Dead and Company announce residency at The Sphere
After finishing up the dates for what was presumed to be their final tour, the Grateful Dead offshoot Dead and Company have announced that they will be performing a handful of dates at the Las Vegas venue, The Sphere.
This was hinted at in a tweet on the band’s page, where the massive arena was emblazoned with the infamous ‘Steal Your Face’ logo on the front. The band also issued a statement about their time at the venue, stating, “In 2023, Dead & Company played their final tour, but there are other ways to make sure the music never stops”.
This latest version of the band contained multiple familiar faces from the classic iteration of the jam band, including guitarist Bob Weir and drummer Mickey Hart. For most of the shows, the band were joined by guitar virtuoso John Mayer, who had the task of helping recreate the guitar parts of Grateful Dead founder Jerry Garcia.
For their first run of shows, the lineup has been rounded out by bassist Oteil Burbridge, keyboardist Jeff Chimenti, and drummer Jay Lane. While their return to the stage has invited questions about further shows, this will be billed as a small residency rather than a full tour.
This comes after the band had gone out on the road for what had been billed as the final shows they would ever play. After crisscrossing the globe, the band ended their final run of shows in San Francisco, the city where the band was initially started in the 1960s.
The Sphere was originally given its grand opening with U2 back in 2023, projecting various visuals across the venue as the band played in the centre. After the Irish band finished their dates, jam band Phish also spent four nights at the venue.
Leading up to the announcement, Dead and Company said they would be playing up to 15 dates at the venue sometime this spring. As of yet, no dates have been solidified.
