Latest news with #FareTheeWell:Celebrating50YearsoftheGratefulDead
Perth Now
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Dead and Company set for trio of concerts at San Francisco's iconic Golden Gate Park in August
Dead and Company are to play three shows at San Francisco's iconic Golden Gate Park this summer. Although the rock band - which is a continuation of the Grateful Dead with original members Bob Weir and Mickey Hart joined by John Mayer, Oteil Burbridge, Jeff Chimenti, and Jay Lane - haven't officially announced the trio of gigs, the city's mayor, Daniel Lurie, confirmed the dates of August 1, 2 and 3. In an X video, he said: 'We have some really big news. 'Dead and Co., three shows, August 1, 2 and 3, right here in the city that is the home of the Grateful Dead. What better way to celebrate. We'll see you out here in August.' The clip is captioned: "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!" Dead and Company will wrap their 10th anniversary 'Dead Forever' residency at The Sphere in Las Vegas this weekend (May 15 to 17). Meanwhile, Bob recently suggested it's possible for the Grateful Dead to reunite as a trio following the passing of bass player Phil Lesh. The musician died in October, at the age of 84, and before his passing, Weir, and bandmates Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart were planning a 60th anniversary reunion tour with Lesh. Should they get back together, Weir admits he couldn't replace his beloved bandmate. In an interview with Rolling Stone, he said: '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.' Asked about reuniting as a three-piece, 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.' Weir also admitted he and Lesh had their "differences". Recounting their last conversation, he shared: 'We did have our differences. But the last phone call I had from him was when the news came out that we were being honoured at the Kennedy Center. He called me just simply to congratulate me and us, and that was his entire reason for calling. And when we were done talking about that, I was spun out, he was spun out. We tried to make sense of it for a little bit. And then said, 'Well, OK, see you there,' basically. I guess that wasn't to be.' The trio turned up with Lesh's son, Grahame, to be honoured by then-President Joe Biden at the Kennedy Center Honors in December. In 2015, Weir, Lesh, Kreutzmann, and Hart reunited for the 'Fare Thee Well: Celebrating 50 Years of the Grateful Dead' concerts. They were joined by Trey Anastasio of Phish on guitar, Jeff Chimenti on keyboards, and Bruce Hornsby on piano. The 'Touch of Grey' hitmakers claimed the five shows would be the last to feature the trio.
Chicago Tribune
11-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Garcia's Chicago opens soon, a music venue and restaurant inspired by the Grateful Dead
Jerry Garcia, co-founder of the band Grateful Dead and certified cultural icon, dreamt of one day owning a place where he and other musicians and guests could hang out when not on the road. His vision was an oasis of easy vibes with plenty of opportunities to jam. Although Casa Garcia never materialized in the musician's lifetime, something very much like it is scheduled to open on March 21 at 1001 W. Washington Blvd. in the West Loop, in the building formerly occupied by the restaurant Wishbone. Garcia's Chicago will be a 300-capacity concert venue and restaurant inspired by the legendary musician in its dining, décor, and musical entertainment. It's a collaboration between the Jerry Garcia family and Dayglo Presents, the live concert and media company headed by independent music veteran Peter Shapiro. Shapiro's own immersion in all things Garcia happened in Chicago while attending his first Grateful Dead concert. Due to Deadheads' dead-ication to detailing online just about every concert the band ever played, one can pinpoint that concert. It was March 11, 1993, at Rosemont Horizon (now Allstate Arena), featuring Chicagoan and Word Jazz creator Ken Nordine. 'The show changed the trajectory of my life,' Shapiro said. 'It took me to another place. I had never seen anything like that.' That summer, Shapiro, then an undergraduate at Northwestern University, followed the band with fellow Deadhead fans and made a film about the experience, 'And Miles To Go: On Tour with The Grateful Dead.' His film caught the attention of Larry Bloch, who owned a music venue in New York City called Wetlands Preserve. Wanting to retire, Bloch invited Shapiro to take over the place in 1996. That experience led Shapiro to operate other music venues, including the Capitol Theatre, one of Garcia's favorite places to perform, in Port Chester, New York. 