Photo Credit: Alive Coverage
After a three-week break, Dead & Company took the stage at Las Vegas’ Sphere on Thursday night to set off the second frame of their three-tiered 2025 residency. The band’s first stint of the year brought countless memorable moments–including a continued celebration of the legacy of Phil Lesh–and the kick-off performance for their return forecasted more fan service: through an energetic 19-track performance, the group offered up a bust-out and residency debut of Kingfish’s “Supplication” and, for the careful listeners in the crowd, a tease of the theme from The White Lotus.
Dead & Company stormed the stage with a fiery treatment of “Feel Like a Stranger,” launching a fast-paced and focused first set as they followed with the higher-spirited, but no less potent “Uncle John’s Band.” The sextet of Bob Weir, John Mayer, Mickey Hart, Oteil Burbridge, Jeff Chimenti and Jay Lane wasted little time before merging into “Supplication,” the Weir-led Dead offshoot deep-cut that the ensemble performed only once before in June 2022. The stunning medley continued as the band veered into a repise of “Uncle John’s Band,” then launched the setlist staple sprint through “Help on the Way,” “Slipknot!” and “Franklin’s Tower,” all artfully segued before a first frame closer of “Sugar Magnolia.”
While set one was a strong start, Dead & Company went big with set two, packing 12 fan-favorite cuts into a rapid-fire review of the Dead’s catalog. With the starting gun of Weir’s “Greatest Story Ever Told,” the band bolted through “Bertha,” “China Cat Sunflower,” “I Know You Rider” and an explosive and masterfully precise performance of “Terrapin Station,” then turned on, tuned in and dropped into the psychedelic odyssey of “Drums” and “Space.” In the first movement of this cherished nightly rhythm section spotlight, the backbeat of Burbridge, Hart and Lane saluted Mike White’s prestige drama series with a surprisingly extended snippet of The White Lotus’s haunting theme, by the show’s (now-ex) composer Cristobal Tapia de Veer.
From the far-out “Space,” the group came crashing down to earth again with “Wharf Rat.” For the final passage of the set, they turned to some of the covers most closely associated with the Dead, stringing out into Traffic’s heavy, hazy “Dear Mr. Fantasy,” then slowly building to another energetic peak with The Beatles’ “Hey Jude” and keeping hopes high with Bonne Dobson’s enchanting “Morning Dew.” Following the traditional vintage broadcast snippet that settles attendees in a powerful, retrospective headspace, Dead & Company finally closed out the show with “Sunshine Daydream.”
Dead & Company will return to Sphere tonight, April 18, for the second of three shows this weekend. One of the evening’s oncoming highlights has already been revealed, as percussionist Hart took to his social channels last night to announce that the massively acclaimed classical vocalist Renée Fleming will lend her talents to a very special version of “Drums” and “Space” “I’ve been collaborating with Renée for decades,” Hart wrote on Facebook. “Often with my late beloved brother Zakir Hussain in the mix. Some of the best times of my life.”
For tickets and more information on Dead & Company’s Sphere residency, visit deadandcompany.com.
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Dead & Company
Sphere – Las Vegas
4/17/25
Set I: Feel Like a Stranger, Uncle John’s Band > Supplication* > Uncle John’s Band, Help on the Way > Slipknot! > Franklin’s Tower, Sugar Magnolia
Set II: Greatest Story Ever Told, Bertha, China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider, Terrapin Station > Drums+ > Space > Wharf Rat, Dear Mr. Fantasy > Hey Jude, Morning Dew (Bonnie Dobson), Sunshine Daydream
* Sphere debut+ w/ The White Lotus theme tease
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