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Grateful Dead to reunite for Obama
The surviving members of the Grateful Dead will reunite in October to perform at a rally for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, according to various media reports.
While the band has not yet issued an official statement, Relix Magazine, long a favorite publication among Deadheads, is reporting that Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart have confirmed that they will perform at an Oct. 13 benefit in State College, PA. It would mark the first time the four musicians have performed together since 2004. An announcement for the show also appears on Hart's website.
Guitarist Warren Haynes will fill in for the late Jerry Garcia, according to the magazine, and keyboardist Jeff Chimenti will round out the lineup, filling in for Vince Welnick, who committed suicide in 2006.
According to the Relix report, more shows and possibly even a full tour next spring could follow if all goes well. The Allman Brothers Band reportedly will open the Oct. 13 show.
Weir, Lesh and Hart appeared together in February at a "Deadheads for Obama" show at San Francisco's Warfield Theatre, while Weir joined Phil Lesh & Friends in May at the same venue.
In other Dead news, the band is accepting pre-orders for its forthcoming double-CD/DVD live package, "Rocking the Cradle: Grateful Dead, Egypt 1978," which chronicles the group's fabled series of shows near Egypt's Great Pyramid in 1978, including the final night's concert, performed during a total lunar eclipse.
The set hits stores Sept. 30, but fans who pre-order the package through the band's website will receive an extra CD containing bonus material from the Egyptian shows.
