Grateful Dead Tribute: Sold-Out Shows Celebrate Phil Lesh With Iconic Setlist

Grahame Lesh & Friends will start a three-night sold-out run tonight at The Fillmore in San Francisco for Unbroken Chain: A Celebration of the Life and Music of Phil Lesh. Shows honor the late bassist with performances of Grateful Dead music.

The bandleader held a warm-up show on March 19 at The Junction Beer Garden in Mill Valley. That performance had three sets of Dead songs and also featured Bay Area musicians.

Dan "Lebo" Lebowitz, Jason Crosby, John Molo, Elliott Peck, Brian Rashap, and Greg Loiacono joined Grahame Lesh for the kickoff party. Pete Sears also showed up, and so did Eric D. Johnson from Fruit Bats, Relix reports.

The group opened with "Viola Lee Blues" before moving into "Bertha," "Jack Straw," and "Mama Tried." They played fan favorites like "Eyes of the World" and Jerry Garcia's "Gomorrah" to close the first set with "Big River."

Set two kicked off with "Cold, Rain and Snow" and had "He's Gone" plus "New Speedway Boogie." The band wove the second verse of "Viola Lee Blues" into "New Speedway Boogie" during that part. "Bird Song" and "Althea" followed. Then "Me and My Uncle" ended the middle frame.

The third set opened with "Cassidy" as a nod to Bobby Weir. "Scarlet Begonias" came next, along with "They Love Each Other," which had another reference to "Viola Lee Blues."

"Friend of the Devil" preceded the Phil Lesh-penned title track "Unbroken Chain." Grahame Lesh and company closed with "Shakedown Street" before coming back for "Ripple" as the encore.

The Mill Valley performance brought back the atmosphere of Terrapin Crossroads, the now-closed venue that served as a gathering spot for Dead fans. The kickoff show delivered 18 songs across three sets plus one encore number.

All three nights at The Fillmore have sold out. The West Coast celebration matches an earlier East Coast version of the same tribute series.