November 1995: John Oswald reimagines \u2018Dark Star\u2019 with the two-hour mix \u2018Grayfolded\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t![\"Nov](\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/POST-GD-Grayfolded.jpg?w=300\")
\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tSound-collage artist John Oswald, known for coining the term \u201cplunderphonics,\u201d wasn\u2019t a particularly huge Deadhead when Phil Lesh invited him to work his cut-and-paste magic on the band\u2019s live vault in the early Nineties, but he found a unique way to celebrate fans\u2019 tape-trading culture. Oswald ended up splicing more than 100 performances of \u201cDark Star\u201d into the ultimate version of the ultimate live Dead song, stretching it out into a\u00a0trippy odyssey<\/a>\u00a0that runs close to two hours. Since the performances that Oswald sampled range from 1968 to 1993,\u00a0Grayfolded<\/em>\u00a0taps into something that no one bootleg, however transcendent, could. \u201cIt\u2019s not a performably possible version of \u2018Dark Star,\u2019\u201d\u00a0he said<\/a>. \u201cYou can\u2019t have three generations of Jerry Garcias live onstage together. But there\u2019s this illusion of it being the Grateful Dead in concert.\u201d\u00a0\u2014Simon Vozick-Levinson<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\nMay 10, 1996: The Internet Archive debuts<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t![\"ALEXA\/C\/06MAY98\/BU\/JLT](\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/pmc-rollingstone-2022\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\")
![\"ALEXA\/C\/06MAY98\/BU\/JLT](\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/POST-GD-Internet-Archive.jpg?w=300\")
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: JERRY TELFER\/San Francisco Chronicle\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tThe digital librarian and historian \u2014 and Deadhead \u2014 Brewster Kahle started the Internet Archive in the spring of 1996; its mission was \u201cuniversal access to all knowledge.\u201d Over time it would become a trove for all kinds of old media, from scanned vintage magazines to digitized tapes of old DJ sets to the famous \u201cWayback Machine,\u201d which has archived millions of now-dead web pages. The janky RealAudio files of 1996 \u2014 the era when internet cafes began sprouting up in American cities \u2014 would, by 2004, give way to mp3s and, increasingly, streaming, as connectivity became far faster and more reliable. That year, Kahle started the Dead Archive \u2014 by and for tape traders \u2014 helping fans get on the fast track to Dead-show knowledge. It was taken down by the band\u2019s lawyers in late \u201905 \u2014 a move so controversial within the band\u2019s inner circle that it made The New York Times<\/em><\/a>. Eventually, the band and Kahle made an agreement: Soundboards made by the band were listen-only; audience tapes could be downloaded. Even after decades\u2019 worth of reissues and box sets, the Internet Archive remains the place to get your uncut Dead fix. \u2014Michaelangelo Matos<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\nSummer 1996: The first annual Furthur Festival<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t![\"Mickey](\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/POST-GD-Further-Festival-96.jpg?w=300\")
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Tim Mosenfelder\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tOperating for three summers total in the immediate aftermath of Jerry Garcia\u2019s passing, the Furthur Festival adapted the Lollapalooza format for the jam-band circuit. The initial outing, which opened in Atlanta and closed in Phoenix, was headlined by two Dead men\u2019s bands, Bob Weir\u2019s RatDog and Mickey Hart\u2019s Mystery Box, along with the simpatico likes of Hot Tuna, Los Lobos, Bruce Hornsby, Alvin Youngblood Hart, and John Wesley Harding, plus jugglers the Flying Karamazov Brothers. They meshed in interesting ways \u2014 most of the groups played Dead songs routinely \u2026 except for the bands with actual Grateful Dead members: Hart\u2019s all-percussion group might encore with \u201cFire on the Mountain\u201d (done \u2026 yes \u2026 as a rap), while RatDog \u201conly knew two Grateful Dead songs,\u201d Joel Selvin writes in his post-Garcia Dead chronicle, Fare Thee Well<\/em>, summing up the Deadheads\u2019 frustration with them: \u201cNot only did [Weir] refuse to have a lead guitar in his band, he wouldn\u2019t even play rock music, much less Dead songs.\u201d \u2014M.M.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\nJuly 24, 1998: The Other Ones start touring<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t![\"CA.other](\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/POST-GD-The-Others-Ones.jpg?w=300\")
