After performing their final Fare Thee Well shows and bidding aideu to a band that brought fourth an insurmountable following, three-quarters of the Grateful Dead's surviving "Core Four" decided the end of an era wasn't quite finished, teaming up with fellow musician John Mayer as Dead & Company. After announcing a number of long, strange trips through North America and selling out their two New York dates, the innovative group decided to add a third date at Madison Square Garden, but this time, curating a free, 10,000 ticket give away to fans who enter for a chance to win. Tickets cannot be purchased otherwise.
The Nov. 7 gig in New York is brought to deadheads by the American Express Unstaged series but fans still luck out even if they aren't one of 5,000 to obtain a free ride to the show or a plus-one. For those not making the trek to MSG, the show will be available to watch via a Brett Ratner-directed live stream the same night. "People who want to hear the music get to hear it for free and we get to promote our music and share it with people," Bob Weir told The Associated Press.
Fans are eligible to enter the raffle on Dead & Company's official site up until Thursday, Oct. 8. There is no monetary fee to enter the contest but the group asks those attending the gig or tuning into the live stream to donate to the Robin Hood Foundation.
The Dead & Company assembly is made up of the Dead's Weir, Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann, (lacking Phil Lesh) also featuring the talents of John Mayer, Allman Brothers Band bassist Oteil Burbridge and Ratdog keyboardist Jeff Chimenti. The tour's opening night kicks off at the Times Union Center in Albany, New York, on Oct. 29 before heading to Madison Square Garden on October 31 and November 1, Rolling Stone reports. The group's string of dates will continue to a two-night stint at the Forum in Los Angeles that comes to an end on New Year's Eve.
There's three weeks in counting before Dead & Company make their official inauguration although fans have been graced with practice clips via social media. "We're about halfway in and rehearsals are going well, if I may say," Weir told the AP. "We've been through 45 or 50 tunes and I'm not going to tell you that we have them entirely locked down, but we have a good handle on them."
