On Tuesday, April 7, musical match Gillian Welch and David Rawlings brought their panache for the Grateful Dead’s 1980s acoustic chapter to Haw River Ballroom in Saxapahaw, N.C. The pair’s current live itinerary takes inspiration from the Dead’s double live record, Reckoning, a 16-track collection that draws on traditional material, covers and select originals. Welch and Rawlings’ latest appearance pulled heavily from the tour’s namesake set, and accounted for debuts of three songs: “Casey Jones,” “Sugaree” and Uncle John’s Band.”

Last night’s performance found Welch and Rawlings illustrating songs in a web of guitars, transcendent vocal harmonies beginning with set one opener, “Brown-Eyed Women.” After bidding a sonic farewell to the aforementioned tumble-down shack in Bigfoot County, the pair continued their live tribute by performing: “The Monkey and the Engineer,” “Oh Babe It Ain’t No Lie,” “It Must Have Been the Roses,” “Bertha,” “Wharf Rat” and “Dire Wolf.” 

Homecoming ballad “Brokendown Palace” represented the second-to-last song of the set, which ultimately came to a close following a stripped-down “Casey Jones.” The locomotive-mentioned track represented the night’s initial debut, a trend that would present itself during each section of the concert. The latter half of the event, set two, picked up with “Cold Rain and Snow,” followed by a first-ever take on Jerry Garcia’s “Sugaree.”

The ensemble maintained its affinity for Garcia’s songbook by turning in “Loser,” ahead of the night’s rendition of “Deep Elem Blues.” A sequence of “Bird Song” and “Stella Blue” arrived before set two’s final song, “Ripple.” Tuesday’s encore consisted of love for Bobby Weir’s catalog on “Cassidy,” which merged with the night’s final debut, “Uncle John’s Band.” Before concluding their time in North Carolina, they picked up “Althea” as well as a proper send-off via “And We Bid You Goodnight.” 

Next, Welch and Rawlings’ Acoustic Reckoning Tour will arrive at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, N.Y., on April 9 and 10. For tickets and additional information, visit www.gillianwelch-davidrawlings.com/tour. 

Scroll down to view last night’s setlist.

Gillian Welch and David Rawlings 

Haw River Ballroom – Saxapahaw, N.C. 

Reckoning Tour – Night 4

April 7, 2026 

Set I: Brown-Eyed Women, The Monkey and the Engineer, Oh Babe It Ain’t No Lie, It Must Have Been the Roses, Bertha, Wharf Rat, Dire Wolf, Brokedown Palace, Casey Jones+

Set II: Cold Rain and Snow, Sugaree+, Loser, Deep Elem Blues, Bird Song, Stella Blue, Ripple

Enc.: Cassidy, Uncle John’s Band+, Althea, And We Bid You Goodnight

Notes: