Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros with the Wolfpack

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Todd Michalek

Five people on a staircase.

Bobby Weir & Wolf Brothers

This one has been a long time coming (and, expectedly, most tickets were snapped up quickly). According to our records, almost nine years have passed since original Grateful Dead singer/guitarist Bobby Weir last visited Madtown, and that was with RatDog. Now, he’s back with Wolf Bros (featuring Don Was, Jay Lane and Jeff Chimenti) and The Wolfpack (a string and brass quintet) to perform gems from the Grateful Dead’s expansive catalog, Weir’s solo albums and more. Weir, 75, has been busy lately, releasing a pair of well-received albums recorded live in Colorado with Wolf Bros in 2021 at Red Rocks Amphitheatre and the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater. And his 1972 solo debut, Ace, was recently reissued with performances of each album track recorded at a 2022 Radio City Music Hall concert. See this man while you still can. 

media release: Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros—led by Weir alongside Don Was, Jay Lane and Jeff Chimenti—confirm a run of winter 2023 tour dates. The band will once again be joined by The Wolfpack, a string and brass quintet which features Alex Kelly, Brian Switzer, Adam Theis, Mads Tolling and Sheldon Brown, along with Barry Sless on pedal steel performing the expansive catalogue of Grateful Dead, Bobby's solo albums and more.

The band recently released Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros: Live in Colorado Vol. 2, which debuted at #1 on the Americana/Folk album chart. Pitchfork raves of the LP, “he stages some of the most beloved material in the Grateful Dead’s catalog with the passion and reverence of a couple spending their 50th anniversary looking back on their wedding day,” while American Songwriter says, “Weir and the Wolfs manage to stay true to the template while also taking the music beyond any original incarnation by reinventing them in ways that find imagination and intrigue well stirred in a contemporary context.” Listen HERE.

The first installment, Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros: Live in Colorado, was released in February to critical acclaim. Both volumes feature songs recorded live at Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre and Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater in June 2021. The shows include Greg Leisz on pedal steel along with The Wolfpack.

Weir recently stopped by “Watch What Happens Live,” an appearance of which Vulture said, “he just might be the best guest Andy Cohen’s late-night show has ever witnessed.”

Bobby Weir, a founding member of the legendary Grateful Dead who received a GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007, is one of rock’s finest and most distinctive rhythm guitarists. Weir has been honored with the Americana Music Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award and the Les Paul Spirit Award, as well as a Goodwill Ambassadorship for the United Nations Development Program. His first solo album in more than ten years, Blue Mountain (2016), was critically praised upon release. Weir currently performs with Dead & Company as well as Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros.

Don Was is a GRAMMY-winning producer and founder of the ’80s funk-rock band Was (Not Was), known for hits such as “Walk The Dinosaur” and “Spy In The House Of Love.” As an in-demand, highly acclaimed producer, Was has been honored with four GRAMMY Awards for his production work in each of the past three decades, including Best Album honors for work with the Rolling Stones and Bonnie Raitt. Production credits include the Rolling Stones, Willie Nelson, Roy Orbison, Gregg Allman, John Mayer and Neil Young. Albums produced by Was have achieved dozens of multi-Platinum, Platinum and Gold certifications and have sold more than 90 million copies worldwide. As one of music’s top bass players, Was has collaborated with countless musicians throughout his storied career, spanning a multitude of genres.

Jay Lane is a longtime Weir collaborator and drummer who played with Weir’s RatDog for more than 16 years. He was also one of Primus’ first drummers and has recently performed with Phil Lesh and Friends as well as Dead & Company.

Acclaimed keyboardist Jeff Chimenti has a long history of working with former members of the Grateful Dead having performed with Bob Weir & RatDog, The Dead and Furthur. He has been a member of Dead & Company since the band’s formation in 2015. In 2020, Jeff Chimenti joined the Wolf Bros.