The Jerry Garcia Experience lands in San Francisco in early 2027. JRAD wraps their year in November. DSO has New Year’s plans. And the music on the channel right now.
Eyes of the World Coming in 2027. Oteil Burbridge Benefit Tour. Sturgill Simpson on Weir. Gerrit Graham Passes. Taper’s Section. Local Shows.
The Jerry Garcia Experience lands in San Francisco in early 2027. JRAD wraps their year in November. DSO has New Year’s plans. And the music on the channel right now.
Eyes of the World: The Jerry Garcia Experience · 40,000-Square-Foot Immersive Exhibition
Officially announced by Garcia’s family in August 2026, Eyes of the World: The Jerry Garcia Experience is a 40,000-square-foot touring immersive exhibition celebrating the life, legacy, and artistic genius of the late Grateful Dead leader. The project is decades in the making — it is actually based on a creative blueprint Garcia himself began developing more than 30 years ago alongside author Ken Kesey and film producer Cary Granat. They originally envisioned a location-based experiential project and animated film centered around individual freedom and community. Granat has now partnered with Garcia’s wife Manasha and daughter Keelin to finally bring that vision to life.
The exhibition spans eight distinct immersive rooms mapping different periods of Garcia’s life, weaving together his legendary music, rare archival materials, personal writings, and his extensive body of visual art. Nightly live performances from a rotating lineup of Jerry Garcia tribute bands will keep the community spirit alive throughout the run. A portion of proceeds benefits the Jerry Garcia Foundation, supporting arts education and environmental conservation.
Tour Schedule
The exhibition makes its global debut in San Francisco in early 2027, with venue and exact dates to be confirmed. Following the San Francisco premiere, the production travels to New York, Chicago, Nashville, and Los Angeles.
The Original Blueprint
Garcia, Kesey, and Granat developed the original concept more than 30 years ago. It is being realized now by Granat alongside Garcia’s family — a project that outlasted its creator and is arriving on his terms.
Oteil Burbridge and LaMP · Wish Benefit Tour 2026 · 100% of Proceeds to Make-A-Wish
The Wish Benefit Tour 2026 is a four-night concert series in October marking the first time Grammy-winning bassist Oteil Burbridge — of Dead & Company and the Allman Brothers Band — will share the stage with the instrumental groove power-trio LaMP, featuring Russ Lawton, Scott Metzger, and Ray Paczkowski. Presented by Fiddlehead Brewing Company, 100% of proceeds benefit Make-A-Wish Foundation chapters in Vermont, New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island to grant wishes for children fighting critical illnesses.
LaMP’s members are heavyweights in the scene. Lawton and Paczkowski are long-time staples of the Trey Anastasio Band. Metzger is a lead guitarist in Joe Russo’s Almost Dead. Pairing LaMP’s tight instrumental grooves with Burbridge’s bass is a rare combination. Tickets are on sale through the official Wish Benefit Event Portal.
Tour Dates
Oct 6 · Universal Preservation Hall · Saratoga Springs, NY
Oct 7 · Higher Ground · South Burlington, VT
Oct 8 · Brooklyn Bowl · Brooklyn, NY
Oct 9 · Somerville Theatre · Somerville, MA
The Mission
Every dollar from ticket sales goes directly to Make-A-Wish chapters across the Northeast. No production cut. No management percentage. One hundred percent to children fighting critical illnesses.
Sturgill Simpson on Bob Weir: “Everybody Tries to Play Like Jerry. I Want You to Play Like You.”
In a newly published Playboy interview, country-rock boundary-pusher Sturgill Simpson — currently touring under his Johnny Blue Skies moniker — detailed how Bob Weir rescued him from a dark creative block. Simpson admitted that for most of his life his relationship with the Grateful Dead’s music was completely nonexistent, having dismissed them in his twenties as just unstructured noodling.
In the early 2020s, a severe vocal cord hemorrhage forced Simpson into musical seclusion. He entered a multi-year impostor-syndrome spiral and nearly quit touring forever. When his agent relayed an invitation from Weir to join the inaugural Dead Ahead festival in January 2024, Simpson nervously told Weir he didn’t know the legendary songbook well enough. Weir’s response: “Everybody tries to play like Jerry, and I want you to play like you.”
That single piece of advice transformed Simpson from a Dead skeptic into an obsessive fan and regular collaborator. When analyzing Garcia’s approach, Simpson realized Garcia grew up playing folk, country, bluegrass, and blues — the exact same roots foundation Simpson built his career on. The mentorship culminated in a legendary guest spot at GD60, the Grateful Dead’s 60th-anniversary celebration in Golden Gate Park, where Simpson joined Dead & Company for a 12-minute performance of Morning Dew. Those August 2025 performances would be Weir’s final public appearances before his passing in January 2026. Simpson has been honoring Weir on his current Mutiny For the Masses tour, wearing one of Weir’s personal bolo ties on stage.
Gerrit Graham · Actor, Lyricist, Co-Writer of “Victim or the Crime” · Dead at 77
Actor, screenwriter, and lyricist Gerrit Graham died at age 77 on September 15, 2026, following a battle with lung disease. Outside of his extensive acting career, Graham was a close friend of Bob Weir and a notable contributor to the Grateful Dead’s catalog. He famously co-wrote Victim or the Crime, which appeared on the band’s final studio album, Built to Last.
