Day on the Green


Day on the Green was a recurring concert in Oakland, California, presented by promoter Bill Graham and his company Bill Graham Presents. Held at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, these events began in 1973 and continued into the early 1990s. The last Day on the Green overseen by Graham took place the same month as his death in a helicopter crash in 1991. There was a series of Day on the Green shows the following year in the wake of Graham's death and there were other shows in 1994-97 at the Oakland Coliseum Stadium - namely U2, Pink Floyd, and the Rolling Stones.
WWW dayonthegreen.net

Proto Day on the Green Concerts

In the Spring of 1973 Bill Graham put on a pair of large, daytime concerts at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. Both events were advertised on the same poster under the billing: 'Dancing On The Outdoor Green.' These concerts served as the blueprint of what two months later and across the bay became "Day On The Green."

1973

1974

1975

Called "THE BRITISH ARE COMING" AKA "The INVASION OF THE BRITISH."

1976

Called "The British Are Back to Back" show.
Jefferson Starship was the originally planned headliner, but were replaced by Boz Scaggs and Tower Of Power.
Sammy Hagar played much too long, but the crew did an 8-minute set change before Mahogany Rush came out.
This tour marked Brian Wilson's first public performances with The Beach Boys in several years.
At the last minute, the concert was moved from the outdoor Coliseum to the indoor Arena next door due to low ticket sales- thus not considered a Day On The Green.

1977

Led Zeppelin's performances took place towards the end of its 1977 North American tour. These were some of the largest Day on the Green shows in its history. Unknown at the time, these were to be Led Zeppelin's final U.S. shows. Led Zeppelin played only a few more gigs in Europe in 1979 and 1980. A 1980 U.S. tour was announced in support of the new album In Through the Out Door and tickets were sold but the tour did not occur as Led Zeppelin disbanded after the untimely death of drummer John Bonham.

1978

1979

Originally the band U.K. was scheduled to open, eventually being replaced by Robert Fleischman.
This show was alternately called the "4th Of July All American Rock 'N' Roll Show."
Also called "The Monsters Of Rock" show. Ted Nugent, Aerosmith and AC/DC's set has been bootlegged in video form. This was reputedly the only footage from any of the 1970s Day On The Green concerts to be available,. It was somehow taken from the famous Bill Graham vault c2006-2007. Footage of Lynyrd Skynyrd performing "Freebird" at the 7/4/1977 Day on the Green can be seen in the documentary film Freebird - The Movie
This was considered an offshoot of the more rock music-based Days On The Green.
This show was also called "Stars Of the 80s" and "Rock 'N' Roll Party" in advertisements.

1980

This concert was also called "Cruisin' On The Green" in advertisements. Originally The Babys were scheduled to appear, with Triumph and Randy Hansen replacing them.
Originally Angel City was scheduled to open the show, but was replaced by Shakin' Street.

1981

1982

1983

Gary Moore was originally slated to appear but was replaced with Night Ranger.

1984

No Day On The Green held this year.

1985

These two concerts were held on the same weekend, making an odd pairing of the very metal-driven D.O.G. #1 vs the very youthful pop oriented D.O.G. #2 following right after.
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1986

No Day On The Green held this year.

1987

1988

Sting was originally on the bill for the tour but was not part of the Oakland show

1989

After visiting some areas hit by the infamous October 1989 Bay Area earthquake, Mick Jagger donates $500,000 to the victims.

1990

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1991

The final Day On The Green presented by Bill Graham before his death.

1992

1999

Revival 2015-16

In July 2015, Bay Area concert promoter and owner of the Day On The Green Federal Trademark, Got Live Entertainment was forced to shutter its planned Day On The Green event due to a scheduling issue with the Alameda County Fairgrounds. The show was postponed and ultimately rescheduled for September 10, 2016 with a change in venue to Pioneer Amphitheater on the campus of California State University East Bay in Hayward. The performance lineup for Day On The Green 2016 consisted of tributes to five artists that appeared at Day On The Green in Oakland: Evolution, Boys Of Summer, Mirage, Foreigner Unauthorized and Savor. In addition to the concert, organizers conducted online voting for the Day On The Green Hall Of Fame. Over 65,000 votes were cast. Led Zeppelin and Journey finished with the highest vote total to become the initial inductees, enshrined in a ceremony at Day On The Green hosted by BAM.