In August 2025, San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park became the backdrop for an unprecedented convergence of major live music events: Dead & Company’s three-night celebration of 60 years of the Grateful Dead’s music, the Outside Lands Music Festival, and a sold-out concert by country star Zach Bryan.
In a rare feat of production consistency, all three concerts were powered by the same core Meyer Sound Panther large-format linear line array system, designed and deployed through a collaboration between Meyer Sound, Bay Area live production company UltraSound, LLC, and concert production company Another Planet Entertainment. Together, these back-to-back events drew nearly 450,000 fans to the park and showcased Panther’s clarity, power, and flexibility across genres.
The run began with Dead & Company’s three-day celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Grateful Dead’s musical legacy. The event also highlighted the Grateful Dead’s decades-long sonic collaboration with Meyer Sound. UltraSound deployed a Panther line array system supported by flown 2100-LFC low-frequency control elements for deep, controlled bass. This was supplemented by 1100-LFC low-frequency control elements on the ground and two dozen VLFC very low frequency control elements—on loan from Metallica—that provided infrasonic impact during drummer Mickey Hart’s “Drums & Space” sequences.
“Panther was the natural choice,” says UltraSound CEO and Dead & Company Tour Director Derek Featherstone, who designed the system. “It’s just a very efficient box. It has high sound pressure output, it has low distortion, it’s the correct form factor for a big outdoor stage. Even though this stage could handle more weight, we didn’t need it. It’s quick to deploy, efficient to run, and a great fit for Golden Gate Park—or honestly, any venue.”
Based on previous Outside Lands systems, the design delivered consistent coverage from the rail to the far edges of the Polo Field while avoiding spill into surrounding neighborhoods, using a hybrid subwoofer configuration combining grounded end-fire and flown cardioid arrays to focus low end forward and three delay loudspeaker systems (two Lyon, one Leopard) to preserve clarity and timing.
In a nod to the Grateful Dead’s sonic legacy, the stage featured forward-facing Lyon towers used to create quadraphonic surround effects that gave fans an enveloping listening experience that connected past and present.
Distributed systems, centered around Leopard loudspeakers and ULTRA-X40 and ULTRA-X20 compact point source loudspeakers, supported tents, cabanas, and other VIP areas.
Production teams had less than a week to pivot to Outside Lands, which showcased 140 performances across three days. With multiple active stages, the Panther main system remained in place for Outside Lands’ main Lands End stage, with its third set of delays removed to avoid interference with performances elsewhere in the park.
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Outside Lands’ SOMA stage, also powered by UltraSound using Meyer Sound solutions, debuted a new open-air design featuring upgraded audio, lighting, and visuals designed for a fully immersive experience. The sound system centered around two hangs of Panther mains supported by both flown and ground-stacked 1100-LFC elements, plus Panther/1100-LFC delays and ULTRA-X80 side fills. A third Meyer Sound system, centered around LINA very compact linear line array loudspeakers, powered Outside Lands’ Dolores’ open-air dance club stage.
