Whether known as the Other Ones, RatDog, Furthur or simply the Dead, Jerry Garcia’s Grateful Dead bandmates continue to bring the classic band’s music and spirit of improvisation to their enduring (and still growing) community of fans since his death in 1995. Earlier this year, core original members Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart reunited for a series of concerts celebrating the group’s 50th anniversary and billed as the final time the quartet would perform together.
But that doesn’t mean the band members are done with the Grateful Dead’s music. Three of the four core members (Weir, Hart and Kreutzmann) have returned with new project Dead & Company, also featuring singer-guitarist John Mayer, along with Oteil Burbridge of the Allman Brothers Band on bass and longtime Dead associate Jeff Chimenti on keyboards. Like the members’ other projects, Dead & Company focuses on Grateful Dead songs and long, freeform jams, with Mayer adding a bit of star power to the mix. They appear in Vegas Nov. 27-28. Twenty years after Garcia’s death, the music that he and his band mates created is as vibrant as ever.
MGM Grand, 7:30 p.m. Nov. 27-28, $50-$99 plus tax and fee. 800.745.3000 Ticketmaster
