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| Dead & Company | |
|---|---|
| Name | Dead & Company |
| Caption | Dead & Company performing at Shoreline Amphitheatre, 2016 |
| Background | group_or_band |
| Origin | San Francisco, California |
| Years active | 2015–2023 |
| Associated acts | Grateful Dead, Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh, The Allman Brothers Band, The Rolling Stones, Santana, John Mayer, Oteil Burbridge, Jeff Chimenti |
Dead & Company was an American rock band formed in the mid-2010s that reunited key personnel from the Grateful Dead with musicians from contemporary rock and jazz scenes. The ensemble combined veteran members associated with psychedelic rock, jam band traditions, and improvisational music with new collaborators from blues, pop, and fusion backgrounds. They toured extensively across North America, performing reinterpretations of the Grateful Dead catalog alongside extended improvisations and setlist variations.
The project emerged after decades of post-Grateful Dead formations including The Other Ones, The Dead, Furthur, and reunions featuring Bruce Hornsby, Widespread Panic, Phil Lesh and Friends, and collaborations at events like Fare Thee Well and festivals such as Bonnaroo Music Festival, Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, and New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Announced in 2015, the group featured surviving Grateful Dead members who had participated in landmark events like the Woodstock Festival and recordings produced by Grateful Dead studio sessions engineers associated with Bearsville Studios. Early tours brought the ensemble to venues connected to the band's history, including Madison Square Garden, Wrigley Field, and Fenway Park, and intersected with artists from Trombone Shorty, Norah Jones, Gov't Mule, and Drive-By Truckers. The formation sparked discussions in publications such as Rolling Stone, The New York Times, Billboard, and Pitchfork. Health issues among members prompted scheduling adjustments analogous to past pauses in the careers of Jerry Garcia, Mickey Hart, and Phil Lesh-led configurations.
Core contributors included musicians with extensive pedigrees in Grateful Dead history and broader American music: surviving Grateful Dead guitarist-vocalist Bob Weir; percussionist Mickey Hart; drummer Bill Kreutzmann; alongside artists whose careers intersected with mainstream and alternative scenes such as John Mayer (guitar, vocals), Oteil Burbridge (bass), and Jeff Chimenti (keyboards). Guest appearances and collaborative intersections involved figures from Tedeschi Trucks Band, Widespread Panic, Phish, and session players linked to Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and The Black Crowes. The personnel connected to producers and engineers who worked with Daniel Lanois, Rick Rubin, T Bone Burnett, and labels like Arista Records and Warner Bros. Records through previous projects.
Setlists drew primarily from the Grateful Dead songbook, including staples composed by Jerry Garcia, Robert Hunter, and John Perry Barlow, such as standards that originated on albums like American Beauty and Workingman's Dead. The band reinterpreted compositions associated with Dark Star, Truckin', Scarlet Begonias, Friend of the Devil, and Uncle John's Band, incorporating improvisational passages reminiscent of experiments on Europe '72 and legendary concert recordings from Fillmore West, Fillmore East, and Winterland Ballroom. Arrangements blended influences from blues artists like Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, and B.B. King, jazz innovators such as John Coltrane and Miles Davis, and Latin-rock pioneers like Santana. Instrumental interplay referenced techniques from Allman Brothers Band improvisations and fusion approaches associated with Weather Report and Mahavishnu Orchestra.
Touring concentrated on North American arenas, amphitheaters, and festival stages, visiting cities including Los Angeles, Chicago, New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, Atlanta, and Austin. Performances were documented by dedicated taping communities and collectors who historically archived shows from Grateful Dead Tape Traders networks, and they intersected with institutionally significant venues such as Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Shoreline Amphitheatre, and Lockn' Festival. The band’s setlist variability and extended jams drew parallels to road narratives of Phish and legacies like Cornell 1977. Health-related postponements and rescheduled dates echoed situations faced by touring acts including Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, The Rolling Stones, and U2.
Official live releases and archival projects followed the model of Grateful Dead Records and the archival strategies used for Dave Matthews Band and Pearl Jam bootlegs; many concerts were later issued as digital downloads, physical CDs, or streaming releases on services allied with Live Nation Entertainment, Nugs.net, and major platforms like Spotify and Apple Music. Select performances appeared on compilation packages, box sets, and festival samplers similar to releases curated by Rhino Entertainment and Columbia Records. Production personnel included engineers and mixers whose résumés featured work with Phil Spector, Glyn Johns, and mastering for catalogs like Motown and Blue Note Records.
Critical and fan reception was mixed to positive in outlets including The Guardian, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, and Consequence. Commentators connected the group’s work to the historical influence of Jerry Garcia-era improvisation, the cultural significance of the 1960s counterculture movements linked to San Francisco, and the economic impact of touring models exemplified by acts such as Phish and Dave Matthews Band. The ensemble contributed to continued interest in the Grateful Dead repertoire among newer audiences familiar with artists like John Mayer and institutions promoting live music preservation such as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and university-based archival programs. Long-term legacy discussions reference musicology studies published alongside retrospectives on psychedelic rock, jam band phenomena, and American popular music history.
Category:American rock bands Category:Jam bands Category:Grateful Dead