Dead & Company have teased an appearance at the fabled Barton Hall venue at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. Members of the band shared identical images via social media displaying elements of the college’s iconography intertwined with the Grateful Dead’s 13-point lightning bolt, and the date May 8, 2023.
Fans of the Grateful Dead’s live repertoire quickly aligned the timing of the impending off-shoot concert, with one of the most significant dates in the San Francisco jamband’s concert history. May 8, 1977, is widely considered one of the best performances by the ensemble.
Apart from a high-quality concert recording, the show also saw unparalleled run-throughs of “Jack Straw” and “Brown-Eyed Women,” during the evening’s first set, followed by a seamless pairing of “Scarlet Begonias” into “Fire On The Mountain,” as well as “St. Stephen” > “Not Fade Away” > “Morning Dew,” during the latter half of the show.
In May 2017, Bob Weir spoke to Rolling Stone and referenced the legendary concert. The musician stated, “I think that show became notable because there was a particularly good audience tape made of it. And that got around. I think it was the quality of the recording was good and the guy’s location was excellent. And whoever it was that made that recording made every attempt to get it out so people could hear it.”
Today’s news comes after Dead & Company revealed a compilation of final tour dates back in September. The forthcoming run, which has been labeled as the ensemble’s last, will commence with a pair of shows at The Forum in Los Angeles on May 19 and 20.
Following the tour opener, Bobby Weir, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, John Mayer, Jeff Chimenti and Oteil Burbridge will descend upon the Ak-Chin Pavilion on May 23, before a one-night stand in the Lone Star State at Dallas’ Dos Equis Pavilion on May 26. From there, they’ll arrive in Atlanta on May 28 before closing out the month of May at PNC Music Pavilion in Charlotte, N.C.
June will pick up with dates in the Southern region of the United States prior to a trek through the Northeast. After June 21 and 22 at Citi Field in New York, the group will pop over to Boston for their shows at Fenway Park on June 24 and 25.
After dates at the legendary Folsom Field in Boulder, Colo., the band will ascend to The Gorge Amphitheatre for two gigs before they travel down the coastline for their final stand at Oracle Park in San Francisco on June 14 through 16.
While a vast majority of the Dead & Company’s upcoming concerts are sold out, additional information pertaining to their final tour can be found on their official website.
This story is still unfolding, additional information will be added as it is released.