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Artist News Gigs & Festivals
Surviving Grateful Dead members to reunite for 50th anniversary shows
By Andy Malt | Published on Monday 19 January 2015
The surviving four members of The Grateful Dead – Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann – have announced that they will reunite for three shows to mark the 50th anniversary of the band’s formation at Chicago’s Soldier Field this July.
The band’s last performance was at the same venue in July 1995, shortly before the death of guitarist Jerry Garcia, who will be replaced by Phish guitar man Trey Anastasio for the reunion shows.
“It is with respect and gratitude that we reconvene the Dead one last time to celebrate, not merely the band’s legacy, but also the community that we’ve been playing to, and with, for 50 years”, said Lesh, announcing the shows.
Anastaio added: “Jerry Garcia was a great American master and the Grateful Dead are not just a genuine piece of musical history, but also an important part of American history. This is a band, born right at the beginning of electric rock, that took the American tradition and moved it forward. They really embodied the American concept of freedom, rolling around the country with a ginormous gang of people and the mindset that ‘you can come if you want, you can leave if you want. We don’t know what’s going to happen. All we know is we’re not looking back’. What could be more American?”
The three shows will take place on 3-5 Jul. More info at dead50.net
