Last night, Phil Lesh & Friends kicked off the third and final weekend of their October residency at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, N.Y. For the start of the final run of shows, which will include the Halloween celebration lovingly referred to as Phil-o-Ween, the Grateful Dead bassist was joined by the 26-year-old rock star Marcus King for the very first time.

Along with King, Lesh’s group of compatriots for the evening included Eric Krasno, Grahame Lesh, Nicki Bluhm, Jason Crosby and Tony Leone. The ensemble kicked the evening off with a cover of the Grateful Dead’s “Cumberland Blues” before moving into the holiday staple “Dire Wolf,” on which Bluhm took on lead vocals. Next, they played “Mama Tried,” with King howling the iconic lines, “For the bad I kept on turnin’/ Mama couldn’t hold me anymore. Lesh & friends continued with “Ramble On Rose” and “Peggy-O” before Bluhm took on lead vocals with “Candyman.” To close the first set, King ripped the guitar and sang “West L.A. Fadeaway.”

They opened the second set with Traffic’s “Dear Mr. Fantasy,” a track King has covered with Widespread Panic and aptly highlights his vocal range. Bluhm and King again traded lead vocals for “Turn On Your Love Light” before a jammed-out trio of Grateful Dead favorites of “Sugaree” > “St. Stephen” >”Mountains of the Moon.” They closed the set with a cover of Cannon’s Jug Stompers’ “Viola Lee Blues.”

They closed the show with an encore of Jerry Garcia’s “Deal” before paying tribute to the late Jerry Lee Lewis with a reprise of his “Whole Lot Of Shakin’ Going On,” before returning to “Deal” with a reprise to close.

Phil Lesh & Friends will play again tonight with the same lineup at The Capitol Theatre, and on Halloween, they’ll be joined by Duane Betts.

Phil Lesh & Friends
The Capitol Theatre – Port Chester, N.Y.
Oct. 29, 2022

Set I: Cumberland Blues (Grateful Dead cover), Dire Wolf (Grateful Dead cover) (Vocals by Nicki Bluhm), Mama Tried (Merle Haggard cover) (Vocals – Marcus King), Ramble On Rose (Grateful Dead cover), Peggy-O ([traditional] cover), Candyman (Grateful Dead cover) (Vocals – Nicki Bluhm), West L.A. Fadeaway (Grateful Dead cover) (Vocals- Marcus King)

Set II: Dear Mr. Fantasy (Traffic cover) (Vocals – Marcus King), Turn On Your Love Light (Grateful Dead cover) (Vocals – Nicki Bluhm) > Sugaree (Jerry Garcia cover) > St. Stephen (Grateful Dead cover)> Mountains of the Moon (Grateful Dead cover), Viola Lee Blues (Cannon’s Jug Stompers cover)

Enc.: Deal, (Jerry Garcia cover), Whole Lotta Shakin Going On (Jerry Lee Lewis Died Today), Deal reprise