Grateful Dead Reveal They Were Planning a 60th Anniversary Reunion Prior to Phil Lesh’s Death
Phil Lesh, who passed away last month at the age of 84, was set to get together with his surviving bandmates to jam once more.
Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann, Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, Mickey Hart and Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead.
The surviving members of the Grateful Dead have revealed that plans for a special 60th anniversary reunion were in the works prior to Phil Lesh’s recent passing.
Lesh, who was the founding bassist of the California rock outfit, passed away on Oct. 25 at the age of 84. Five days following his passing, bandmates Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart sat down for a previously-planned interview with CBS This Morning which was intended to include Lesh as well.
Now, the interview has aired, with the surviving members noting a reunion project for the Grateful Dead’s 60th anniversary had been in the works, with plans for the four members to get together and jam once more.
“We were going to see where it goes,” Weir said. “But we were just going to play the four of us. And now there’s only three of us.”
“I was hoping that we could play with him again one more time,” added Kreutzmann. “So that was my sadness on that one, ’cause I know he wanted to play with us again, too.”
“We were kickin’ it around,” Weir continued. “In fact, we were gonna get together and kick some songs around tomorrow.”
The Grateful Dead first formed in 1965 and performed for 30 years with various lineups until their split following the passing of lead guitarist and vocalist Jerry Garcia in 1995.
While various reunion projects would form over the years (including The Other Ones, which featured Lesh, Weir, Kreutzmann and Hart at different points), the four musicians reunited for the 50th anniversary Fare Thee Well concert in 2015. Complemented by Trey Anastasio, Bruce Hornsby and Jeff Chimenti, the concerts were a direct precursor to the ongoing Dead & Company group, which did not feature Lesh as part of its membership.
In 2024, Dead & Company embarked upon their final tour, though have left the door open for future performances and projects.
Next month, Lesh, Weir, Kreutzmann and Hart will be saluted as part of the 2024 Kennedy Center Honors, with 2023 recipient Queen Latifah hosting.