'I've basically put on a show every night since 1996,' Shapiro said. Transforming the Capitol Theatre's lobby bar into a general admission venue called Garcia's in 2013 was Shapiro's first foray into honoring the late musician with a themed music space. But he wanted to expand the concept along the lines of Jerry's vision for Casa Garcia — a seated entertainment site and restaurant with the intimacy of a jazz club, the countercultural character of a rock club, and the chill-out atmosphere of the jam scene. Shapiro set his sights on Chicago for the first dedicated Garcia's. For anyone wondering why Chicago and not the Bay Area, where the Grateful Dead originated, he points to the important role Chicago played in the band's history. Garcia played his last gig with the band at Soldier Field in July 1995, a month before the guitarist and vocalist's death. Twenty years later, Soldier Field hosted the last surviving members of the Dead performing together for a final time on a show Shapiro produced as the concert promoter, called Fare Thee Well: Celebrating 50 Years of the Grateful Dead. 'Jerry loved Chicago,' Shapiro said. Not to say that it hasn't been, in Dead vernacular, 'a long strange trip' to this point. The ink was barely dry on the 2019 agreement Shapiro signed for the former Wishbone site when COVID closed the doors on live entertainment. Shapiro said he hung onto the building all this time because 'the space is very magical. There's nothing above it because it's also a parking lot. That's what helped it not become a multi-story hotel or condo. Because it supports no stories, it doesn't have columns. That means great sightlines to the stage.' Tristam Steinberg, designer of Garcia's at the Capitol Theatre, also planned Garcia's Chicago, going for a comfortable, laidback blend of mid-century America, Haight-Asbury psychedelia, Spanish flourishes (a nod to Garcia's father's Spanish ancestry), and some New Orleans hoodoo. A colorful mural by artist Violet Oliphant shares space with Garcia memorabilia such as vintage music posters, records, rare family photos, and books. Grateful Dead, at the end of the end Lowder-Tascarella Hospitality Group is working with executive chef and Chicago native Ivy Carthen to craft a collection of culinary delights that reflect the adventuresome spirit of the venue's namesake. The menu will feature cuisine representing Northern California and Spain, as well as Garcia's favorite foods (yes, there will be milkshakes). Guests will enjoy Jerry-themed cocktails created by mixologist Chris Lowder. 'Garcia's Chicago is the setup of a classic jazz club,' Shapiro said, 'but we will do all types of music, including jazz, jam, New Orleans, soul, and funk.' Chicago music promoter Michael Berg of Deep Cut will handle the booking. Just like a Grateful Dead jam session, improvisation and inspiration are driving final preparations leading up to the opening. 'Jerry's spirit of kindness and improvisational exploration musically is defining and leading us,' Shapiro said. 'But when it settles, the goal is for this to be one of the premier music venues in Chicago for many years to come. Chicago has so many great venues, but it doesn't quite have this.' Music calendar at Garcia's Chicago March 21-23: Grahame Lesh and Friends with Daniel Donato March 30: Blind Boys of Alabama April 4-5: LaMP April 8: Dave & Dave of Trampled by Turtles April 10-11: Keller Williams April 12-13: Krasno Moore Project April 19: Octave Cat April 24: Intimate Evening with Grace Potter April 25: The Grateful String Band April 29: Joey Alexander May 2: Sam Grisman Project May 3: Dave Bruzza of Greensky Bluegrass May 8: HARTLISS (Brendan Bayliss of Umphrey's McGee and Jennifer Hartswick of Trey Anastasio Band) May 9: Brendan Bayliss and Jake Cinninger May 10: Tom Hamilton May 11: Artemis May 15: Benmont Tench May 16-17: BALTHVS May 22: Cris Jacobs Band with Luther Dickinson May 23: Frank Catalano Band May 25: Hot Buttered Rum with Allie Krall May 30-31: Holly Bowling June 4: Drayton Farley June 6-7: Matteo Mancuso June 14: Phoffman of Greensky Bluegrass June 19-21: Preservation Hall Jazz Band June 25: Mikaela Davis June 29: Town Mountain July 18-20: Phish after-parties July 26: The Travelin' McCourys Aug. 31: JoJo Hermann Sept. 5-6: George Porter Jr. and Runnin' Pardners Sept. 12-13: God Street Wine Sept. 18: Susto Oct. 25: Dezron Douglas Quartet Nov. 6-20: Dogs in a Pile
