Dear Jerry Pays Tribute to Jerry Garcia's Legacy with All Star Lineup

_Photo by Erik Kabik_

An assortment of talent from the jamband scene and beyond came out to the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD for last night’s epic Dear Jerry concert. The lengthy show paid tribute to the great Jerry Garcia with a rotating cast of performers from across the musical spectrum, including Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann, Mickey Hart, Phil Lesh, Widespread Panic, moe., David Grisman, Allen Toussaint, the Disco Biscuits, Trampled by Turtles, Jimmy Cliff, Yonder Mountain String Band, Grace Potter, Eric Church, Jorma Kaukonen, Los Lobos, Buddy Miller, Peter Frampton, Sam Bush and more. Many of the acts took the stage with full band lineups, while others were backed by a house band that featured musical director Don Was on bass, Raymond Weber on drums, Audley Freed and Buddy Miller on guitar, Matt Rollings on keyboards and the McCrary Sisters on backing vocals. Unfortunately, scheduled acts Railroad Earth, Greensky Bluegrass and Bruce Hornsby were not able to perform last night (both RRE and Greensky confirmed that they were cut due to time constraints).

The show got started promptly at 7pm with a “The Wheel”/“Uncle John’s Band” combo from Phil Lesh and Communion, a new group that includes Stu Allen, Grahame Lesh, Ross James, Jason Crosby and Alex Koford. Allen then led the band through “Standing on the Moon” before the younger Lesh took over for “Liberty.” Next up was legendary songwriter and self-proclaimed Deadhead Allen Toussaint, who took the stage with Kreutzmann, Hart and the house band for his own “Get Out Of My Life Woman,” a Jerry Garcia favorite that was often covered by the JGBin the 1980s.

Toussaint was followed by bluegrass icons David Grisman and Sam Bush, who put their spin on the traditional folk song “Shady Grove,” a track that appears on Garcia and Grisman’s album of the same name. Next up was Peter Frampton with “(I’m a) Road Runner,” a Holland-Dozier-Holland classic that was also a part of the JGB repertoire. Buddy Miller then led the house band through a fun “Deal” before Jorma Kaukonen appeared with his Hot Tuna bandmate Barry Mitterhoff for “Sugaree.” The first set finally came to a close with an inspiring performance by Jimmy Cliff, who worked through his classic “The Harder They Come” with Hart and Kreutzmann, before Weir and Dave Schools joined the reggae legend, the Rhythm Devils and the house band for “Fire On The Mountain.”

After a brief break, the festivities continued with a few songs from Bill Kreutzmann’s new project Billy & The Kids, which saw the drummer work through a “Help On The Way” > “Slipknot! > “Franklin’s Tower” sequence with Aron Magner, Reed Mathis and Tom Hamilton. The configuration allowed for a seamless transition into the following Disco Biscuits set, as Marc Brownstein, Jon “The Barber” Gutwillig and Allen Aucoin took the stage with Magner, Kreutzmann and Hamilton. The augmented Biscuits lineup delivered one of the night’s most well-executed jams, as “Scarlet Begonias” segued into “I Know You Rider” before briefly reprising “Scarlet.”

moe. was next with a faithful “Loser” before O.A.R. worked some saxophone into a rousing “St. Stephen.” The groups were followed by Los Lobos with Bob Weir, who teased a bit of “Not Fade Away” on their way to “Bertha.” The tune has been a frequent cover choice for Los Lobos, who contributed a version of the song to the 1991 tribute album Deadicated. The collaboration was followed by a a solid “Brown-Eyed Women” from Trampled By Turtles, though it the night’s bluegrass highlight came next in the form of a set-closing, atypical rendition of “Shakedown Street” from Yonder Mountain String Band.

The house band returned for the night’s final set, which kicked off with an excellent Bob Weir-led “Days Between.” The tune gave an energetic Weir a moment to shine, though the guitarist was in generally in top-form throughout the night. Weir then stuck around as Grace Potter took the stage with her Nocturnals bandmates Matt Burr and Benny Yurco for a slowed down “Friend of the Devil.” Country star Eric Church’s straight-forward take on “Tennessee Jed” was followed by a sublime “Morning Dew” from Widespread Panic—who busted out the song for the first time since 2009—before Weir, Kreutzmann and Hart led the house band (and the crowd) through a “Touch of Grey” singalong.

Finally, the show came to a close at around 11:15pm with an appearance by most of the night’s performers (though Lesh was notably absent). The ensemble wrapped up the show with a touching “Ripple” that was accompanied by projected images of Jerry Garcia, as well as the song’s lyrics. After the tune wrapped up and the performers took their bow, Weir and Hart took some time to thank the crowd, while Grisman passed out show posters to fans in the audience.

A photo gallery from last night’s Dear Jerry show can be found here, while the setlist and additional photos from Dino Perrucci are available below.

Thursday, May 14, 2015, Dear Jerry, Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD

Set I:

Phil Lesh and Communion – The Wheel > Uncle John’s Band, Standing on the Moon, Liberty

Allen Toussaint – Get Out My Life Woman
with House Band, Bill Kreutzmann, Mickey Hart

David Grisman & Sam Bush – Shady Grove
with House Band

Peter Frampton – (I’m a) Roadrunner
with House Band

Buddy Miller – Deal
with House Band

Jorma Kaukonen – Sugaree
with House Band, Barry Mitterhoff

Jimmy Cliff – The Harder They Come
with House Band, Bill Kreutzmann, Mickey Hart

Jimmy Cliff, Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann, Mickey Hart – Fire On the Mountain
with House Band, Dave Schools

Set II: