Wavy Gravy’s SEVA FETE

Wavy Gravy | The Masonic | San Francisco, CA | May 16th, 2026 - photos by Gabriel David Barkin

Wavy Gravy celebrated his 90th(!) birthday Saturday night in San Francisco with a star-studded tribute concert at The Masonic. The event was a benefit for Seva, the foundation launched by Wavy Gravy, Dr. Larry Brilliant, and others to help prevent needless blindness throughout the world.

Do a solid for Wavy Gravy – donate to Seva (and learn more) at https://www.seva.org

Steve Earle, Todd Rundgren, Peter Rowan, and Maria Muldaur were just some of the high-caliber performers paying tribute to the vaunted countercultural icon. Cat Power, ALO’s Lebo, and R&B singer Aloe Blacc (a late addition to the lineup) also took turns at the lead mic. 

With Wavy Gravy sitting at the side of the stage next to his wife Jahanara Romney, more than three hours of musical festivities kicked off with a rousing “Viola Lee Blues” sung by Harper Simon. (Yes, he’s Paul Simon’s kid.)

There were several notable highlights throughout the evening, including:

• The transcendent harmony on the Grateful Dead’s “Attics of My Life,” sung by Larry Campbell, Teresa Williams, Peter Rowan, and Vicki Randle, with spare acoustic guitar accompaniment by Campbell. This is not an easy song to sing. Campbell, Williams, and Rowan have recorded the song together and knew their parts well ahead of time, but “Tonight Show” veteran Randle reportedly learned her part just the night before — and nailed it on stage.
• Maria Muldaur killin’ it on Percy Mayfield’s “Please Send Me Someone to Love.” Muldaur, who has rarely stood up to sing in the past few years due to knee issues, rose from her stool and belted the blues like they were going out of style and needed to come back. (Earlier this year, Muldaur told me, “I am planning to have a knee replacement, my first bionic part – and then, watch out!”) The band stopped playing while Muldaur vamped, letting the force and emotion of her voice carry the song through to a standing ovation. 
• Cat Power singing a few Dylan songs, including her own iconoclastic take on “Ballad of a Thin Man” – a fitting choice, considering the house band included Dylan’s longtime bass player Tony Garnier as well as guitarists Campbell and Greg Leisz, both of whom have spent time playing alongside Dylan in the past few decades.
• Todd Rundgren ran through a mini set of his three biggest hits, “I Saw the Light,” “Hello It’s Me,” and a frolicsome “Bang the Drum All Day.”

Mr. Gravy took it all in from his perch on the couch on stage right. He leaned forward to blow out the far-fewer-than-90 candles on a birthday cake delivered to him toward the end of the show. (Another, larger cake — this one decorated in tie-dye swirls — was presented to the hippie hero in the afterparty in the Masonic’s VIP lounge.)

To end the concert, the entire ensemble came on stage for two final songs, beginning with Blacc singing the lead vocals on Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On.” The evening closed with a spiritual rendition of “Basic Human Needs,” a song written by Wavy Gravy with inspirational lyrics befitting a celebration of a life devoted to making the world more free, fun, and fair.

And wouldn’t it be grand
If we all lent a hand

 Don’t miss Wavy’s next milestone, whenever and wherever that may be. If it’s anything like this one, it’ll be worth leaving home for.