Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio will join the Grateful Dead in at Chicago's Soldier Field on July 3-5 as they celebrate their 50th anniversary and bid adieu to their legion of fans.
"These will be the last shows with the four of us together," the Dead's Bob Weir tells Billboard. He's referring to the so-called "Core Four" remaining founding band members: Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann and himself. (CelebStoner's Steve Bloom conducted the interview with Weir for Billboard.)
In addition to Anastasio, who's never officially performed with the Dead (he's sat in with Further and Ratdog in the past), the band will include Bruce Hornsby and Jeff Chiimenti.
Chicago was chosen because of its central location and the fact that the last Dead show (July 9, 1995) was played there.
"They're the great American rock & roll band returning to where it ended, 20 years later," says promoter Peter Shapiro.
Read the complete story here.
Update: Due to unprecendented ticket demand, two more shows have been announced. They'll take place at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, CA on June 27-28. These shows will feature the same lineup as Chicago..
For more info, go to dead50.net.
