and #RippleEffect. Photos will be included in the multimedia "Plant A Garden, Be An Artist" collage.

Participation Row is a program presented by the nonprofits, REVERB and HeadCount. The program highlights the charitable activities of organizations that address the environment and social responsibility.

"Participation Row combines HeadCount's passion for civic participation with our years of experience working at tours and festivals," said Andy Bernstein, Executive Director at HeadCount. "We try to create the sort of environment for non-profits that we ourselves thrive in—one where fans are eager to take action and where the organizations feel supported. It's a magical combination that leads to great things!"

Lauren Sullivan and Adam Gardner, REVERB Cofounders added, "Making tours more environmentally-friendly while engaging fans to take action for the planet is where REVERB's heart is, and we're proud to be doing this work with Dead & Company along with our other partners."

About the Jerry Garcia Foundation

Established in 2015 by Manasha and Keelin Garcia, the Jerry Garcia Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization which supports artistic, environmental, and humanitarian causes through the beauty of art and music.

For more information, please visit:
Website: http://www.jerrygarciafoundation.org 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jerrygarciafoundation
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jerrygarciainfo

SOURCE Jerry Garcia Foundation