Photo Credit: Michael Weintrob

Original Grateful Dead backbeat Bill Kreutzmann has commented on Dead & Company’s forthcoming residency at The Sphere in Las Vegas. The drummer started with a quote from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and shared some Sin City facts about the Bay Area jamband before sign-off in support of the band’s future endeavors. 

The Rhythm Devil began his note with a scribed line by counterculturist Hunter S. Thompson, “We can’t stop here. This is bat country!” He shared Dead-related memories next, “Historically, it was always a psychedelic circus when the Grateful Dead pulled into Las Vegas. There’s a pulsing beneath those neon lights that Mickey and I tapped into while Jerry led us on a wild carpet ride over the Aladdin Theater in the 1980s and down into the bowl of the Sam Boyd Stadium for 14 memorable nights in the 1990s.”

Kreutzmann pieced together the connection between the Grateful Dead’s original Las Vegas connection and Dead & Company’s forthcoming reemergence as residency participants: “​​The @gratefuldead were always about transformative experiences and so now, as our legacy evolves and as we continue to shape-shift into several different forms at once, it’s great that that part of the tradition continues, with Dead & Company taking up residence in a transformative venue.”

The drummer concluded his note, “To all those who make it there, have a blast, my friends…” Notable, Kreutzmann began sitting out of gigs during Dead & Company’s Final Tour. During the 2023 summer run, his slot was filled by longtime Bobby Weir musical collaborator Jay Lane, a known member of Weir’s RatDog and Wolf Bros lineups. Notably, following yesterday’s news, Lane switched his profile picture on Instagram to a double drums shot with Mickey Hart. See here. 

Tickets for Dead & Company’s May 16 through June 22 Sphere stand go on sale beginning Friday, February 9 at 10 a.m. P.T.

Scroll down to read Kreutzmann’s comments via Instagram.

Read the drummer’s 2023 Relix interview now.

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by Bill Kreutzmann (@billkreutzmann)