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Alex Garcia\/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tThree years after the death of Garcia, the revival the Grateful Dead reached another major landmark when Weir, Lesh, and Hart formed the Other Ones. Bolstered by Bruce Hornsby, Steve Kimock, Mark Karan, John Molo, and Dave Ellis, the lineup debuted its mojo on July 24, 1998, on the Further Festival tour. Dead favorites like \u201cDark Star,\u201d \u201cHell in a Bucket,\u201d and \u201cScarlet Begonias\u201d were all in the set, along with the song that gave the group its name, 1968\u2019s \u201cThe Other One.\u201d The band toured through 2002, with various personnel shifts, and ultimately transformed again in 2003, christening themselves the Dead. \u2014Joseph Hudak<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\n2008: The Core Four reunite to support Barack Obama<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t![\"Bob](\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/POST-GD-help-obama.jpg?w=300\")
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Carlos Avila Gonzalez\/The San Francisco Chronicle\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tWeir, Lesh, and Hart hadn\u2019t shared a stage in four years before they reunited at San Francisco\u2019s Warfield Theater on Feb. 4, 2008. The man who brought them together? Presidential candidate Barack Obama, who was facing Hillary Clinton in California\u2019s Democratic primary the next day. Lesh, whose teenage son had been working as a volunteer on Obama\u2019s campaign, got the band back together for the concert dubbed \u201cDeadheads for Obama \u201908\u201d after being impressed by the Illinois senator\u2019s hope-and-change-filled rallies. \u201cThe first thing I thought of was to talk to these two guys and say \u2018Hey, are you with me on this?\u2019\u201d\u00a0Lesh told Rolling Stone<\/em><\/a>. \u201cNot only am I with you on this,\u201d said Hart, \u201cI was just about to call you up for the very same reason.\u201d Obama lost the California primary but won the Democratic nomination, and that October, the three musicians\u00a0played another campaign rally<\/a>\u00a0in Pennsylvania, this time joined by Bill Kreutzmann, en route to the candidate\u2019s historic general election win.\u00a0\u2014S.V.L.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\nJan. 20, 2009: And play one of Obama\u2019s inaugural balls<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t![\"WASHINGTON](\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/POST-GD-obama-inauguration.jpg?w=300\")
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Chip Somodevilla\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tIn a moment that would\u2019ve been inconceivable when the band formed during the LBJ administration, the Dead were tapped to play one of the inaugural balls to honor new president Barack Obama. As Lesh recalled, \u201cWe had about an hour. The way we were thinking of it, we could either do two songs for an hour, or do six songs and keep it down a little bit.\u201d They\u2019re set was highlighted by classics like \u201cUncle John\u2019s Band,\u201d \u201cSugar Magnolia,\u201d and \u201cEyes of the World,\u201d and was briefly interrupted by the arrival of Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, who slow danced to Van Morrison\u2019s\u00a0\u201cHave I Told You Lately.\u201d The Dead even complied with the night\u2019s formal-wear protocol. \u201cThe inauguration crowd was pretty swinging,\u201d Weir said. \u201cThey were in a celebratory mood. We played a few songs before I took my coat off.\u201d \u2014Jon Dolan<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\nMarch 30, 2009: The Dead play three free New York club shows in one day<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t![\"(L-R)](\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/POST-GD-3-shows-in-NYC-2009.jpg?w=300\")
