Article Contributed by Howard Horder
Published on 2026-09-01
Grahame Lesh and Tom Hamilton, Jr. - photos by Howard Horder
It is so nice to hear Garcia and Grateful Dead songs with a full orchestra. On a very comfortable evening in upstate New York at the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, Grahame Lesh, Tom Hamilton, Melvin Seals, Jacklyn LaBranch, John Morgan Kimock, and Kanika Moore played the music of Jerry Garcia with a full orchestra.
The performance featured two sets of great music, all arranged for orchestra.
Scoring this music for a full orchestra is a complex undertaking, with each part arranged for the strings, horns, woodwinds, keys, and drums. It was all handled flawlessly, and the result was a joyful experience, hearing familiar music in an entirely new way.
One first-set highlight was “Russian Lullaby.” Kanika Moore delivered strong vocals on the Irving Berlin composition and sang with confidence throughout. She was great. The solo accompaniment written for clarinet was unique and played beautifully. It was almost as if Irving Berlin had written the song specifically for Kanika and the clarinetist to perform at Bethel Woods in 2026.
In the second set, “China Cat Sunflower” moved into a great jam and seemed headed toward “I Know You Rider,” but instead turned into a heartfelt “Morning Dew.” That was special and brought an ear-to-ear smile to my face.
There are still a few shows remaining on the 2026 Jerry Garcia Symphonic Celebration tour:
Sept. 1 - Canandaigua, NY - CMAC
Sept. 3 - Richmond, VA - Allianz Amphitheater at Riverfront
Sept. 4 - Vienna, VA - Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts
Catch one of these shows if you can.
