Bob Weir

With Wavy Gravy, Bob Weir, and Steve Kimock as its star personalities on May 6, and Wavy’s Camp Winnarainbow the recipient of the evening’s proceeds, the intimate event at the Sweetwater Music Hall in Mill Valley, California, exuded a friends and family vibe. And there was cake!

“This is one the most thrilling albums the Grateful Dead ever produced, mixing portions of live recordings from the first six months of Mickey's tenure with the band, along with studio experimentations that would hint at where the Dead would go when they started recording to 16-track tape the following year. The 1971 remix, produced in order to make the album more accessible to the newer fans who were brought on board with WORKINGMAN'S DEAD and AMERICAN BEAUTY, has been the most commonly heard version for the past 45+ years.

The rumor mill was in full force with speculation of which special guest would accompanying Bob Weir and Phil Lesh on stop two of their mini “Duo” tour in Boston. The two Grateful Dead founding members were joined by Trey Anastasio in NY, and many expected that John Mayer would guest in Boston.

Founding members Phil Lesh and Bob Weir, of Grateful Dead fame, playing as a duo without a backing band for the first time together, ended their “Bobby and Phil Tour” with two, consecutive nights at the Chicago Theatre, after selling out New York’s Radio City Music Hall and Boston’s Wang Center.

Dead & Company had to postpone the originally scheduled Fall Tour 2017 South Florida show Dec 8, 2017, when John Mayer needed an emergency appendectomy.  Monday, February 26, 2018, was the rescheduled show. They say timing is everything.  The show came on the heels of the Parkland school shooting tragedy. Coincidence for sure but Dead & Company brought their kindness and love to a community in need of healing through the universal language of music.

Some things don’t change.  People die.  Others get born to take their place.  Storms cover the land with trouble.  And then, always, the sun breaks through again.”  John Barlow

Robert Hunter recalls, “Enter, John Barlow, in Pecos Bill getup, silk kerchief, and Stetson hat, as befit a Wyoming ranch boss and author of the lyrics to ‘Mexicali Blues.’  Billy goats together, only he knew Weir well enough to butt horns with him, part friends, and do it again.”

Three cities and six dates Phil Lesh and Bob Weir reunite for a rare set of concerts as a duo. Having never played out together without a band, this is a first. The dates: March 2nd and 3rd at Radio City Music Hall, Wang Theatre Boston, March 7th and 8th and wrapping up at Chicago Theatre March 10th and 11th.
 

DEAD & COMPANY announces its 2018 tour, kicking off on Wednesday, May 30th in Mansfield, Massachusetts at the Xfinity Center and returning for two-night stands at iconic venues such as Citi Field in New York; Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy, Wisconsin; Shoreline Amphitheatre in San Francisco, California; and Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado, while also adding new venues, including Los Angeles’ historic Dodger Stadium and Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon, to the tour.

Did I say one? Better make it two. While Dead & Company trounced Dallas this past Friday with a meaty rocker of a show, Saturday night in Austin received a more deliberate performance befitting the band’s early era of improvised exploration. Which was better? Well, that depends on the opinion of the most opinionated fans in music. But we can all agree that for one weekend there was a seventh flag flying over Texas: the Freak Flag.

A few thousand music-loving adventure-seekers on September 9 received quite the idyllic sun-splashed reward when they witnessed this year’s Sound Summit, headlined by Phil Lesh and some extra special “friends.” The eight-hour festival-like show, chock full of five performers plus an avant-garde dance ensemble, took place at a perch high above Marin County, California’s Mill Valley, at a hundred-year-old stone amphitheater near the top of the area’s famed Mt. Tamalpais.