Photo Credit: Bill Kelly

After bidding farewell to New York City on Thursday, June 22, Dead & Company continued their Final Tour on Saturday night on the stadium stage at Fenway Park in Boston. During the show, the ensemble, comprised of Bobby Weir, Mickey Hart, John Mayer, Otiel Burbridge, Jeff Chimenti, and Jay Lane, worked through a plethora of material pulled from the Grateful Dead’s illustrious archive. A high point of the night was a super jam that followed the night’s display of second set staples “Drums” and “Space.” 

Dead & Company’s Fenway Park appearance began with Weir and Mayer tossing back and forth lyrics on the Ace classic, “Cassidy,” which merged into an ensuring “Brown Eyed Women,” supported by a heavy backbeat as Mayer hammered in the Robert Hunter scribed lines, just days after what would have been the famed lyricist’s 82nd birthday. Weir took the lead on “I Need A Miracle” next, evoking a crowd response after crooning, “Just one thing, and I’ll be OK.”

The band continued to pick up classics, adding a seasonally appropriate “Here Comes Sunshine” and hip-shaking “Tennessee Jed” into the mix prior to Burbridge’s touching display of “China Doll,” which represented a peak during the night’s first half. “Viola Lee Blues” saw each player contribute to the collaborative rendition of the Cannon’s Jug Stompers original. The band picked up “The Music Never Stopped” before soaring into set break. 

Back on stage, the band noodled into “New Speedway Boogie,” sung by frontman Weir. Instrumentally the group soared as they pieced together the first part of “Dark Star,” which unfolded into “Lady with a Fan,” partnered, in typical fashion, with “Terrapin Station.” The final riffs of the epic number trickled into “Drums” and “Space,” which featured a yin and yang theme. Before the show, via his official Instagram, Hart described it as “Duality and sonic balance, the yin and yang of rock and roll and the sounds of nature.” 

He added, “At its core, rock music is about finding harmony within chaos. Tonight we’ll experience this duality together.” From the sonic depth of the booming rhythm section, the remaining players ascended on stage. They assisted in a triumphant jam featuring pieced elements of “The Wheel,” “Big River,” as well as a return to the night’s unfinished “Dark Star,” which merged into a full delivery of “Black Peter.” 

A high-energy display of the fan favorite “Casey Jones” kept the crowd dancing into the final song of the night, a nod toward the day of the week with a traditional play of “One More Saturday Night.” The band will return to Fenway Park tonight to close their time in Boston. For more information on forthcoming tour stops, visit deadandcompany.com.

For those unable to attend tonight’s sold-out show, streaming options are available via nugs.net.  

Watch clips from Dead & Company’s Saturday, June 24 stand at Fenway Park in Boston, below.

Dead & Company 

Fenway Park – Boston 

June 24, 2023 

Set I: Cassidy > Brown Eyed Women, I Need A Miracle > Here Comes Sunshine, Tennessee Jed, China Doll, Viola Lee Blues > Music Never Stopped 

Set II: New Speedway Boogie, Dark Star V. 1 > The Other One V. 1 > Lady With a Fan > Terrapin Station > Drums > Space > Jam (The Wheel, Big River, Cumberland Blues, and Dark Star) > Black Peter > Casey Jones > One More Saturday Night