The Grateful Dead will be honored in New York City tonight (10/19) when the Empire State Building is lit up in tie-dye colors to celebrate the appearance of Bob Weir and Phil Lesh at a cocktail reception to benefit an upcoming exhibition at the New York Historical Society, according to a press release.

The two founding members of the Dead will be special guests of honor at the Oct. 21 reception at the NYHS, which will present the first large-scale exhibition of materials from the Grateful Dead Archive, which is permanently housed at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

"The Grateful Dead: Now Playing at the New York Historical Society," opening in March 2010, will chronicle the history of the band, its music and societal impact through an array of original art and documents including concert posters, album art, large-scale marionettes and other stage props, banners and a plethora of decorated fan mail.

Additional information about the exhibit can be found at the Historical Society's website.

In related news, Further, whose lineup features Lesh and Weir, will perform two New Year's Eve shows at The Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, according to the GDTS TOO website.

Tickets for the two shows, Dec. 30-31, are available via mail order. Complete details can be found at the GDTS TOO site.

In addition to Lesh and Weir, Further features Jeff Chimenti, John Kadlecik, Jay Lane and Joe Russo.