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Gary Gershoff\/WireImage\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tFresh off the reunion for Barrack Obama in Pennsylvania, the \u201ccore four\u201d members decided to embark on their first tour together in five years, with guitarist Warren Haynes the latest to step into Garcia\u2019s sizable shoes. To get Deadheads psyched, the new lineup hopscotched around New York City in one day, playing three free shows at three different venues. The day began with an unlikely appearance on The View,<\/em> where co-host Whoopi Goldberg exclaimed, \u201cI love me some Dead!\u201d Then came a Weir, Lesh and Haynes acoustic set at a Lower East Side theater, followed by a full-band electric show at the Gramercy Theatre before a wrap-up concert at the since-closed Roseland Ballroom. Although Haynes\u2019 guitar and vocals were more rooted in barroom blues and Southern rock than any of his predecessors, so much else about the band \u2014 Lesh\u2019s fluid bass, the two-drum attack of Hart and Kreutzmann \u2014 remained intact. In the stamina department alone, the Dead\u2019s triple play was an accomplishment unto itself. \u2014David Browne<\/em>
.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\nMarch 12, 2012: Furthur celebrate Phil Lesh\u2019s 70th birthday in San Francisco<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t![\"BROOMFIELD,](\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/POST-GD-Phil-Bday.jpg?w=300\")
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Larry Hulst\/Michael Ochs Archives\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tDuring the few years Furthur existed, the post-Dead reunion-tour band formed by Lesh and Weir was among the most limber of the post-Garcia combos. It was also the most eerily familiar: Guitarist John \u00a0 Kadlecik had Garcia\u2019s voice and guitar down. The band had many standout shows, like a celebratory one at New York\u2019s Madison Square Garden in late 2020, but this special San Francisco gig also stood out. To help Lesh celebrate entering his seventh decade, Furthur was joined by Black Crowes\u2019 Chris Robinson, who took the lead on \u201cPeggy-O\u201d and a rare live version of Pigpen\u2019s \u201cThe Stranger (Two Souls in Communion),\u201d while new-gen jam master Jackie Greene handled \u201cScarlet Begonias.\u201d Amid the many smiles onstage was the sound of the Dead\u2019s repertoire being handed over to disciples willing to run \u2014 and have fun \u2014 with it. \u2014D.B.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\nJuly 2015: The \u2018Core Four\u2019 commemorate 50 years together with the Fare Thee Well concerts<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t![\"IMAGE](\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/POST-GD-Fare-Thee-Well.jpg?w=300\")
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Jay Blakesberg\/Invision for the Grateful Dead\/AP\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tFare Thee Well: Celebrating 50 Years of the Grateful Dead was a two-part series of concerts that brought the band\u2019s surviving \u201cCore Four\u201d \u2014 Weir, Lesh, Kreutzmann, and Hart \u2014 back together for the first time in years. Spread across two sets of shows \u2014 the first two concerts at Levi Stadium in Santa Clara, California, and then three at Chicago\u2019s Soldier Field \u2014 the performances featured Trey Anastasio of Phish, stepping into Garcia\u2019s role on guitar, former Grateful Dead touring member Bruce Hornsby, and Ratdog\/the Other Ones keyboardist Jeff Chimenti. There were several standout moments from the shows, including the Chicago July 3, 2015, opener, where Lesh opened the show singing \u201cBox of Rain,\u201d and a gorgeous rainbow appearing after the first set on the first night in Santa Clara on June 25, 2015. \u2014Alison Weinflash<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\nFall 2015: Dead & Company launch their first tour<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t![\"NEW](\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/POST-GD-Dead-and-Co-starts.jpg?w=300\")
