A tribute to every band the surviving members of the Grateful Dead formed after Jerry Garcia’s passing — The Other Ones, RatDog, Phil Lesh and Friends, Furthur, Dead and Company. The music never stopped. It just changed hands.
Fare Thee Well Radio Show
Tonight on The Grateful Dead Live
A tribute to every band the surviving members of the Grateful Dead formed after Jerry Garcia’s passing — The Other Ones, RatDog, Phil Lesh and Friends, Furthur, Dead and Company. The music never stopped. It just changed hands.
When Jerry Garcia Passed in 1995, the Music Didn’t End. It Became Something Else.
The Fare Thee Well Radio Show is the Thursday night home on The Grateful Dead Live for everything the surviving members of the band built after Jerry Garcia’s passing on August 9, 1995. Garcia’s death marked the end of the Grateful Dead as it had existed for thirty years, but it did not mark the end of the music or the musicians who had spent their lives playing it. Within a few years, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, and the musicians who had orbited the Dead’s world began assembling new configurations — some brief, some lasting over a decade — each approaching the catalog from a different angle and with a different set of collaborators.
The Fare Thee Well Radio Show moves through that entire arc: The Other Ones, RatDog, Phil Lesh and Friends, Furthur, Dead and Company, and everything else these musicians created in the three decades since Garcia left the stage. Tonight’s broadcast covers the full lineage of what the band became after 1995, and why that lineage matters to anyone who cares about what the Dead actually were.
While nothing can truly replace Jerry Garcia, the legacy he left behind continues to thrive through the music of The Other Ones, Furthur, Dead and Company, RatDog, and Phil Lesh and Friends. These bands gave fans new opportunities to experience the magic of the Grateful Dead’s music and ensured that the spirit of the band will never be forgotten.
The Grateful Dead LiveEvery Band the Fare Thee Well Show Celebrates
From the first reunion shows after Garcia’s passing through Dead and Company’s Sphere residency, the post-Garcia era produced more than thirty years of live music that honored the catalog while each configuration pushed it somewhere new.
Shortly after Garcia’s passing, the surviving members joined forces with keyboardist Bruce Hornsby and guitarist Steve Kimock to form The Other Ones — a name acknowledging that while Garcia was irreplaceable, the band would continue. They toured extensively through the late 1990s, playing both Grateful Dead classics and new material with the improvisational spirit intact.
RatDog, led by Bob Weir, became the platform through which he explored his own musical interests while continuing to honor the Grateful Dead’s catalog. More intimate than the large-ensemble configurations, RatDog allowed Weir to develop his voice as a bandleader independent of the full reunions.
Phil Lesh formed Phil Lesh and Friends as a collective built around a rotating cast of talented musicians — Warren Haynes, Jimmy Herring, Trey Anastasio, John Scofield, Bruce Hornsby — allowing him to experiment across musical styles while the Dead catalog remained the foundation. Each lineup revealed something different about the songs.
In 2009 Weir and Lesh reunited under the Furthur banner with a new lineup including John Kadlecik on guitar, Jeff Chimenti on keyboards, Joe Russo on drums, and Jay Lane on percussion. Furthur toured extensively for several years, capturing the magic of the Grateful Dead’s live performances while developing its own creative identity. They played the catalog with the improvisational depth the songs demanded and became the most sustained Weir-Lesh collaboration of the post-Garcia era.
In 2015 Dead and Company brought three original members together with guitarist John Mayer, bassist Oteil Burbridge, and keyboardist Jeff Chimenti. The configuration quickly gained a dedicated following, with Mayer’s guitar skills and vocals bringing a new dynamic that attracted both longtime Deadheads and new fans. Dead and Company played stadium and arena shows for nearly a decade, culminating in a historic multi-night run at the Las Vegas Sphere in 2024 and 2025 that produced 48 shows at the most technically sophisticated live music venue ever built.
John Mayer Takes the Sphere Under His Own Name in 2027 — 21 Shows, Three Acts Per Night, the John Mayer Trio Returns
John Mayer is officially returning to the Sphere in Las Vegas for a massive solo headline residency running from April 8 through June 12, 2027. Due to overwhelming ticket demand, the run expanded to 21 total shows. While Mayer heavily shaped the Sphere’s visual framework during his 48-show run with Dead and Company across 2024 and 2025, this marks the first time his own name will be on the marquee. The connection to tonight’s Fare Thee Well show is direct: Mayer’s entire relationship with this venue was built through Dead and Company, and what he is doing in 2027 is inseparable from that chapter of the post-Garcia lineage.
Each night is structured as three entirely distinct performance formats. First, a solo segment with Mayer alone on stage, showcasing acoustic guitar alongside piano and electric guitar. Second, a full-band set delivering his pop-rock catalog, mainstream hits, and deep cuts backed by a full ensemble. Third — and most anticipated — the John Mayer Trio reunion with legendary bassist Pino Palladino and drummer Steve Jordan, currently of the Rolling Stones. This marks the first time the Trio has performed a full concert run together since 2017.
The production leverages the Sphere’s 16K wrap-around LED screen alongside programmable seat haptics, wind, and atmospheric sensory elements. Standard tickets start at $129. One dollar from every standard ticket sold benefits his Back To You Fund supporting at-risk youth and housing initiatives. One hundred percent of proceeds from select VIP auctions benefit the Heart and Armor Foundation, supporting veterans’ health.
Full 21-Show Schedule · April 8 – June 12, 2027
How to Choose Your Seats
The Sphere’s unusual shape means seating choice completely changes the experience. Here is a breakdown of what each level offers.
| Level | The Experience |
|---|---|
| GA Floor | Closest to Stage Best for watching Mayer’s actual guitar technique up close. You miss the full scope of the wrap-around visuals without looking straight up. Right choice if the playing is the priority. |
| 100 Level | Stage Views / Screen Tradeoff Great direct views of the stage, but rows farther back suffer from an overhanging balcony that heavily obstructs the upper immersive screen. Front rows of the 100 level are excellent. Further back loses the visual. |
| 200 & 300 Levels | The Sweet Spot The universally agreed best balance of clear audio, a clean view of the band, and full perspective on the massive screen. If you want everything working together, these are the levels to target. |
| 400 Level | Full Visual · Distant Stage Steepest and furthest from the stage, but offers the most comprehensive and unfiltered view of the complete visual display. The Sphere experience at its most immersive if you are willing to trade stage proximity for screen. |
Ticket Information
General public sales are live now via Ticketmaster. Standard entry from $129. High demand has pushed premium and lower-level options into Verified Resale. Concert and hotel experience packages at johnmayer.vibee.com.
Charitable Components
$1 from every standard ticket goes to the Back To You Fund supporting at-risk youth and housing. 100% of select VIP auction proceeds benefit the Heart and Armor Foundation supporting veterans’ health.
