“When the city of San Francisco put out an RFP for the building, we were the only company that held the foresight to bid. At the time, the city was considering mothballing the venue — it was a white elephant that had only done a handful of events the year before we took over,” says Gregg Perloff, CEO, and Co-Founder of Another Planet Entertainment. “After millions of dollars in improvements including acoustics, cosmetic updates to the ceiling, dressing rooms, and more, APE has turned the venue into a jewel of the city. When the venue was reborn 10 years ago, the neighborhood was in an extremely bad state. Now, with companies like Twitter, Dolby, the city’s Department of the Environment and many condominium and apartment projects, the BGCA has become the anchor tenant of the neighborhood. We are so proud to be the steward of this building, which as now developed a long history of both musical excellence and community involvement. Here’s to another 10 years.”
The Bill Graham Civic Auditorium delivers a significant and positive impact on the Civic Center neighborhood and economy and also pride itself on being a pillar of the community, hosting numerous charitable events for the San Francisco Bay Area. Major fundraisers have been held for organizations such as Tipping Point, SF Parks Alliance, and ‘Band Together 2,’ a benefit concert featuring the Red Hot Chili Peppers which raised $4 million for North Bay fire relief. BGCA is proud to have partnered with Project Homeless Connect since 2010 — having hosted 76 events and counting, the event provides access to critical services for over 60,000 homeless individuals. Every holiday season, the BGCA actively participates in the SF Toy Drive, encouraging concert attendees to bring a new, unwrapped toy and has contributed 10,000+ toys to the cause.
While best known as a concert and performance venue, the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium hosts a wide breadth of programming including private events, gaming, and speaking engagements. Under the Private Events Division of APE, Another Planet Events has organized product launches for some of the largest companies in the world, including Apple, Samsung, Google, Facebook, Square, Twitter, Rakuten, and Salesforce, and has produced events for the NFL Awards, Netflix, BoxWorks, and Audi to name a few. Also of note, BGCA hosted the League of Legends World Championship World Stage in 2016, a 6.5 hour-a-day gaming event that took place over the course of 8 days. Prominent speakers that have visited the BGCA include Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
At this time, the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium is closed under COVID-19 measures. When restrictions are lifted, APE will continue to present some of the best concerts and events in the Bay Area. Visit APEConcerts.com and BillGrahamCivic.com for official updates and follow BGCA on Instagram and Twitter.
ABOUT THE BILL GRAHAM CIVIC AUDITORIUM:
Built-in 1915 as part of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium derives its name from the late impresario Bill Graham, who began the rock ‘n roll movement in San Francisco in the 1960s. The historic building has hosted a multitude of significant cultural events, including the Democratic National Convention in 1920, a speech from Martin Luther King Jr. to the NAACP in 1956, and served as the Golden State Warriors’ home court from 1964 to 1966. President Barack Obama was a guest of the venue both in 2007 and 2012 for campaign speeches, and the Dalai Lama offered two days of teachings in 2007. As the exclusive promoter, Another Planet Entertainment manages the building with respect to its rich history and keeps the venue active with hundreds of concerts and special events. Past concerts include performances by the Grateful Dead, Elton John, Beastie Boys, Metallica, Swedish House Mafia, Chance the Rapper, The Killers, Janet Jackson, Phish, Lady Gaga, Boby Dylan, Tool, Bruno Mars, Zedd, Juanes, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Journey, Billie Eilish, Lizzo, and many more. http://billgrahamcivic.com/
ABOUT ANOTHER PLANET ENTERTAINMENT:
Established in 2003, Another Planet Entertainment (APE) is the largest independent promoter in the U.S. and has produced and promoted thousands of events with artists as diverse as Radiohead, Beyonce, Neil Young, Kendrick Lamar, Adele, Daft Punk, Lady Gaga, The Weeknd, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Lizzo, Metallica, Bruno Mars, twenty-one pilots, Bruce Springsteen, Mumford & Sons, Zedd, Paul McCartney, Florence + The Machine and Kanye West. Named Top Independent Promoter (U.S.) by Billboard Magazine in 2015 and 2016 and Top Independent Promoter (Worldwide) in 2017, APE is the exclusive promoter for the Greek Theater in Berkeley, the Fox Theater in Oakland, the historic Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, The Independent in San Francisco and Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena at Harveys as well as co-promoter of Oxbow RiverStage in Downtown Napa. APE also operates private events division Another Planet Events and an artist management arm, Another Planet Entertainment Management, with a roster that includes two-time GRAMMY-nominated artist Tycho. APE also produces two award-winning festivals — Outside Lands (since 2008) in San Francisco and Life Is Beautiful (since 2013) in Downtown Las Vegas. For more information, visit http://apeconcerts.com/