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Theo Wargo\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tJust when everybody thought they\u2019d never see most of the Dead together again after the Fare Thee Well shows that spring, here came another incarnation with \u2026 John Mayer? The connection actually began with Rolling Stone,<\/em> after Mayer mentioned his love of the band in an interview, leading to request from someone in the Dead camp for a contact for him. Despite Mayer\u2019s guitar skill set, it was easy to be skeptical about how he would blend with Weir, Hart, and Kreutzmann (and keyboardist Jeff Chimenti and bassist Oteil Burbridge). But from the kickoff, \u201cJack Straw,\u201d and building over two sets to a cathartic \u201cMorning Dew,\u201d Mayer didn\u2019t just adequately play ball, but also seriously stepped up to the plate. Along with Burbridge, he proved himself a respectful student who took his new part-time job seriously. That show would set the stage for another, starting decades\u2019 worth of Dead & Company shows. \u2014D.B.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\nMay 20, 2016: Five-hour \u2018Day of the Dead\u2019\u00a0tribute album is released<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t![\"NEW](\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/POST-GD-Dessner-Bros-Day-of-the-Dead-comp.jpg?w=300\")
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Kris Connor\/FilmMagic\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tAn astonishing tribute to the Dead\u2019s living legacy, this five-hour Dead-covers album helmed by Aaron and Bryce Dessner of the National is probably the most ambitious album of its kind ever created. There\u2019s Afropop (Senegalese guitar wizards Orchestra Baobob\u2019s shimmering \u201cFranklin\u2019s Tower\u201d), country (Lucinda Williams\u2019 hot and heavy take on \u201cGoing Down the Road Feeling Bad\u201d), and soul music (Charles Bradley funking up \u201cCumberland Blues\u201d). But most of the album is a love letter from the indie-rock community, a world where the Dead\u2019s beautifully paradoxical notion of American beauty and guitar gorgeousness has had a massive resonance for decades. Kurt Vile, Courtney Barnett, Stephen Malkmus, Yo La Tengo\u2019s Ira Kaplan, and many others all turned in reverent reimaginings of Dead classics. \u2014J.D.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\nJan. 23, 2017: \u2018Long, Strange Trip\u2019 <\/em>premieres at the Sundance Film Festival<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t![\"PARK](\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/POST-GD-long-strange-trip.jpg?w=300\")
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Jerod Harris\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tBy 2017, there had already been lots of books about the Grateful Dead, plus a number of appearances by band members in various musical-history programs and films (see 2003\u2019s Festival Express,<\/em> about a legendary 1970 Canadian tour by train, also featuring Janis Joplin, the Band, and Buddy Guy). There had even been The Grateful Dead Movie <\/em>(filmed in 1974, released in 1977). But there was no full-on band-bio feature until Long Strange Trip<\/em> premiered at the Sundance Film Festival that January. Originally planned for a 2015 release \u2014 50 years from the band\u2019s inception \u2014 but completed on Dead time, Amir Bar-Lev\u2019s four-hour documentary history, co-executive-produced by Martin Scorsese, received a rapturous reception. No wonder \u2014 as Rolling Stone\u2019<\/em>s David Fear reported<\/a> from the festival, \u201cMost of the folks assembled for the Sundance premiere of Long Strange Trip<\/em> were almost assuredly Deadheads at one point.\u201d \u2014M.M.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\n2020: Nike and the Dead team up for an epic sneaker launch<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t![\"Los](\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/POST-GD-cool-nikes.jpg?w=300\")
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Jay L. Clendenin\/Los Angeles Times\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tYou could probably write a whole book about the relationship between the Grateful Dead and various kinds of merchandise, and this collaboration with Nike is a unique moment in that history. The overlap between Deadheads and sneakerheads might not be immediately apparent, but in 2020, when Nike released three Dead-themed versions of its SB Dunk Lows (in green, orange, and yellow, designed to pay tribute to the band\u2019s Dancing Bear mascot), the shoe was a smash. The first batch immediately sold out, and the shoes were soon going for as much as $3,500. \u2014J.D.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\nMay 20, 2024: The Sphere residency begins<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t![\"LAS](\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/POST-GD-dead-and-co-sphere.jpg?w=300\")
