Grateful Dead and Dead & Company drummer Bill Kreutzmann made a surprise appearance at Daniel Donato’s Cosmic NOLA performance at Republic NOLA in New Orleans early Saturday morning. Donato’s show was a guest-filled affair that also featured sit-ins from George Porter Jr., Kanika Moore, and Branden Lewis of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.

Kreutzmann hinted at his appearance the day before on social media, posting that Donato had an extra drum kit set up just in case he felt like dropping in on a couple of tunes. True to his word, the 76-year-old drummer joined Donato’s band midway through the first set for what turned out to be a 70-plus minute sit-in.

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Bill Kreutzmann (@billkreutzmann)

The sit-in began with “Dire Wolf” before launching into a deep jam of the Grateful Dead’s “Dark Star.” Together with drummer Noah Miller, Kreutzmann helped push this extensive jam to its limits as visual projections of the cosmos played on the Republic NOLA’s screen.

Throughout the deep improvisation, Donato’s guitar added fuel to the fire lit by Kreutzmann and Miller. The rhythmic inertia of the percussion section kept the jam engaging for over 45 minutes, with Donato seamlessly hopping to and fro, adding and adapting to the flow of the jam. To round the jam out, the ensemble flowed into “Cumberland Blues” before Kreutzmann left the stage.

The performance marked the second appearance by Kreutzmann as part of the Jazz Fest celebrations, who performed with his beloved project Billy & The Kids at New Orleans’ Saenger Theatre the evening before.

Photographer Ant Braaten captured the action below.