Bob Weir made it known that both RatDog and Dead & Company would make their rounds in 2016, leaving fans curious if that meant a glorified tour or a few stop across the fast-approaching festival circuit.
This week Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon accidentally spilled the beans about Dead & Company's national TV debut this month. And recently, news started to circulate about potential tour dates. If you've got your eye on the whereabouts of the Dead reincarnate group after their impressive North American run, you might want to check out the seemingly leaked dates to schedule your summer around the gig closest to you.
Along with restless Redditors eager to confirm the news, Grateful Dead Core Four member Mickey Hart took to Facebook to verify their national television debut on The Tonight Show for Feb. 18. This won't be John Mayer's -- or Weir's -- first time performing on TV; remember when the jam pioneer teamed up with the "Slow Dancing in a Burning Room" singer for a performance of "Truckin'" and "Althea" on the Late Late Show? That was almost exactly a year ago, on Feb. 5, 2015, just before the wildly successful Greatful Dead 50th anniversary Fare Thee Well gigs.
This summer will see Dead & Company play for the masses as headliner of this year's Bonnaroo Festival from June 9-12, with a second announcement expected soon. Mayer, who has received critical acclaim for nailing each performance in the absence of Jerry Garcia, played a show at The Fillmore in San Francisco last night. The singer-songwriter brought special guest Zane Carney to the stage for his set, and shocked the audience when he introduced Weir to the stage for the classic "Friend of the Devil."
According to Phish message boards via BlastingNews, Weir, Mayer, Hart, Bill Kruetzmann, Oteil Burbridge and Jeff Chimenti will hit the road as Dead & Company in 2016, making potential stops mostly across the East Coast after Bonnaroo. The unofficial fan site, run by "Grateful Dean," also posts potential tour dates, calling those on the Phish message boards false. However, he seems to think that tomorrow, Feb. 5, will bring about official tour dates.
Possible Dead & Co. dates t(these are unofficial and have not been confirmed):
06/9-12: Manchester, TN @ Bonnaroo
06/17: Alpharetta, GA @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater at Encore Park
06/24-25: Miami, FL @ Bayfront Park Ampitheater
06/28: Tampa, FL @ Ford Ampitheater
06/30: New Orleans, LA @ UNO Lakefront Arena
07/3-4: Albuquerque, NM @ Isleta Amphitheater
07/20-21: Chicago, IL @ FirstMerit Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island
07/23: Louisville, KY @ KFC YUMI Center
07/25: Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE
07/26-27: Camden, NJ @ Susquehanna Bank Center
07/20-31: Wantaugh, NY @ Nikon at Jones Beach Theater
08/03: Manchester, NH @ Verizon Wireless Arena
08/05: Portland, ME @ Cross Insurance Arena
