SAN FRANCISCO — June 29, 2005 — In a collaboration of two San Francisco institutions, SF Weekly and Bill Graham Presents have entered a three-year promotional agreement for the historic Warfield Theatre, the resplendent Market Street venue whose stage has been graced by everyone from Charlie Chaplin to the Grateful Dead. Under the agreement, the famed theatre will be named the SF Weekly Warfield while the award-winning alternative newsweekly and Bill Graham Presents collaborate across business fronts to continue and expand the Warfield’s stature as one of the country’s premier mid-size live music venues.
“SF Weekly is committed to supporting live music in the community, we are very excited about the partnership with the Warfield” says SF Weekly Publisher Chris Keating.
Of the deal, Bill Graham Presents President, Lee Smith says, “We are very pleased to be associated with a like-minded organization and sharing a common, core audience.”
The official launch party for the new SF Weekly Warfield will coincide with this fall’s SF Weekly Music Awards, the paper’s long-running annual celebration of Bay Area music. “I think I can confidently predict that this year’s Music Awards will constitute a pretty good time,” SF Weekly Editor John Mecklin said with characteristic understatement. “Perhaps the wildest-ass, 2,000-person party seen here. Ever.”
Built by theatre chain owner Marcus Loew, the Warfield was named for one of his friends, David Warfield, a San Franciscan considered one of the great actors of his day. The theatre opened in 1922 and early on was given over to silent films and vaudeville shows, with performers as varied as Charlie Chaplin, Al Jolson, and Rin Tin Tin. In recent years, the Warfield’s ornate Victorian detail has played host to some 100 events per year and featured a wide variety of popular music greats, including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and the Grateful Dead.
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Founded in 1966 by legendary San Francisco producer Bill Graham, Bill Graham Presents (www.bgp.com) produces more than 500 events each year. In addition to its presentations in the rock, country, and jazz fields, BGP presents a variety of entertainment, including theatre, comedy, special events, and festival concerts/national tours.
Since 1989, SF Weekly (www.sfweekly.com) has been taking journalism seriously without getting stuffy about it, making sardonic wit and literary style weekly occurrences, and absolutely cherishing its political independence. The Weekly’s eclectic combination of take-no-prisoners opinion, high-impact investigations (which have won some of the nation’s most prestigious journalism honors, including the George Polk Award) and comprehensive arts and entertainment coverage has attracted a loyal audience of more than 550,000 active urbanites.
FOR INFORMATION CONTACT:
M. Johanna Lopez-Miyaki, Marketing Director
SF Weekly
415.541.8100
Erik Siebert, Marketing Manager
Bill Graham Presents
415.281.9265
