Jerry Fest

JerryFest, a FREE outdoor concert annually held on the first Sunday in October, returns October 1, 2023, and will feature more music and regional acts on two stages this year. JerryFest runs from 11:30 am-8:00 pm with an official after party at Publico from 7:30 pm – 10:00 pm.

JerryFest was started to commemorate the life and art of Jerry Garcia. Rock guitarist and musical icon, Garcia was best known as the lead guitarist for the Grateful Dead that inspired legions of followers known as “Deadheads.” The last time the Grateful Dead performed in Columbia was on Halloween 1985 at the Carolina Coliseum. Every year, JerryFest aims to recreate that atmosphere in Five Points.

Housed in various bars and clubs, JerryFest was started by Five Points’ local mom and pop hippie shop – Loose Lucy’s – over twenty years ago to commemorate the life and art of Jerry Garcia. In 2014, the owners of Loose Lucy’s – Don and Jenn McCallister – brought the festival to the Five Points Association because they had not found a venue that just felt “right” and decided that Five Points was the best place to call the festival’s permanent home. Amassing over 500 attendees in that first year, it has remained one of Five Points’ signature events for the past nine years and has grown steadily.

The festival footprint expanded from the fountain plaza and Saluda Avenue in 2018 with the addition of the 2000 Block of Greene Street, to accommodate the 1,200+ attendees to the Five Points village. In 2022, the festival swelled with 2000+ festival goers. In 2023, the festival is expanding once again to include the Five Points mural lot with a second stage, a “Lil’ Hippie Corner”, and more fun for the entire family to enjoy.