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Ethan Miller\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tAfter months of mixed messages about their future, Dead & Company surprised fans by announcing a residency at the Sphere in Las Vegas. The band confirmed a 24-show run beginning March 20, 2024, which was later extended to 30 shows. Guitarist John Mayer acted as creative director, working with digital studios and using visual effects to create the stunning visuals displayed on the Sphere\u2019s huge wraparound LED screen. The whole production took six months to develop, with new visuals added throughout the first part of the residency. Alongside the concerts, fans could visit the \u201cDead Forever Experience\u201d at the Venetian, which showcased a one-quarter scale model of the Wall of Sound, artwork by drummer Hart, a collection of concert tapes from archivist David Lemieux, and photos from Grateful Dead tours between 1965 and 1995. Dead & Company returned to the Sphere in 2025 for a second residency. Fans are hoping the band will come back in 2026. \u2014A.W.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\nDec. 8, 2024: The Dead receive Kennedy Center Honors<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t![\"WASHINGTON,](\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/POST-GD-dead-and-kennedy-center.jpg?w=300\")
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Pete Marovich\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tJoe Biden held his final Kennedy Center honors ceremony in 2024, celebrating the Grateful Dead, Bonnie Raitt, and Francis Ford Coppola. \u201cTechnical virtuosos fiercely dedicated to their craft, they fused decades and dozens of musical styles to create a whole new American sound. Experimental, innovative and brave,\u201d the president said in his remarks. Weir, Hart, and Kreutzmann were on hand for a televised performance that included Sturgill Simpson performing \u201cRipple\u201d with help from a video of Jerry Garcia singing the song, and Derek Trucks, Suzan Tedeschi, and Dave Matthews teamed up for \u201cSugaree.\u201d The peak moment had to be Queen Latifah doing the disco-Dead classic \u201cShakedown Street\u201d backed by dancing bears. \u2014J.D.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n
\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\tSound-collage artist John Oswald, known for coining the term \u201cplunderphonics,\u201d wasn\u2019t a particularly huge Deadhead when Phil Lesh invited him to work his cut-and-paste magic on the band\u2019s live vault in the early Nineties, but he found a unique way to celebrate fans\u2019 tape-trading culture. Oswald ended up splicing more than 100 performances of \u201cDark Star\u201d into the ultimate version of the ultimate live Dead song, stretching it out into a\u00a0trippy odyssey<\/a>\u00a0that runs close to two hours. Since the performances that Oswald sampled range from 1968 to 1993,\u00a0Grayfolded<\/em>\u00a0taps into something that no one bootleg, however transcendent, could. \u201cIt\u2019s not a performably possible version of \u2018Dark Star,\u2019\u201d\u00a0he said<\/a>. \u201cYou can\u2019t have three generations of Jerry Garcias live onstage together. But there\u2019s this illusion of it being the Grateful Dead in concert.\u201d\u00a0\u2014Simon Vozick-Levinson<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \t<\/p>\n \n\tThe digital librarian and historian \u2014 and Deadhead \u2014 Brewster Kahle started the Internet Archive in the spring of 1996; its mission was \u201cuniversal access to all knowledge.\u201d Over time it would become a trove for all kinds of old media, from scanned vintage magazines to digitized tapes of old DJ sets to the famous \u201cWayback Machine,\u201d which has archived millions of now-dead web pages. The janky RealAudio files of 1996 \u2014 the era when internet cafes began sprouting up in American cities \u2014 would, by 2004, give way to mp3s and, increasingly, streaming, as connectivity became far faster and more reliable. That year, Kahle started the Dead Archive \u2014 by and for tape traders \u2014 helping fans get on the fast track to Dead-show knowledge. It was taken down by the band\u2019s lawyers in late \u201905 \u2014 a move so controversial within the band\u2019s inner circle that it made The New York Times<\/em><\/a>. Eventually, the band and Kahle made an agreement: Soundboards made by the band were listen-only; audience tapes could be downloaded. Even after decades\u2019 worth of reissues and box sets, the Internet Archive remains the place to get your uncut Dead fix. \u2014Michaelangelo Matos<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \t<\/p>\n \n\tOperating for three