Grateful Dead Announce Two More Reunion Shows, ‘But This Is It’
The Grateful Dead have added two additional reunion shows amid a frenzy of interest. Surviving members Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh and Bob Weir have added June 27-28 at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., to their itinerary.
Those shows precede a trio of instantly sold-out appearances to be held July 3-5 at Soldier Field in Chicago, site of the Grateful Dead's final stop with Jerry Garcia on July 9, 1995. The group has said these 2015 concerts, which they've called Fare Thee Well: Celebrating 50 Years of Grateful Dead, will be their last ever.
"None of us anticipated the overwhelming outpouring of love and interest following our initial announcement of the shows at Soldier Field, and we were blown away by the response," the Grateful Dead said in an official statement. "We will not be adding any more Fare Thee Well performances. The three Chicago shows will still be our final stand. We decided to add these two Santa Clara shows to enable more of our fans to celebrate with us one more time. But this is it."
The remaining quartet will be joined in Chicago and Santa Clara by Trey Anastasio of Phish on guitar, and Jeff Chementi and Bruce Hornsby on keyboards. Hornsby served a similar role in the Dead toward the end of Garcia's life, playing more than 100 shows with the band between 1988-95.
As is their custom, the Grateful Dead are trying – with varying degrees of success – to eliminate secondary-market scalpers by offering their own online ticketing for the Levi's shows through Dead50.net. They say 65,000 tickets will be available each night for the California concerts.
As for those who can't make it? "We are working on ways for you to still experience our Fare Thee Well, from wherever you might be," the band says. "Stay tuned for those details."
See the Grateful Dead and Other Rockers in the Top 100 Albums of the '70s
Bob Weir and RatDog Perform ‘Me and My Uncle’ at Mountain Jam