Dead & Company has announced a 31-date summer and fall tour. The jaunt kicks off on August 16th at Raleigh, North Carolina's Coastal Credit Union Music Park and will play double-night runs in Chicago, Illinois; Mansfield, Massachusetts; and Greenwood Village, Colorado; before wrapping over three nights — October 29th, 30th, and 31st at L.A.'s Hollywood Bowl.
Along with Grateful Dead members Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, and Bill Kreutzmann — the band is rounded out with guitarist John Mayer, former-Allman Brothers Band bassist Oteil Burbridge, and longtime RatDog and Dead sideman, keyboardist Jeff Chimenti.
Mickey Hart shed light on the emotions the Dead feels once on stage and in the moment: “It’s magic, y'know? You can’t really describe it, but it’s transformational in nature. I mean, you’re taking a spirit, and you’re changing it into some kind of a form. In this case, it’s vibration — controlled vibration, which we call sound or music. So, that’s the great alchemist’s work, y'know? That’s what we’re doing — we’re taking nothing and turning it into some thing of great beauty. So, that’s the alchemical work. We’re sculpting in sound.”
Bob Weir told us that he still feels as passionate about performing his Grateful Dead songs today as he did when he was on the road with the late-Jerry Garcia: “I love these tunes. I mean, I love 'em as deeply as I love anything. There was a while that I couldn't even play 'em 'cause I couldn't, y'know, I couldn't — emotionally, I wasn't ready for it. And then I got lonesome enough for 'em, and then, y'know, every time we'd bring out a new one of those old chestnuts, y'know, I'd get plenty misty — and I still do.”
JUST ANNOUNCED: Dead & Company tour dates (subject to change):
August 16 – Raleigh, NC – Coastal Credit Union Music Park
August 18 – Bristow, VA – Jiffy Lube Live
August 20 – New York, NY – Citi Field
August 21 – Philadelphia, PA – Citizens Bank Park
August 23 – Bethel, NY – Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
August 25 – Darien, NY – Darien Lake Amphitheater
August 27 – Saratoga Springs, NY – Saratoga Performing Arts Center
August 28 – Hershey, PA – Hersheypark Stadium
September 2, 3 – Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center
September 5 – Hartford, CT – The Xfinity Theatre
September 7 – Cuyahoga Falls, OH – Blossom Music Center
September 10 – Clarkston, MI – DTE Energy Music Theatre
September 11 – Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center
September 13 – Maryland Heights, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre STL
September 15 – Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Music Center
September 17, 18 – Chicago, IL – Wrigley Field
October 6 – West Palm Beach, FL – iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre
October 7 – Tampa, FL – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
October 11 – Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion
October 12 – Atlanta, GA – Cellairis Amphitheatre at Lakewood
October 14 – Dallas, TX – Dos Equis Pavilion
October 15 – Woodlands, TX – Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion Presented by Huntsman
October 22, 23 – Greenwood Village, CO – Fiddler’s Green Amphitheater
October 25 – Phoenix, AZ – Ak-Chin Pavilion
October 27 – San Diego, CA – North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre
October 29, 30, 31 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Bowl