Dead and Company Live in New Orleans

Dead and Company are three surviving members of the Grateful Dead – rhythm guitar and vocalist Bob Weir and the two drummers – with John Mayer on lead guitar and vocals (so taking the role of Jerry Garcia), a keyboardist and a bass player.

The Grateful Dead are an American institution, the ultimate San Francisco/ psychedelic/hippy band, who became a cultural phenomenon and eventually an unlikely national treasure. Some would claim they have nothing to do with jazz (like many acts at the festival) but they absolutely have, along with blues, folk, bluegrass, rock and pop.

There’d been a noticeable ‘Deadhead’ presence emerging since day one and even at outlying areas of the festival field, circles of people freaking out old-style, spinning around – often barefoot – many not even old enough to have been born when The Dead disbanded on the death of Garcia.

  

Truckin’ opened the set, with its references to N’Awlins and Bourbon Street and typically lasted for ages without ever being boring. We stayed for another – also led by Weir – which also seemed to last forever without becoming boring and then left them to it. Steve T