The Dead

[Drunk Monk]

Dead & Company Coming Back to Las Vegas’ Sphere in 2025 for 18-Show Spring Residency

Chris Willman
December 4, 2024 at 7:25 AM
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Dead & Company’s successful 2024 residency at Las Vegas’ Sphere will get a reprise. As expected, the band is returning to the venue in 2025, with a two-month stay announced Wednesday that will see the group playing three nights a week on select weekends from mid-March through mid-May, for a total of 18 shows
All the Sphere concerts take place on Thursday through Saturday of their respective weeks. The concerts are set for March 20-22, March 27-29, April 17-19, April 24-26, May 9-11 and May 15-17.
The spring dates will come as a relief to many Dead fans, who flocked repeatedly to the group’s 2024 shows in Las Vegas in sweltering summer weather, and could be found in forums ever since begging the band to come back and set up shop again in 2025, but in a cooler season.
While the group’s ’24 residency got extensions, the announcement for these shows — officially billed as “Dead & Company: Dead Forever – Live at Sphere” — says these are the band’s “only Sphere shows in 2025.” The 18-show run is notably shorter than the 30 dates the band ultimately booked for the first go-round this year.
Note that it doesn’t specify these are the only shows in 2025, period — it’s widely speculated that Dead & Company may be commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Grateful Dead in other ways as the year progresses. The announcement for the residency does not take any special notice of the mothership band’s 60th, but does mention that it marks the 10th anniversary of the offshoot group itself.
Sphere tickets, which begin at $145 all-in, will go on sale in stages. An artist presale begins Tuesday at 10 a.m. PT, with sign-ups for that presale already underway. The general on-sale begins three days later, on Dec. 13 at 10 a.m. But for those who really want to get a jump on things and have a little extra spending cash, VIP and travel packages go on sale Thursday of this week.
Presale sign-ups and other ticket information can be found [url=https://deadandcompany.com/]here.

The announcement promises “updated visuals” for the 2025 residency, which is no surprise since, even in the band’s initial stay at Sphere, the visual elements were never exactly the same from night to night, and additional big-screen setpieces were being added even late into the residency.
The Dead & Company lineup includes original Grateful Dead members Bob Weir and Mickey Hart, along with John Mayer, who shares co-frontman duties with Weir, and Oteil Burbridge, Jeff Chimenti and Jay Lane.
Another Grateful Dead co-founder, Bill Kreutzmann, had bowed out of Dead & Company before what was advertised as their final tour in 2023. But he is expected to be on hand when the Dead is collectively saluted as MusiCares’ Persons of the Year at a gala banquet just before the Grammys in late January. Another original Grateful Dead member, Phil Lesh, who did not take part in Dead & Company, died on Oct. 25 of this year.
Reviews were almost uniformly positive from fans and critics for the 2024 residency at Sphere. Variety‘s first-night review called the opening “astounding” on both visual and musical levels. “If this has a chance of being a last stand, attending fans will go out happy, crying and overstimulated,” the review said — but, of course, there was nothing final about it.
In a subsequent interview with Variety in June, midway through the residency, Weir said he “wouldn’t be surprised if we get invited back,” adding about the landmark combination of music and visuals, “I think we’re only scratching the surface here

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Seen on one of the “what to do in the bay area” emails

https://gay.dothebay.com/events/2024/12/...ag-tickets

BERTHA: Grateful Drag

Saturday, December 14 | The UC Theatre

"Nashville's BERTHA gives the Dead an irreverent, joyful makeover" - Rolling Stone

"The musicians of BERTHA are proving that drag queens and the Grateful Dead are not such strange bedfellows" - Yahoo Entertainment

The world’s first Grateful Drag band, BERTHA is an all-star collective of queer and allied East Nashville talent coming together in wigs and full face for a good cause. Fronted by a harmony trio of Berthas and backed by a rocking all-Bertha band, they are bringing the good times to Berkeley!

