CHICAGO — Twenty years after Jerry Garcia died, the Grateful Dead is reuniting for three shows this summer at the site of Garcia's final show — Soldier Field.
And they're bringing some big names to help.
The four living original members: Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann, will be joined by Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio and famed keyboardist Bruce Hornsby for the three shows, slated for July 3-5. The shows will mark the 50th anniversary of the famed band's San Francisco start.
And they'll be the last, according to guitarist Weir.
Weir's band RatDog tweeted an announcement with the news Friday morning:
FARE THEE WELL This is the final time Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart, & Bill Kreutzmann will ever perform together. pic.twitter.com/Ga08JZ2Nn9
— RatDog.Org (@RatDogDotOrg) January 16, 2015Peter Shapiro, who is producing the show, told Billboard, the band was "returning to where it ended, 20 years later."
In an interview with Billboard, Weir said, "These will be the last shows with the four of us together."
“Fare Thee Well: Celebrating 50 Years of Grateful Dead from Grateful Dead 50 on Vimeo.
The Dead last played under the name "The Grateful Dead" on July 9, 1995, at Soldier Field.
Jerry Garcia — the band's lead guitarist, one of its central songwriters and a main face of the counterculture generation — died less than a month later of a heart attack at age 53 while in drug rehab.
Band members have collaborated in several different forms since then — but never as "The Grateful Dead."
If you're wondering, here are the ages of the original members: Phil Lesh, 74; Mickey Hart, 71; Bill Kreutzmann, 68; and Bob Weir, 67.
Ticket information can be found on a site set up for the reunion here. Three-day passes will be sold. Tickets will range from $59.50 to $199.50.
The announcement has inspired a frenzy of excitement among Chicago's dedicated Deadheads, who host and attend regular cover band shows, including a recent concert where they inadvertently clashed with Insane Clown Posse fans.
Look around, Jerry is smiling....http://t.co/K9maCl90AP pic.twitter.com/7gnpplGtXb
— Mickey Hart (@mickeyhart) January 16, 2015For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
