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In mid-July, Dead & Company concluded what it had announced would be its final tour. The band, which includes members of the original Grateful Dead — Bob Weir, Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann — along with Jeff Chimenti, Oteil Burbridge and John Mayer, was formed in 2015, becoming one of several offshoots of the Dead universe that took on its own life. But the band ended up generating tremendous interest from new audiences, too, becoming a bridge between Deadheads then and now.
The long shadow of the Grateful Dead has hovered over improvised music for decades, and entire scenes have been built in the original band’s wake. In the last 10 years, however — thanks in part to the success of Dead & Company — those scenes are growing, thriving and mutating.
On this week’s Popcast, a conversation about the long, strange trip the Grateful Dead kicked off, the overlaps of the Dead and Phish universes, and the younger generations who have found succor in the music and community that the band inspire.
Guests:
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Scott Bernstein, editorial director at JamBase
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Marc Tracy, New York Times culture reporter
Connect With Popcast. Become a part of the Popcast community: Join the show’s Facebook group and Discord channel. We want to hear from you! Tune in, and tell us what you think at popcast@nytimes.com. Follow our host, Jon Caramanica, on Twitter: @joncaramanica.
