photo: Bob Minkin

On Wednesday, February 18 at the Guild Theatre in Menlo Park, CA, Skeleton Crewe will kick off a nine-date tour that will see the band perform on both coasts. The group pulls together five heralded artists who blend Hawaiian slack key guitar, psychedelic pedal steel and elevated expression on keys, drums and bass. The roster features Rob Barraco (Dark Star Orchestra, Phil Lesh Quintet, The Dead), Barry Sless (Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros, David Nelson Band, Phil Lesh & Friends), Jay Lane (Dead & Company, Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros, Ratdog), Pete Sears (Jefferson Starship, Hot Tuna, Phil Lesh & Friends) and Grammy-nominated Hawaiian slack key guitarist Stephen Inglis (Billy Kreutzmann).

The group originated in early 2024 when Sless and Inglis were introduced to one another by a mutual friend. Barraco met Inglis a couple months later when the guitarist opened for Dark Star Orchestra in Hawaii and invited the keyboard player to sit in. This led to some trio dates the following summer before the fully-fledged five-piece came together. The group’s repertoire includes a few high-flying reimagined Grateful Dead covers as well as originals by Inglis, Sless and Barraco, including some of the material that Barraco wrote with acclaimed Dead lyricist Robert Hunter.

Following two Northern California dates, Skeleton Crewe will cross the country for seven additional shows, beginning in Harrisburg on February 21 and wrapping up in Albany on February 27.