Forever Grateful Concert Series
Thursday, September 24 - Jazz: The Conversation
Jason Crosby & Friends ft Dan “Lebo” Lebowitz, Steve Adams, Ezra Lipp
Jazz taught the Dead how to listen, respond, and let the music breathe. One player takes off, another follows, and suddenly the song is somewhere nobody planned to go. The Dead borrowed jazz’s greatest trick: there are no mistakes, only opportunities in a good jam.
Thursday, October 1 – Gospel: The Psychedelic Church
Featuring: Sunshine Garcia Becker, Cheryl Rucker, Bella Rayne, Richelle Scales, Angeline Saris, Daria Johnson, Stephanie Hartwell
Phil Lesh famously said, “I used to say—not facetiously—that every place we play is church.”
There was always something church-like about a Grateful Dead show: the gathering, the singing, the communion, the surrender. Gospel gave the Dead a language for that transcendence—voices rising together, sorrow turning toward joy, and music becoming testimony.
The Dead built their own psychedelic church, and behind them, strong women were there building it too. They recorded the shows, ran the lights, managed the offices, handled ticket requests, sang the songs, and helped hold the entire world around the music together.
The women built the church and tonight, they’re taking the pulpit! Bringing grit, soul, fire, and freedom to the music of the Dead, these women honor the gospel roots woven through its history—and claim their place at the center of the story.
Monday, October 5 - Classical Gets Weird
Featuring: Mikaela Davis, Holly Bowling & One Found Sound Quintet
Classical music taught the Dead to think big: to layer sounds, build tension, create space, and let a piece unfold like a journey. They took that sense of orchestration and structure and brought it into the world of improvisation. For the Dead, the jam could be a symphony, with fewer rules and a lot more room to wander.
At age 4, Phil Lesh's ear was piqued by Johannes Brahms's First Symphony as it played on his grandmother's radio. “I knew right away that I wanted that, whatever it was,” Phil said in a 2008 interview with Michael Muckian. “It just flattened me against the wall. I ended up listening to the whole symphony.
”From Phil's first gig as a violinist in a Berkeley youth symphony to his monumental contributions to music with Grateful Dead and Phil Lesh & Friends, his work drew inspiration from Luciano Berio, John Coltrane, Charles Ives, Gustav Mahler, and many more.
But this influence goes both ways. Members of Phil Lesh & Friends are joined today by members of One Found Sound, a San Francisco-based orchestra focused on making classical music an exciting, barrier-free space. Throughout the show, the band and One Found Sound explore how Phil's creative legacy equally inspires classical musicians to feel the music as a jam: a space where all are welcome, and where we all have a lot more room to wander.
Friday, October 16 - Born to Soar the Sky: Celebrating Bobby Weir’s Birthday
Barry Sless, Jay Lane, Mookie Siegel, Pete Sears, Stephen Inglis, Sheldon Brown, Alex Kelly, Brian Switzer, Adam Theis, Mads Tolling with Sunshine Garcia Becker, Jeff Pehrson, & Special Guests
Bobby Weir spent a lifetime making music that carried people somewhere beyond the ordinary, into places of freedom, friendship, and possibility. His birthday is a reason to celebrate, and this year, a group of musicians, friends, and collaborators will come together in his honor.
On October 16, Barry Sless, Jay Lane, Mookie Siegel, Pete Sears, Stephen Inglis, Sheldon Brown, Alex Kelly, Brian Switzer, Adam Theis, and Mads Tolling will be joined by Sunshine Garcia Becker, Jeff Pehrson, and special guests TBA for a night of music, memories, and celebration. The evening will take place inside Forever Grateful, surrounded by the art, instruments, stories, and history of the musical world Bobby helped create.
A portion of proceeds will benefit the Furthur Foundation.
Sunday, October 18 - Bluegrass Roots: Andy Falco & Travis Book play Jerry Garcia
Andy Falco and Travis Book are both members of the Grammy award winning bluegrass band The Infamous Stringdusters. Inspired by their love of the music of Jerry Garcia, the duo branches off on their own for occasional tours to celebrate Garcia’s timeless songs. “The project actually originated backstage at Dusters shows where Travis and I would typically warm up with some fun Jerry songs,” Falco explains. “At some point we just thought it would be fun to do it in public.”
They draw from Garcia’s solo material, his Grateful Dead catalogue as well as the Traditional songs Jerry loved to “Performing this music as a duo allows us to explore the songs and jam in a way that’s unique to playing as a Duo,” says Book. "We typically hear these songs in larger ensembles, but the songs done with just bass and guitar somehow make the music very interactive with the audience. It’s really a testament to the quality of the songwriting, and we like to put a spotlight on that aspect of Jerry.”
Thursday, October 22 - There’s Always a Story: And So It Grows
Featuring Midnight North
Grahame Lesh, Elliott Peck, Connor O’Sullivan, Nathan Graham and TJ Kanczuzewski
Midnight North formed in the Bay Area in early 2012 by Grahame Lesh and Elliott Peck, whose harmonies came as naturally as the initial songs, along with bassist Connor O’Sullivan. The band is rounded out by drummer Nathan Graham and keyboardist TJ Kanczuzewski.
The group was able to grow as a unit at Lesh’s family venue, Terrapin Crossroads in San Rafael, CA, while Grahame was a long-time member of his father Phil Lesh’s Terrapin Family Band and Phil Lesh & Friends. Both Elliott and Nathan featured in both of Phil’s groups as well, giving the band tremendous experience in the Grateful Dead world. Diamonds in the Zodiac (Americana Vibes) - Midnight North’s fifth studio album, along with three live releases - is a continuation of the musical direction on 2021’s There’s Always a Story.
A true melting pot of American roots music built around the song and the moment, Diamonds in the Zodiac was produced by Amy Helm (daughter of The Band’s Levon Helm) and features Grahame’s father Phil Lesh and brother Brian Lesh.