Before joining the band in Burlington, Vt., Phil Lesh spent quite a few nights onstage with his son Grahame Lesh and the players of Midnight North (who often moonlight as his own Terrapin Allstars band).

The elder Lesh joined Midnight North on Oct. 7 in Washington DC, Oct. 9 in Fairfield, Conn. and Oct. 10 in Woodstock, NY.

Oct. 7 highlights included Phil playing on Midnight North’s “Coyote” and “Wind & Roses” before offering the Grateful Dead favorite “New Speedway Boogie.” Phil also helped close the show with Midnight North original “Greene County” before the band encored solo with “We’re Not Alone.”

Oct. 9 saw a similar, late-set sit-in by Phil, adding bass and vocals to “Coyote” and “San Francisco Rain,” before dipping into his Grateful Dead repertoire once more with a one-two punch of “Viola Lee Blues”> “I Know You Rider.” After stepping down for a few songs, Phil returned once more for a set-closing “Greene County” as well as the first half of the band’s encore, Rev. Gary Davis’ “Keep Your Lamps Trimmed & Burning.”

Finally, on Oct. 10, Midnight North opened for The Midnight Ramble Band at the historic Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock, NY, giving plenty of opportunities for inter-band collaboration.

Phil played two songs with Midnight North (“Coyote,” “New Speedway Boogie”), and continued on with the Midnight Ramble band, enlisting Grahame as well for “Shakedown Street” and “Tennessee Jed” to open the set.

The musical cross-pollination continued later as Grahame Lesh and Midnight North guitarist/vocalist Elliot Peck jammed on The Midnight Ramble Band’s “Twilight,” “Caledonia Mission” and “Evangeline.”

The pair returned once more for the encore of “The Weight.”

(It’s also worth noting that Midnight Ramble members Teresa Williams and Larry Campbell are veterans of the Phil Lesh & Friends band.)

Check out Midnight North’s early October setlists below:

Midnight North
Oct 7, 2021
The Hamilton DC, Washington DC

Wild Card, Highway Song, The Sailor & The Sea, Good Days, Sweet Seasons (Carole King), Silent Lonely Drifter, Playing A Poor Hand Well, Do I Look Worried (Tedeschi Trucks Band), Earthquakes, Mississippi River, Under The Lights, Sway (Rolling Stones), Coyote*, Wind & Roses*, New Speedway Boogie* (Grateful Dead), Greene County*

Enc: We’re Not Alone

Midnight North
Oct 9, 2021
Warehouse at FTC, Fairfield, Conn.

Earthquakes, Good Days, The Sailor & The Sea, Highway Song, Sweet Seasons (Carole King), Silent Lonely Drifter, Do I Look Worried (Tedeschi Trucks Band), Playing A Poor Hand Well, Coyote*, San Francisco Rain*, Viola Lee Blues* > (Grateful Dead), I Know You Rider* (Grateful Dead), Wild Card, Sway (Rolling Stones), Mississippi River, Under The Lights, Greene County*

Enc: Keep Your Lamps Trimmed & Burning* (Rev. Gary Davis), We’re Not Alone

Midnight North
Oct 10, 2021
Levon Helm Studios, Woodstock, NY
(Opening for Midnight Ramble Band)

Wild Card, Good Days, The Sailor & The Sea, Greene County, Do I Look Worried (Tedeschi Trucks Band), Earthquakes, Coyote*, New Speedway Boogie* (Grateful Dead), We’re Not Alone

The Midnight Ramble Band
Oct. 10, 2021
Levon Helm Studios, Woodstock NY

Shakedown Street*, Tennessee Jed*, Time To Kill, Rain Down Tears, Twilight^, Caledonia Mission^, Evangeline^, Mardi Gras Day, Cripple Creek, Chest Fever, The Weight#

Notes:
*w/ Phil & Grahame
^w/ Elliott & Grahame
#w/ Elliott, Grahame, & Suitcase Junket