The Grateful Dead will reunite for three concerts in July to mark their 50th anniversary. Joining the four original members will be Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio at Soldier Field in Chicago – the venue the band played their final concert with Jerry Garcia, who died in August 1995.
According to Billboard’s exclusive story, the shows on 3, 4 and 5 July will be the final chance for fans to watch Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann perform as a band. “These will be the last shows with the four of us together,” Weir said.
The experimental, original jam band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California, and last performed at the same 55,000-seat capacity venue on 9 July 1995.
“That’s why we’re doing it in Chicago,” Peter Shapiro, co-producer of the shows, told Billboard. “They’re the great American rock’n’roll band returning to where it ended, 20 years later.”
Phish musician Anastasio said that he was invited to join the group in a “heart-warming” letter from Phil. He said: “I didn’t hesitate for a second to say yes. It’s an absolute honour to be part of this final chapter.”
Anastasio is also joined by keyboardist Bruce Hornsby, the Dead’s frequent bandmate during the 1980s and 1990s, and Jeff Chimenti of RatDog, Weir’s side project.
Weir also stated that the band had a number of options before ultimately deciding on the Chicago shows.
“Were we going to do a festival-style event or go back to our classic mode of an evening with the band? We narrowed it down to: let’s just do it simple and clean.”
While the band have not yet confirmed whether this is truly the end, Weir says it’s unlikely they will stop making music for good. “I know we’ll all continue playing this music forever in our own ways,” he says. “I’ve got some miles left in me.”
Tickets will be available on the band’s website and sold electronically in February.
