The Grateful Dead allegedly called it quits after tackling their 50th anniversary Fare Thee Well gigs but it seems the Dead have a steady influx of news to offer fans, now more than ever. The Dead & Company fall tour, which sees a gifted union between singer-songwriter John Mayer and the "Core Four's" Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann and Bob Weir, and a Fare Thee Well: Celebrating 50 Years of Grateful Dead box set are two things deadheads can look forward to round out 2015. Just ahead of the box set unveiling, the final Chicago show's version of "Truckin'" has hit the Internet circuit via Rolling Stone, showcasing the slowed down routine of the staple American Beauty tune with special guest, Phish's Trey Anastasio.
The recently uploaded video scans back and forth over Phil Lesh's intricate finger work as his hand slides up and down the neck of his guitar and Weir's delivery of lyrics "pack it up and see what tomorrow brings" in front of an energetic crowd of swaying and euphoric concertgoers.
Celebrating 50 Years of Grateful Dead is slated for release on Nov. 20, stringing together footage from all three Chicago Fare Thee Well performances across a variety of formats. Available via dead.net, fans can purchase a mammoth 12-CD, 7-DVD or Blu-ray set featuring the Solider Field gigs, limited to just 20,000 copies. The exclusive box set also contains a bonus disc, packed with Circle Around the Sun's intermission music in its entirety and over two hours of behind-the-scene footage, shot by Bill Kreutzmann's son, Justin, also responsible for the concert footage.
In the absence of Phil Lesh, who was recently diagnosed with bladder cancer, three quarters of the Core Four will head out on tour with Mayer as it kicks off at Albany's Time Union Center on Oct. 29. Mayer has previously defended the jam icons' decision to continue performing after Fare Thee Well is said and done. "I don't know of any Deadhead in the world who said, 'When I paid my money, I paid to see these guys finish this,'" Mayer told the Associated Press.
