Phil & Friends Radio Show
DJ Don Edwards
The Phil & Friends Radio Show is dedicated exclusively to the live music of Phil Lesh & Friends, celebrating one of the most adventurous and enduring live ensembles to emerge from the Grateful Dead family of musicians. Featuring nothing but live Phil & Friends performances, the program showcases decades of unforgettable concerts, legendary collaborations, extended improvisations, and the ever-evolving musical conversations that have defined Phil Lesh’s post-Grateful Dead career.
Following the end of the Grateful Dead in 1995, founding bassist Phil Lesh continued exploring the music that had inspired generations of fans by creating Phil & Friends, a project built around collaboration, improvisation, and musical freedom. Rather than forming a traditional touring band, Lesh assembled an ever-changing lineup of world-class musicians, allowing every performance to develop its own personality while remaining rooted in the adventurous spirit that made the Grateful Dead legendary.
That philosophy is what makes Phil & Friends unique. Every concert offers a different experience. Songs evolve from one performance to the next, arrangements change, solos take unexpected turns, and familiar classics become entirely new musical journeys. No two shows are ever the same, making Phil & Friends one of the most respected live acts in the improvisational rock world.
Throughout the years, Phil & Friends has featured an extraordinary collection of musicians from across the rock, blues, jam, jazz, and Americana communities. Artists such as Warren Haynes, Jimmy Herring, John Kadlecik, Jeff Chimenti, Rob Barraco, Joe Russo, John Molo, Larry Campbell, Jackie Greene, and many others have shared the stage with Lesh, each bringing their own style and interpretation to the music. These collaborations have produced some of the most celebrated live performances in modern jam band history.
The show’s playlist spans decades of live recordings, highlighting everything from beloved Grateful Dead classics to original compositions, deep catalog favorites, unexpected covers, and expansive improvisational excursions that can only happen on stage. Each broadcast offers listeners the opportunity to hear how different lineups reinterpret the same songs while pushing the music into exciting new territory.
Beyond the performances themselves, the Phil & Friends Radio Show celebrates the community that has grown around the music. For longtime Deadheads, it is an opportunity to revisit remarkable concerts and discover overlooked gems. For newer listeners, it serves as an introduction to one of the richest live music traditions in American rock, where spontaneity, musicianship, and audience connection remain at the center of every performance.
Improvisation has always been the heartbeat of Phil Lesh’s musical philosophy, and Phil & Friends continues that tradition with every concert. Whether exploring a twenty-minute version of a Grateful Dead favorite or reinventing a classic cover song, the band approaches every performance as a unique conversation between musicians, ensuring that each show becomes its own musical experience.
If you appreciate exceptional live musicianship, fearless improvisation, and performances that never follow the same path twice, the Phil & Friends Radio Show delivers an authentic listening experience unlike any other. Every episode is devoted entirely to live Phil & Friends recordings, offering an ever-changing soundtrack that honors the past while continuing to evolve with every performance.
The Phil & Friends Radio Show plays one thing and one thing only, live Phil & Friends.
