Dead and Company paid tribute to the late Phil Lesh on the opening night of their Dead 60 anniversary concerts in San Francisco by bringing out Lesh’s son Grahame for “Box of Rain.”
The Bob Weir and John Mayer-fronted band have sparingly performed the Lesh-sung American Beauty classic, one of the bassist’s signature songs, since their inception in 2015; Dead and Company played “Box of Rain” only one other time in the past three years, at their first Sphere weekend since Lesh’s death in October 2024.
Grahame Lesh — who led an all-star band, similar to his father’s Phil & Friends, at a pre-Dead 60 concert Thursday at San Francisco’s Pier 48 — handled lead vocals and wielded his father’s bass for “Box of Rain,” then stuck around to join Dead and Company for a rendition of “Playing in the Band.”
Friday night’s opening concert of the Dead 60 weekend took place on what would have been Jerry Garcia’s 83rd birthday on August 1. As the shows at the Golden Gate Park mark the Grateful Dead’s 60th anniversary, Garcia was also remembered as his daughter Trixie appeared onstage to introduce Dead and Company, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Billy Strings, who opened the show Friday, later joined Dead and Company on “Wharf Rat”:
Dead and Company will return to Golden Gate Park, where the Grateful Dead staged at least 14 gigs spanning from 1967 to 1991, on Saturday and Sunday night.
Rolling Stone spoke with Bobby Weir about the band potentially reuniting for the 60th anniversary, which Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann, and Mickey Hart discussed before Lesh died.
“I think when Phil checked out, so did that notion, because we don’t have a bass player who’s been playing with us for 60 years now. And that was the intriguing prospect.… I think you need somebody holding down the bottom. Phil had all kinds of ideas that were pretty much unique to him. I grew up with Phil holding down the bottom in his unique way,” Weir said.
He added: “I suppose I could go back out. I wouldn’t put anybody in his place, so it would be a trio at this point. It’d be me and two drummers. I’d have to think about that. I haven’t thought about it — it’s just now occurring to me that it’s a possibility that we could do that, since you asked.… I guess we’ll just see what the three of us can pull together.”