HOST QUEEN: Nicki Jizz 
BENEFICIARY ORG: 

• TGI Justice Project 
  
• Grateful Guitars Foundation
  

MUSICAL GUESTS:

• AJ Lee (solo) 
  
• Alex Jordan (solo) 
  
• David Gans (solo) 
  
• Hattie and Joe Craven (performing together) 
  
• The T Sisters 
  

General Admission Standing Room with Limited Seating

—tg

Bertha
Bertha: Grateful Drag

[King Bob]

Saw this in the Atlantic:
What the Band Eats by Reya Hart
It's okay; more about her than food.

But on a similar note, I saw this book at Recycle (which sounded better):
Feeding the Dead by Jim Stearns and Doug Vanderberg

[Drunk Monk]

Yes saw that too. I know Reya. Not sure if she remembers me but we’ve hung out. She’s really sweet.

[thatguy]

Bertha
Bertha: Grateful Drag

Not bad...One of the backup singers is Janice from the Electric Mayhem, come to life!




--tg

[Drunk Monk]

[thatguy]

I accidentally found this sub-genre on YouTube

https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnW...2SKBKZTKOT

Not stellar, but made me laugh. Right in line with KB's snake dancing...

--tg

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Like this one:

[thatguy]

Psychedelic readiness preparedness
If you’re considering psychedelic therapy, I recommend starting with Althea’s Psychedelic Preparedness Scale, a three-minute quiz that helps assess your readiness by evaluating mental health stability, intentions, knowledge, support systems, and coping skills. Developed in a clinical trial at University College London, the quiz identifies areas needing improvement to ensure a safer and more meaningful experience. Althea, a Public Benefit Corporation based in Oregon and Colorado, connects individuals with licensed facilitators for legal psychedelic therapy, aiming to make these transformative experiences more accessible and stigma-free. — CD

A psychedelic care company named "Althea"...https://withalthea.com


--tg

[King Bob]

The Dead and Rhino Records releasing 60 CD set for the band's 60th anniversary.

All live shows - linked article gives dates and locations.

[Drunk Monk]

Saw that from the mailing list. That’s a lot of music…

Meanwhile in San Rafael…

[Drunk Monk]

San Francisco plans 3-day Grateful Dead anniversary concert with Dead & Company
By Aidin Vaziri, Staff WriterMay 12, 2025
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SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - JULY 16: (L-R) John Mayer, Jay Lane, Bob Weir and Mickey Hart of Dead & Company perform at Oracle Park on July 16, 2023 in San Francisco, California.
Miikka Skaffari/Getty Images
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie wants to bring back the Dead.
On Monday, May 12, Lurie announced plans for a three-day concert to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the legendary Bay Area jam band [url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/grateful-dead/]the Grateful Dead. Pending approval by the San Francisco Recreation and Park Commission, Dead & Company — featuring surviving Grateful Dead members Bob Weir and Mickey Hart — will perform at Golden Gate Park’s Polo Fields on Aug. 1-3.
“Right here in the city that is the home of the Grateful Dead,” Lurie said. “What better way to celebrate? We’ll see you out here.”
The mayor’s proposal will be presented to the commission on Thursday, May 15. If approved, the concerts will be produced by Another Planet Entertainment in partnership with Live Nation and the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department.
“From Haight-Ashbury and the Grateful Dead house to Excelsior, where Jerry Garcia grew up, the Grateful Dead is embedded in San Francisco’s history,” Lurie said in a statement. “Sixty years later, we’re still enjoying their music — and this summer, we get to enjoy the music of Dead & Company once again. The weekend will celebrate our city’s creative spirit, boost our local economy, and bring generations of fans together. 
“This is more than just a concert — it’s a San Francisco homecoming.”

