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Welcome to Bill Graham Presents!
In November of 1965, Bill Graham produced his first concert, a benefit for the San Francisco Mime Troupe. Held in a loft, the benefit brought together the Jefferson Airplane, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, The Committee, The Fugs, Allen Ginsburg, and other elements of the San Francisco arts scene and sub-culture. The artists performed, the people danced, and the room was pervaded by an intoxicating sense of joy and freedom.
Since then, Bill Graham Presents (BGP) has continued to strive to bring the best of professionalism, creativity and experience to the leisure time industry. Today, BGP produces over 500 events each year. In addition to its presentations in the rock, country, jazz and MOR fields, BGP has expanded its horizons beyond popular music, presenting a variety of entertainment, including theatre (Lord of the Dance, Rocky Horror Show, Ain't Misbehavin', Evita, Tommy), dance (Twala Tharp Dance Company, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre), comedy (Rodney Dangerfield, Bill Cosby, Sandra Bernhard), magic (David Copperfield, Doug Henning, Harry Blackstone), special events (Nutcracker on Ice, The Peking Opera, The Moscow Circus, Cirque du Soleil) and festival concerts/national tours (Laguna Sega Daze, H.O.R.D.E., Lollapalooza, Festival New Orleans, WOMAD).
In addition, BGP has coordinated national and international tours supervising all aspects of the technical production, publicity and advertising, tour merchandising, video recording, ticket and credential coordination, press and record label liaising, hotel and travel arrangements, financial and accounting services (e.g., Jerry Garcia, Mick Jagger, George Harrison, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, Brian Boitano / Katarina Witt U.S. Skating Tour, Stars on Ice, Tour of Olympic and World Gymnasts).
Bill Graham Presents also owns and operates the Shoreline Amphitheatre ("best large outdoor amphitheatre in the United States") located in the Mountain View, CA in the heart of the Silicon Valley (10 miles south of San Jose/40 miles north of San Francisco), as well as the brand-new Sacramento Valley Amphitheatre serving the greater Sacramento Valley ("California's newest concert venue"). BGP also exclusively books and manages the Chronicle Pavilion at Concord ("the house that jazz built") located in Concord, CA, serving the greater San Francisco East Bay/Northern California market. Look for other amphitheatres in the greater Northwest opening soon!
AKG, an offshoot of Bill Graham Presents, is the company that handles the nightclub facilities. In San Francisco, AKG books and operates the historic Fillmore Auditorium and Warfield Theatre. AKG also operates the stylish and comfortable Punch Line comedy clubs in San Francisco and Sacramento.
BGP also dedicates itself to aiding those less fortunate by mobilizing musicians on behalf of crucial social issues. BGP has produced and promoted hundreds of benefit events and helped raise millions of dollars for diverse organizations and causes including Live Aid Concert for African Famine Relief, the American-Soviet Peace Concert for Nuclear Disarmament in Moscow, San Francisco's Earthquake Relief, Amnesty International's Conspiracy of Hope and Human Rights NOW! tours, the Nelson Mandela concerts and ralies in California and New York, In-Concert Against AIDS, and Concerts for the Advocacy of Indigenous People's Traditional and Cultural Rights, to name a few.
Bill Graham Management provides artist development and career management for the Neville Brothers, Eddie Money, Joe Satriani, Blues Traveler, Aaron Neville, The Gin Blossoms, Tora Tora Tora, Crash Vegas and T-Ride.
In 1998, Bill Graham Presents was acquired by SFX Entertainment, the largest network of entertainment venues and producers in the world. With a rich history of presenting concerts, sporting events, theatrical productions and special and corporate events, BGP is now an integral part of the finest national entertainment and special events company in history.
Bill Graham Presents looks toward the future by building on the past. By following the standards of professionalism, ethics and excellence that were established by Bill, we will continue to provide enjoyment to concert audiences in San Francisco and around the world.
Bill Graham Foundation
The Bill Graham Foundation was formed in November 1991 following the death of Bill Graham. The Foundation is a non-endowed public charity that is funded primarily through individual contributions. The Foundation awards grants to community-based non-profit groups, which represent Bill's philanthropic ideals. Funding is aimed at, but not limited to, projects that involve education, music and the cultural arts. Through the Foundation, Bill's spirit of generosity, compassion and commitment to community continue to thrive.
Since its inception in 1992, the Bill Graham Foundation has donated over $250,000 to grant recipients in arts & culture, community relations, education and environmental causes. A partial listing of Bill Graham Foundation grant recipients includes The San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, Fresh Start Farms, Health Through Art/Signs of Recovery, George Washington High School Alumni Association, Music in Schools Today, San Francisco Mime Troupe, Step to College/San Francisco State University, San Francisco Community Music Center, Bread & Roses, Haight Ashbury Teen Newspaper, San Francisco Unified School District, San Francisco Canal Ministry, Tenaya Elementary School, Make'A'Circus, Tigre Productions, No Mayo Records, Guitar Journey/KUSF-FM, Mountain View Schools Fund, Jewish Community Federation, and Friends of Recreation and Parks, to name a few.
Bill Graham Menorah
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