summers total in the immediate aftermath of Jerry Garcia\u2019s passing, the Furthur Festival adapted the Lollapalooza format for the jam-band circuit. The initial outing, which opened in Atlanta and closed in Phoenix, was headlined by two Dead men\u2019s bands, Bob Weir\u2019s RatDog and Mickey Hart\u2019s Mystery Box, along with the simpatico likes of Hot Tuna, Los Lobos, Bruce Hornsby, Alvin Youngblood Hart, and John Wesley Harding, plus jugglers the Flying Karamazov Brothers. They meshed in interesting ways \u2014 most of the groups played Dead songs routinely \u2026 except for the bands with actual Grateful Dead members: Hart\u2019s all-percussion group might encore with \u201cFire on the Mountain\u201d (done \u2026 yes \u2026 as a rap), while RatDog \u201conly knew two Grateful Dead songs,\u201d Joel Selvin writes in his post-Garcia Dead chronicle, Fare Thee Well<\/em>, summing up the Deadheads\u2019 frustration with them: \u201cNot only did [Weir] refuse to have a lead guitar in his band, he wouldn\u2019t even play rock music, much less Dead songs.\u201d \u2014M.M.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \t<\/p>\n \n\tThree years after the death of Garcia, the revival the Grateful Dead reached another major landmark when Weir, Lesh, and Hart formed the Other Ones. Bolstered by Bruce Hornsby, Steve Kimock, Mark Karan, John Molo, and Dave Ellis, the lineup debuted its mojo on July 24, 1998, on the Further Festival tour. Dead favorites like \u201cDark Star,\u201d \u201cHell in a Bucket,\u201d and \u201cScarlet Begonias\u201d were all in the set, along with the song that gave the group its name, 1968\u2019s \u201cThe Other One.\u201d The band toured through 2002, with various personnel shifts, and ultimately transformed again in 2003, christening themselves the Dead. \u2014Joseph Hudak<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \t<\/p>\n \n\tWeir, Lesh, and Hart hadn\u2019t shared a stage in four years before they reunited at San Francisco\u2019s Warfield Theater on Feb. 4, 2008. The man who brought them together? Presidential candidate Barack Obama, who was facing Hillary Clinton in California\u2019s Democratic primary the next day. Lesh, whose teenage son had been working as a volunteer on Obama\u2019s campaign, got the band back together for the concert dubbed \u201cDeadheads for Obama \u201908\u201d after being impressed by the Illinois senator\u2019s hope-and-change-filled rallies. \u201cThe first thing I thought of was to talk to these two guys and say \u2018Hey, are you with me on this?\u2019\u201d\u00a0Lesh told Rolling Stone<\/em><\/a>. \u201cNot only am I with you on this,\u201d said Hart, \u201cI was just about to call you up for the very same reason.\u201d Obama lost the California primary but won the Democratic nomination, and that October, the three musicians\u00a0played another campaign rally<\/a>\u00a0in Pennsylvania, this time joined by Bill Kreutzmann, en route to the candidate\u2019s historic general election win.\u00a0\u2014S.V.L.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \t<\/p>\n \n\tIn a moment that would\u2019ve been inconceivable when the band formed during the LBJ administration, the Dead were tapped to play one of the inaugural balls to honor new president Barack Obama. As Lesh recalled, \u201cWe had about an hour. The way we were thinking of it, we could either do two songs for an hour, or do six songs and keep it down a little bit.\u201d They\u2019re set was highlighted by classics like \u201cUncle John\u2019s Band,\u201d \u201cSugar Magnolia,\u201d and \u201cEyes of the World,\u201d and was briefly interrupted by the arrival of Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, who slow danced to Van Morrison\u2019s\u00a0\u201cHave I Told You Lately.\u201d The Dead even complied with the night\u2019s formal-wear protocol. \u201cThe inauguration crowd was pretty swinging,\u201d Weir said. \u201cThey were in a celebratory mood. We played a few songs before I took my coat off.\u201d \u2014Jon Dolan<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \t<\/p>\n \n\tFresh off the reunion for Barrack Obama in Pennsylvania, the \u201ccore four\u201d members decided to embark on their first tour together in five years, with guitarist Warren Haynes the latest to step into Garcia\u2019s sizable shoes. To get Deadheads psyched, the new lineup hopscotched around New York City in one day, playing three free shows at three different venues. The day began with an unlikely appearance on The View,<\/em> where co-host Whoopi Goldberg exclaimed, \u201cI love me some Dead!