BY MELISSA RUGGIERI
It’s the official end for the Grateful Dead.
The band’s four original remaining members – Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh, and Bob Weir – will play a final series of shows dubbed “Fare Thee Well: Celebrating 50 Years of Grateful Dead” in Chicago.
The trio of shows – July 3-5 at Soldier Field – will mark the original members’ last-ever performance together, almost 20 years to the day of the last Grateful Dead concert, which took place at the same venue.
The band will be joined by Trey Anastasio on guitar, Jeff Chimenti on keyboards and Bruce Hornsby on piano.
“It is with respect and gratitude that we reconvene the Dead one last time to celebrate - not merely the band's legacy, but also the community that we’ve been playing to, and with, for fifty years,” Phil Lesh said in a statement. "Wave that flag, wave it wide and high..."
Staying true to the tradition of the original Grateful Dead mail order ticketing, tickets will first be made available on a first come, first-served mail order system starting Jan. 20. That will be followed by an online pre-sale through Dead Online Ticketing. Tickets will then be available online to the public starting Feb. 14 via Ticketmaster. Details can be found at www.Dead50.net.
The shows were announced Friday by Jerry Garcia’s daughter, Trixie, who noted, “Being able to get everyone back together - the fans and the band members - for this special weekend, is a really big deal."
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