Bob Weir, Headliner of Biggest SPAC Show, Fades Away

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Grateful Dead co-founder Bob Weir faded away on Saturday, though, as any true Deadhead knows, his music will never stop.

Weir launched one of the most beloved bands in American history, one that inspired countless people to pile into vehicles and explore their country, trailing the Grateful Dead on tour. With the group’s improvisation, experimentation, and innovation also came new ways of performing and thinking about music. Their influence on American art and culture is vast and impossible to measure.

One could not truly experience the Dead without hearing them play live, in an environment that, more often than not, inspired warm feelings of community and, at times, even spirituality. The Grateful Dead’s very name seemed to suggest that although life is brief, it’s still an experience to appreciate (“Such a long, long time to be gone and a short time to be there,” sang Phil Lesh on “Box of Rain”).

The group made its mark almost everywhere, from its origins in San Francisco to the Giza pyramids in Egypt, the site of two 1978 Dead shows. It’s unsurprising then that the Dead’s influence can still be felt here in Saratoga Springs.

The band holds (and may forever hold) the record for the largest crowd to ever gather at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC). In 1985, 40,231 Deadheads convened in the Spa State Park, surpassing the previously held attendance record (also set by the Grateful Dead) of 37,801. 

Since then, both SPAC and Saratoga at large have become jam band hotspots. Phish and the Dave Matthews Band have played here dozens of times, stopping by almost every summer. Rising acts such as Goose, Dogs in a Pile, and Eggy have all performed in the Spa City multiple times. Grateful Dead tribute bands play here so frequently that one might think they’ve somehow stumbled into Haight-Ashbury circa 1967.

Weir brought Dead & Company (a successor group to the Grateful Dead that featured John Mayer on lead guitar) to Saratoga for the final time in the summer of 2023. He’d been here many times with several different bands. His sound—which could sometimes be joyful, haunting, tender, and invigorating all at once—seemed to fill the air of the park, swaying the leaves of towering trees and hovering above the ancient mineral springs. For those who enjoy this sound (Jerry Garcia famously compared the Dead to licorice, quipping, “Not everybody likes licorice, but the people who like licorice really like licorice”), witnessing Weir play in a bucolic setting was practically nirvana.

Though few can faithfully replicate Weir’s singular playing style, the songs he wrote and sung will be played long after his departure, which is exactly what he wanted.

On Jan. 17, Bearly Dead will take the stage at Putnam Place for an 8:30 p.m. show. The group describes itself as “not just another Grateful Dead cover band,” but rather, “a cosmic exploration of the Grateful Dead catalog.”

“I truly believe that Bob Weir is the most important rhythm guitar player in rock history,” wrote Bearly Dead guitarist Nick Swift in a social media tribute to Weir. “It’s amazing to me how he kept playing music and touring this long into his life. I keep reading tribute posts from musicians who knew him who cite his ‘need’ to play music – that it wasn’t just something fun to do, that it was something that filled a deep void in his soul and he couldn’t stop. He basically lived his life on stage, but not in some need to be an inauthentic celebrity. He just wanted to make music with people for people. And there’s something very magical about that… I look forward to finally getting to play again this Saturday in Saratoga. I’ll give it all I’ve got. We’ll miss you Bobby. We will do what we can to carry your spirit forward into the future.”

Another local tribute to Weir will come in the form of a special, celebratory memorial yoga class at Yoga Mandali on Jan. 18 at 5:30 p.m. The event, organized by yoga teacher and writer Natalli Amato, will send proceeds to the Rex Foundation, which was created by the Grateful Dead in 1983 to provide philanthropic grassroots support.

“I was born in the post-Jerry era,” Amato told Saratoga TODAY. “For me, the person at the spiritual center of the Dead has been Bob Weir. Over the past ten years, Dead and Company gave me some of the best memories and adventures of my adult life. But more important than that, loving this music has brought me into deeper connection with friends, family, and even strangers. Our yoga class Sunday is a place to celebrate that!”