For Grateful Dead fans, the end of the band's legacy may be a very long goodbye. Despite the Grateful Dead's Fare Thee Well "final" performances in June and early July, the band recently announced a new iteration called Dead & Company that will hit not one, but two dates at New York City's Madison Square Garden on October 31 and November 1. Initially, Dead & Co announced just the one Halloween show at MSG and provided an American Express card-holder pre-sale that morning. To no one's surprise, the Dead & Co pre-sale sold out in just a matter of minutes, so the second date was announced immediately following the pre-sale.
Although Dead & Company features only three of the Core 4 -- Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann and Bob Weir -- John Mayer will be joining the trio for both dates, much in the same way that Phish's Trey Anastasio did for the Fare Thee Well dates. Rounding out the group on bass will be Oteil Burbridge of the Allman Brothers and Aquarium Rescue Unit and Ratdog keyboardist Jeff Chimenti, who played all five Fare Thee Well shows. Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh will not play for the MSG incarnation.
The secondary market is already competitive for Dead & Co tickets, according to TiqIQ. For both dates combined, the average secondary ticket price is $347. The October 31 show has an average ticket price of $367, with a get-in price of $108, and the November 1 show has an average ticket price of $264, with a get-in price of $94. To compare, the band's Fare Thee Well dates in June and July were comparably priced on the secondary market, coming in at an average of $435 for all five dates. The most expensive night was the band's July 3 date at Soldier Field in Chicago, where the average secondary ticket price was a whopping $1,125. Although tickets are expected to go quickly, the general on-sale begins this Friday, August 14 for both MSG dates, and tickets will be available through Ticketmaster.
(Photo : Matt Roberts )
The Grateful Dead has, for years, played the historic Madison Square Garden over 50 times since their formation in 1965, and so the added dates should provide special closure for East Coast Dead Heads. There are still rumors as to whether or not the Dead will continue playing shows this fall on a longer tour, although reps for the band have insisted otherwise. Whether it's final or not? Only time will tell.
