Dead & Company are heading back on the road and have just rolled out a 20-date itinerary. The trek begins on June 11th at L.A.'s Dodger Stadium and wraps over two nights on July 15th and 16th in Flushing, New York. Along the way, the Dead will play back-to-back gigs in Mountain View, California and Chicago, Illinois. General on sale begins Friday, April 8th at 10 a.m. local time.
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 something of great beauty. So, that’s the alchemical work. We’re sculpting in sound."] SOUNDCUE (:22 OC: . . . sculpting in sound)
Guitarist 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."] SOUNDCUE (:16 OC: . . . I still do)
Drummer Bill Kreutzmann told us a while back that ultimately the Dead's music was created in hopes of bringing people together: ["I want people to really be able to look and be in each other's hearts, and not have this horrible war — but I don't mean just the war in Iraq, I mean war in our country, people not getting along, y'know? And so, that's what I want people to get. I always want people to get happy and be with each other. That was the most fun about Grateful Dead concerts, is that you could really see people relating to each other. They really had heart for each other. It was truly an extended family."] SOUNDCUE (:21 OC: . . . an extended family)
JUST ANNOUNCED: Dead & Company tour dates (subject to change):
June 11 – Los Angeles, CA – Dodger Stadium
June 13, 14 – Mountain View, CA – Shoreline Amphitheatre
June 17, 18 – Boulder, CO – Folsom Field
June 21 – Maryland Heights, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
June 22 – Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center
June 24, 25 – Chicago, IL – Wrigley Field
June 28 – Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Music Center
June 29 – Clarkston, MI – Pine Knob Music Theatre
July 1 – Bethel, NY – Bethel Woods Center For the Arts
July 2 – Foxborough, MA – Gillette Stadium
July 5 – Hartford, CT – XFINITY Theatre
July 6 – Saratoga Springs, NY – Saratoga Performing Arts Center
July 8 – Bristow, VA Jiffy – Lube Live
July 10 – Philadelphia, PA – Citizens Bank Park
July 12 – Burgettstown, PA – The Pavilion at Star Lake
July 15, 16 – Queens, NY – Citi Field
