Today, Dead & Company performed New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, serving as headliners for the second to last nights of one of the most beloved and cherished traditions in the Crescent City. During their set, the band moved through their classic and beloved repertoire and connected deeply with the city by bringing Bruce Sunpie Barnes, Big Chief Sunpie and the North Side Skull and Bones Gang on for the Rhythm Devils section of the show.

Dead & Company opened their show with “Truckin’,” a perfect beginning to a day that saw heavy downpours and many ponchos but ultimately gave way to a warm sun peaking through clouds. As the rain subsided, without pause, John Mayer and Bob Weir handled vocals while the rest of the band brought out some New Orleans-influenced funk with “Shakedown Street.” They played “Brown Eyed Woman” before a pairing of “He’s Gone” > “Cumberland Blues.”

The massive crowd at Jazz Fest was well-doused in the loving vibrations of Dead & Company, and the crew of master musicians had much more in store. The ensemble rocked into “Playing in the Band,” which melded into “Uncle John’s Band” and then “Beam/Drums.” The beloved Rhythm Devils section was a point of speculation for many, as the band shared recently that Bill Kreutzmann would not be joining them for their summer shows. However, New Orleans had several percussionists ready to rock and roll for the beloved segment. For the exploratory percussion experience, Dead & Company were joined by the aforementioned Barnes, Big Chief Sunpie, and the North Side Skull and Bones Gang. The latter of which has been a tradition in New Orleans for 200 years, dating back to 1819 – the ensemble, adorned in bones and skulls, reminds the people of the literal meaning of carnival: the shedding of flesh by beating drums and chanting, “If you don’t live right, the Bone Man is commin’ for ya.” After the kind reminder, Dead & Company kept living right by flowing into “Not Fadeaway V. 1,” followed by “The Other One” and a penultimate “Standing on the Moon.” The purveyors of the Grateful Dead’s everlasting flame closed their performance at the festival by returning to “Not Fadeaway” with V.2-3 before bidding the sea of fans bonne soiree.

Dead & Company will play next on Monday, May 5, 2023, at Barton Hall at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. – what is sure to be a historic and memorable event. Learn more about the Cornell show and some after-parties here.