\u201d Then came a Weir, Lesh and Haynes acoustic set at a Lower East Side theater, followed by a full-band electric show at the Gramercy Theatre before a wrap-up concert at the since-closed Roseland Ballroom. Although Haynes\u2019 guitar and vocals were more rooted in barroom blues and Southern rock than any of his predecessors, so much else about the band \u2014 Lesh\u2019s fluid bass, the two-drum attack of Hart and Kreutzmann \u2014 remained intact. In the stamina department alone, the Dead\u2019s triple play was an accomplishment unto itself. \u2014David Browne<\/em> \t<\/p>\n \n\tDuring the few years Furthur existed, the post-Dead reunion-tour band formed by Lesh and Weir was among the most limber of the post-Garcia combos. It was also the most eerily familiar: Guitarist John \u00a0 Kadlecik had Garcia\u2019s voice and guitar down. The band had many standout shows, like a celebratory one at New York\u2019s Madison Square Garden in late 2020, but this special San Francisco gig also stood out. To help Lesh celebrate entering his seventh decade, Furthur was joined by Black Crowes\u2019 Chris Robinson, who took the lead on \u201cPeggy-O\u201d and a rare live version of Pigpen\u2019s \u201cThe Stranger (Two Souls in Communion),\u201d while new-gen jam master Jackie Greene handled \u201cScarlet Begonias.\u201d Amid the many smiles onstage was the sound of the Dead\u2019s repertoire being handed over to disciples willing to run \u2014 and have fun \u2014 with it. \u2014D.B.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \t<\/p>\n \n\tFare Thee Well: Celebrating 50 Years of the Grateful Dead was a two-part series of concerts that brought the band\u2019s surviving \u201cCore Four\u201d \u2014 Weir, Lesh, Kreutzmann, and Hart \u2014 back together for the first time in years. Spread across two sets of shows \u2014 the first two concerts at Levi Stadium in Santa Clara, California, and then three at Chicago\u2019s Soldier Field \u2014 the performances featured Trey Anastasio of Phish, stepping into Garcia\u2019s role on guitar, former Grateful Dead touring member Bruce Hornsby, and Ratdog\/the Other Ones keyboardist Jeff Chimenti. There were several standout moments from the shows, including the Chicago July 3, 2015, opener, where Lesh opened the show singing \u201cBox of Rain,\u201d and a gorgeous rainbow appearing after the first set on the first night in Santa Clara on June 25, 2015. \u2014Alison Weinflash<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \t<\/p>\n \n\tJust when everybody thought they\u2019d never see most of the Dead together again after the Fare Thee Well shows that spring, here came another incarnation with \u2026 John Mayer? The connection actually began with Rolling Stone,<\/em> after Mayer mentioned his love of the band in an interview, leading to request from someone in the Dead camp for a contact for him. Despite Mayer\u2019s guitar skill set, it was easy to be skeptical about how he would blend with Weir, Hart, and Kreutzmann (and keyboardist Jeff Chimenti and bassist Oteil Burbridge). But from the kickoff, \u201cJack Straw,\u201d and building over two sets to a cathartic \u201cMorning Dew,\u201d Mayer didn\u2019t just adequately play ball, but also seriously stepped up to the plate. Along with Burbridge, he proved himself a respectful student who took his new part-time job seriously. That show would set the stage for another, starting decades\u2019 worth of Dead & Company shows. \u2014D.B.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \t<\/p>\n \n\tAn astonishing tribute to the Dead\u2019s living legacy, this five-hour Dead-covers album helmed by Aaron and Bryce Dessner of the National is probably the most ambitious album of its kind ever created. There\u2019s Afropop (Senegalese guitar wizards Orchestra Baobob\u2019s shimmering \u201cFranklin\u2019s Tower\u201d), country (Lucinda Williams\u2019 hot and heavy take on \u201cGoing Down the Road Feeling Bad\u201d), and soul music (Charles Bradley funking up \u201cCumberland Blues\u201d). But most of the album is a love letter from the indie-rock community, a world where the Dead\u2019s beautifully paradoxical notion of American beauty and guitar gorgeousness has had a massive resonance for decades. Kurt Vile, Courtney Barnett, Stephen Malkmus, Yo La Tengo\u2019s Ira Kaplan, and many others all turned in reverent reimaginings of Dead classics. \u2014J.D.