SAN FRANCISCO (CelebrityAccess) — Dead & Company concluded their highly successful and possibly final tour with a trio of sold-out shows at San Francisco’s Oracle Park. The three shows served as capstone for what has been billed as the band’s final tour, attracting a combined total of 120,000 enthusiastic fans across three days.
Since its establishment in 2015 by former Grateful Dead members Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, and Bill Kreutzmann, Dead & Company also includes talented musicians such as Oteil Burbridge, Jeff Chimenti, and John Mayer. Notably, Jay Lane joined the band for their final tour, replacing Bill Kreutzmann on drums.
Over the course of their existence, Dead & Company completed an impressive total of 10 tours, captivating audiences with 235 shows and amassing a dedicated fan base of 4 million individuals across North America. The band achieved several remarkable milestones during their journey, including selling an astounding 130,000 tickets across three nights at the University of Denver’s Folsom Field, setting a record of 13 shows at the stadium. The record was previously shared by the Grateful Dead and the Rolling Stones, who each performed at the stadium three times.
Dead & Company also earned notable accolades at other renowned venues. At Chicago’s Wrigley Field, the band holds the record for the most performances at the historic venue, with 10 shows between 2017 and 2023. Moreover, their aggregate attendance of over 360,000 fans makes them the most popular musical act to grace the stadium. Similarly, at Fenway Park, Dead & Company performed in front of 75,000 fans over two nights, surpassing the previous single-night attendance record held by hometown heroes, Aerosmith.
Throughout their tenure, Dead & Company demonstrated a strong commitment to philanthropy, raising an impressive $13 million to support a range of nonprofit organizations, environmental causes, and social initiatives. Beneficiaries of their generosity include reputable organizations such as Headcount, Reverb, National Parks Conservation Association, The Jerry Garcia Foundation, Heart And Armor Foundation, Gorilla Doctors, Seva.org, OXFAM, MusiCares, Surfrider Foundation, WhyHunger, iGiveTrees, Positive Legacy, Further Foundation, Conscious Alliance, Rainforest Action Network, Last Prisoner Project, HAPA, SPLC, as well as numerous local and regional nonprofit groups.
During their final tour, Dead & Company partnered with Headcount, a non-partisan voter registration group, and raised over $2,033,000 through auctions, including an impressive $355,000 from the Mickey Hart fine art auctions held in NYC and throughout the three nights at Oracle Park. Furthermore, the band’s four concert getaway weekends in the Mexican Caribbean contributed over $1 million to support local and national humanitarian, environmental, and social justice efforts in Mexico and the United States.
Overall, Dead & Company’s final tour solidified their status as a beloved band with a passionate following, leaving a lasting impact not only through their music but also through their philanthropic endeavors.
CEO and Founder of Terrapin Station Entertainment, Jonathan Shank recently shared his thoughts on “Why The Grateful Dead’s Legacy Matters”. The foundation of his work is inspired by the Dead’s touring model, direct to consumer ticketing, traditions and more. In the piece, he explains why their impact has not only inspired him, but the music industry as a whole.
“(The Grateful Dead’s) work has continued to deeply impact our culture, industry and subsequent generations of music fans. Quantifying the Dead’s impact is now the subject of college courses at universities. They ultimately created an emotional connection with legions of people, which continues to grow to this day. I recently went back and watched a bootleg video of that final version of “Morning Dew” from The Knick in ’95, which was likely recorded on a VHS camcorder snuck in underneath a wheelchair, to reaffirm the memory of Jerry’s energetic performance that night and unlikely final lyrical coda. We were all ‘going down the road feeling bad’ on ‘the ship of fools’ after Jerry passed and wondering how the band’s legacy would endure. After almost three decades, it is resoundingly clear that it DOES matter anyway.”
Shank has expanded live family entertainment while firmly placing himself at the unconventional intersection of artist management, event production, immersive touring properties, talent development, and community enrichment. Find more here: https://terrapinent.com/