Graham met Weir in the 1970s and struck up a close lifelong friendship. In the late 1980s, Weir was musically mapping out a complex, dark new composition but was completely stuck on the lyrics after writing only the chorus. He pitched the track to several writers, but it was Graham who cracked the code, bringing in raw prose that began with the famous opening line: “Patience runs out on the junkie.” Weir later noted that nearly all of Graham’s original lyrics made it into the final version completely untouched.
Victim or the Crime became the opening track on side two of Built to Last and a staple of the band’s live concerts through their final 1995 tour. Weir loved the song so much he continued performing it for years in acoustic formats alongside bassist Rob Wasserman.
Screen Career
Graham is legendary among film buffs for playing glam-rock star Beef in Brian De Palma’s Phantom of the Paradise (1974), the foster father in Child’s Play 2 (1990), and a sleazy salesman in Used Cars (1980). On television he played Phil Harron on Dallas, voiced Franklin Sherman on The Critic, and guest-starred in two Star Trek series including Star Trek: Voyager.
Writing Credits
Graham contributed story material to Disney’s Oliver & Company (1988), script polishes to The Little Mermaid (1989), and co-wrote the 1990 Mickey Mouse theatrical short The Prince and the Pauper. His creative range spanned from animated films to the Grateful Dead catalog without skipping a beat.
Taper’s Section: Three Eras, Three Recordings · March 28, 1969 · March 30, 1973 · March 29, 1985
The Taper’s Section is a free weekly audio streaming feature on Dead.net run by official archivist David Lemieux, who serves as the gatekeeper for the band’s legendary vault. This week’s three-era showcase highlights the band’s musical evolution across three distinct decades.
March 28, 1969 · Modesto Junior College · Modesto, CA
Primal psychedelia. The original lineup with Garcia and Weir on guitars, the dual-drummer attack of Hart and Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh on bass, and Pigpen anchoring the bluesy foundation. A quintessential 1969 holy-grail suite: Dark Star into St. Stephen into The Eleven, culminating in Pigpen’s soulful delivery on Death Don’t Have No Mercy.
March 30, 1973 · Rochester War Memorial · Rochester, NY
The jazzy vanguard. Mickey Hart had temporarily left, leaving Kreutzmann as sole drummer. Keith and Donna Jean Godchaux pushed the band toward a lighter, improvisational jazz-rock fusion. Eyes of the World had only been introduced to the live repertoire a few weeks earlier in February 1973. This transition out of Truckin’ into Eyes into Not Fade Away is the band at their most fluid and nimble.
March 29, 1985 · Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum · Uniondale, NY
The mid-eighties renaissance. Brent Mydland firmly entrenched on keys and Hammond B3, Mickey Hart back on the drum throne. The spring 1985 tour is highly regarded by tape collectors for its raw, unhinged energy. This first-set drop highlights a powerful electrified Cold Rain and Snow and a blistering, rare standalone jam through Supplication.
How to Listen
The Taper’s Section is free to stream on Dead.net. New archival selections drop each week, curated by David Lemieux from the official vault. No subscription required.
Four Lean Hounds · Splintered Sunlight · Steal Your Peach · JRAD · DSO · Friends of Jerry NYE
A few shows on our radar in the Philadelphia and South Jersey area. The tribute scene runs considerably wider than any single list.
September 25 · Four Lean Hounds · Shere-E-Punjab · Media, PA
Acoustic and electric Dead sets at the intimate, acclaimed Indian restaurant in Media. A dinner-and-a-show night with full improvisational range from acoustic Reckoning-era material through electric dance sets.
October 10 · Splintered Sunlight · Ardmore Music Hall
One of the region’s most respected Dead tributes takes the Ardmore Music Hall stage in October.
October 29 · Steal Your Peach · Ardmore Music Hall
Grateful Dead and Allman Brothers mashup at Ardmore Music Hall. A unique pairing of two catalogs that share the same DNA.
BERTHA: Grateful Drag · Nashville · Winter Festival Dates
The all-drag Grateful Dead tribute out of Nashville that doubles each show as a benefit for local LGBTQ+ organizations is announcing extended winter festival appearances and theater slots heading into the colder months.
JRAD · November 12–14 · NJ / DC / Philadelphia
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead wraps their 2026 touring year with a three-night Mid-Atlantic run: November 12 at State Theatre in New Brunswick, NJ; November 13 at Warner Theatre in Washington DC; November 14 at The Met Philadelphia. Immediate shows: MGM Music Hall at Fenway in Boston September 24 and two nights at The Rooftop at Pier 17 in New York City September 25 and 26.
DSO · December 30 · Franklin Music Hall Philadelphia · NYE at The Capitol Theatre
Dark Star Orchestra added a December 30 show at Franklin Music Hall in Philadelphia as the kickoff to their Cosmic New Year’s Run, which then moves to The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY for December 31 through January 2, 2027. Fall routing includes multi-night stands at Wellmont Theater in Montclair, NJ on November 19 and 20 and a Rex Foundation Benefit at The Anthem in Washington DC on November 21.
New Year’s Eve · Friends of Jerry · Johnny Brenda’s · Philadelphia
Friends of Jerry announces a three-set New Year’s Eve Extravaganza at Johnny Brenda’s in Fishtown. Three Fourteen — covering Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, and roots-reggae — will anchor New Year’s Eve at Shere-E-Punjab in Media, PA.