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \t<\/p>\n \n\tBy 2017, there had already been lots of books about the Grateful Dead, plus a number of appearances by band members in various musical-history programs and films (see 2003\u2019s Festival Express,<\/em> about a legendary 1970 Canadian tour by train, also featuring Janis Joplin, the Band, and Buddy Guy). There had even been The Grateful Dead Movie <\/em>(filmed in 1974, released in 1977). But there was no full-on band-bio feature until Long Strange Trip<\/em> premiered at the Sundance Film Festival that January. Originally planned for a 2015 release \u2014 50 years from the band\u2019s inception \u2014 but completed on Dead time, Amir Bar-Lev\u2019s four-hour documentary history, co-executive-produced by Martin Scorsese, received a rapturous reception. No wonder \u2014 as Rolling Stone\u2019<\/em>s David Fear reported<\/a> from the festival, \u201cMost of the folks assembled for the Sundance premiere of Long Strange Trip<\/em> were almost assuredly Deadheads at one point.\u201d \u2014M.M.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \t<\/p>\n \n\tYou could probably write a whole book about the relationship between the Grateful Dead and various kinds of merchandise, and this collaboration with Nike is a unique moment in that history. The overlap between Deadheads and sneakerheads might not be immediately apparent, but in 2020, when Nike released three Dead-themed versions of its SB Dunk Lows (in green, orange, and yellow, designed to pay tribute to the band\u2019s Dancing Bear mascot), the shoe was a smash. The first batch immediately sold out, and the shoes were soon going for as much as $3,500. \u2014J.D.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \t<\/p>\n \n\tAfter months of mixed messages about their future, Dead & Company surprised fans by announcing a residency at the Sphere in Las Vegas. The band confirmed a 24-show run beginning March 20, 2024, which was later extended to 30 shows. Guitarist John Mayer acted as creative director, working with digital studios and using visual effects to create the stunning visuals displayed on the Sphere\u2019s huge wraparound LED screen. The whole production took six months to develop, with new visuals added throughout the first part of the residency. Alongside the concerts, fans could visit the \u201cDead Forever Experience\u201d at the Venetian, which showcased a one-quarter scale model of the Wall of Sound, artwork by drummer Hart, a collection of concert tapes from archivist David Lemieux, and photos from Grateful Dead tours between 1965 and 1995. Dead & Company returned to the Sphere in 2025 for a second residency. Fans are hoping the band will come back in 2026. \u2014A.W.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \t<\/p>\n \n\tJoe Biden held his final Kennedy Center honors ceremony in 2024, celebrating the Grateful Dead, Bonnie Raitt, and Francis Ford Coppola. \u201cTechnical virtuosos fiercely dedicated to their craft, they fused decades and dozens of musical styles to create a whole new American sound. Experimental, innovative and brave,\u201d the president said in his remarks. Weir, Hart, and Kreutzmann were on hand for a televised performance that included Sturgill Simpson performing \u201cRipple\u201d with help from a video of Jerry Garcia singing the song, and Derek Trucks, Suzan Tedeschi, and Dave Matthews teamed up for \u201cSugaree.\u201d The peak moment had to be Queen Latifah doing the disco-Dead classic \u201cShakedown Street\u201d backed by dancing bears. \u2014J.D.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\nMay 10, 1996: The Internet Archive debuts<\/h2>\n
Summer 1996: The first annual Furthur Festival<\/h2>\n
July 24, 1998: The Other Ones start touring<\/h2>\n
2008: The Core Four reunite to support Barack Obama<\/h2>\n
Jan. 20, 2009: And play one of Obama\u2019s inaugural balls<\/h2>\n
March 30, 2009: The Dead play three free New York club shows in one day<\/h2>\n
.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\nMarch 12, 2012: Furthur celebrate Phil Lesh\u2019s 70th birthday in San Francisco<\/h2>\n
July 2015: The \u2018Core Four\u2019 commemorate 50 years together with the Fare Thee Well concerts<\/h2>\n
Fall 2015: Dead & Company launch their first tour<\/h2>\n
May 20, 2016: Five-hour \u2018Day of the Dead\u2019\u00a0tribute album is released<\/h2>\n
Jan. 23, 2017: \u2018Long, Strange Trip\u2019 <\/em>premieres at the Sundance Film Festival<\/h2>\n
2020: Nike and the Dead team up for an epic sneaker launch<\/h2>\n
May 20, 2024: The Sphere residency begins<\/h2>\n
Dec. 8, 2024: The Dead receive Kennedy Center Honors<\/h2>\n