The concerts are expected to draw up to 60,000 attendees per day, which Lurie expects will provide a boost to the city’s hotels, restaurants and small businesses. Early projections from the mayor’s office suggest the event could generate tens of millions of dollars in economic activity and support hundreds of local jobs.
The last time Weir and Hart, along with their ensemble of musician friends — guitarist John Mayer, bassist Oteil Burbridge, pianist Jeff Chimenti, and drummer Jay Lane — played a three-night run in the city as the Dead & Company was at Oracle Park in July 2023, which generated $31 million in local impact, according to Destinations International’s Event Impact Calculator.
This summer’s series of shows is something of an encore. In 2015, Dead & Company celebrated the Grateful Dead’s 50th anniversary with the two-night “Fare Thee Well” concerts at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. But this time, the upcoming concerts will commemorate the moment in 1965 when Phil Lesh, Jerry Garcia, Bill Kreutzmann, Weir and Ron “Pigpen” McKernan played their first gig together as the Warlocks. The group later renamed themselves Grateful Dead. 
These will also be the first local performances since the death of Lesh in October 2024.

San Francisco is planning to welcome @deadandcompany to Golden Gate Park for three days in August, to mark the 60th anniversary of the Grateful Dead. Stay tuned for more details from the band coming soon! pic.twitter.com/W0EUzTxUF1
— Daniel Lurie 丹尼爾·羅偉 (@DanielLurie) May 12, 2025

“Golden Gate Park and the Grateful Dead share a rich, intertwined history that helped shape a cultural era,” said Phil Ginsburg, Recreation and Park general manager, in a statement. “Celebrating their 60th anniversary with a Dead & Company performance in the very place where the Summer of Love took root is a powerful tribute to their legacy. These concerts not only honor their cultural impact but also shine a light on the park’s surrounding neighborhood — its restaurants, local businesses, and vibrant community.”
Meanwhile, Dead & Company’s Las Vegas residency, “Dead Forever” at the Sphere, continues through Saturday, May 17.

This is the weekend prior to OSL - they'll build a multipurpose stage. It's also the weekend of Reggae on the River, to which I am already committed.

[King Bob]

DM - I was at the library sale and found a double CD from a Rex Foundation Benefit "Run for the Roses" benefit celebration of the music of the JGB and Robert Hunter. It was in December of 2011 at the Fillmore. Were you there?

[Drunk Monk]

I don’t think so. I didn’t see JGB or Hunter that many times and I don’t remember seeing them together at the Mo. I also couldn’t find a reference here on the D00M4M. I’ve only gone to a few Rex’s since Jerry died. Is it any good? I wasn’t a fan of Hunter’s music, only his lyrics.

This GGP show has me in a quandary. I did say I’d do Reggae on the River this year, but my calling leans to the Dead. RM has a thick show run then with Morgan Wallen at Levi’s that same weekend. RM Dead v JM RotR. These are the horns of the dilemma.

[Drunk Monk]

CELEBRATING 60 YEARS OF THE GRATEFUL DEAD’S MUSIC

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA

AUGUST 1, 2, 3, 2025

PLUS SPECIAL GUEST SETS BY

• BILLY STRINGS - FRIDAY
  
• STURGILL JOHNNY BLUE SKIES SIMPSON - SATURDAY
  
• TREY ANASTASIO BAND - SUNDAY
  

It's officially announced. I must go. 
Sad to miss Reggae on the River, but when the bus comes by, I get on...

[thatguy]

I've never seen any incarnation of the Dead. I went to a show at the Greek once with Pete Donohue (and KB?), but only to walk around out front so he could try to procure some psychadelics. I did buy tickets to a GD show, but they canceled (can't remember if that was due to Jerry's health, or death). Kinda thinking about this one... Presale was this morning. I didn't bite. Maybe I'll walk around the park with a looking for a miracle sign.

--tg

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To follow up on their Sphere shows, they should do a VR concert like Metallica. 




--tg

[Drunk Monk]

I've never seen any incarnation of the Dead. 

srsly? 

It's time. You should pick an opening act you like. I can recommend Billy & Trey. Haven't seen Sturgill yet but I hear good things. 

The Dead changed my life. 

I'll be working all three shows.