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Grief sucks. With\u00a0Bob Weir<\/strong> gone<\/a>, we\u2019re left with the boxes of memories from the life he devoted to live music. After co-founding the\u00a0Grateful Dead<\/strong> at the age of 17, Weir spent the next 60 years in service to the song and the stage (and the fans). He played right up until the very end, winning a valiant and unpublicized fight against cancer but ultimately dying from underlying lung issues. As we grieve the loss of this pillar of the jam scene who made so much of what we do here at Live For Live Music<\/em> possible, we\u2019re looking back at the last show Bob Weir played.<\/p>\n Bobby\u2019s final show could not have been a larger or more meaningful celebration. On what would have been guitarist\u00a0Jerry Garcia<\/strong>\u2018s 83rd birthday, Weir celebrated the Grateful Dead\u2019s 60th anniversary on the band\u2019s home turf in San Francisco\u2019s\u00a0Golden Gate Park<\/strong>. The three-night run featured Dead & Company<\/strong>, the post-Jerry offshoot led by Bobby and Grateful Dead drummer\u00a0Mickey Hart<\/strong> alongside superstar\u00a0John Mayer<\/strong>, bassist\u00a0Oteil Burbridge<\/strong>, keyboardist\u00a0Jeff Chimenti<\/strong>, and drummer\u00a0Jay Lane<\/strong> (who replaced original Grateful Dead and Dead & Company drummer\u00a0Bill Kreutzmann<\/strong> two years prior).<\/p>\n Though the spotlight was ostensibly on Bobby, Mickey, and the Dead, the jam band pioneers chose to share the stage with the next generation of artists. Bluegrass progeny\u00a0Billy Strings<\/strong>, alt-country singer-songwriter-turned-jam-adjacent-convert Johnny Blue Skies<\/strong> (formerly known as\u00a0Sturgill Simpson<\/strong>), and Phish guitarist\/onetime Jerry Garcia ringer\u00a0Trey Anastasio<\/strong> each took a turn opening one of the three shows. Additionally, each bandleader joined Dead & Company for a sentimental sit-in, as did\u00a0Grahame Lesh<\/strong>, son of co-founding Grateful Dead bassist\u00a0Phil Lesh<\/strong>, who passed away the previous fall.<\/p>\n Related: GD60 Sit-Ins: Watch Billy, Sturgill, Trey, & Grahame Join Dead & Co In Golden Gate Park [Videos\/Audio]<\/a><\/p>\n With the recent loss of one of the Core Four surviving members still so fresh in everyone\u2019s mind, and the remaining members\u2019 advancing age, there was an unavoidable air of finality to the GD60 hoorah. But rather than limping over the finish line like many other legacy acts of their generation, the Grateful Dead (to use the catch-all term for the entire organization) chose to pull up the next generation with them. The underlying message of the weekend became that this tradition doesn\u2019t die with these four, or three, now two men, that the spirit lives on, even if they\u2019re playing different songs.<\/p>\n So on the final night of the Grateful Dead 60 celebration, Trey honored Jerry with \u201cMission in the Rain\u201d during his opening set, he joined Dead & Co for \u201cScarlet Begonias\u201d > \u201cFire on the Mountain\u201d, and Grahame came out with Phil\u2019s \u201cBig Brown\u201d bass to do\u00a0Robbie Robertson<\/strong>\u2018s \u201cBroken Arrow\u201d. Though Bobby\u2019s voice sounded strained throughout the weekend (we now know why), there was an air of undeterred perseverance as Weir and Hart played on into their 70s and 80s, anointing the next generation(s) throughout the weekend. And Bobby summed this all up best with the last song of his last show, \u201cTouch of Grey\u201d. Though Deadheads have long scorned the band\u2019s only Top 10 hit, the refrain of eternal perseverance, \u201cWe will get by \/ We will survive,\u201d can be a source of comfort today, even for the most jaded among us.<\/p>\n Watch Bob Weir close his last show with \u201cTouch of Grey\u201d in Golden Gate Park. Revisit\u00a0Live For Live Music<\/em>\u2018s full-show coverage here<\/a>, and read tributes to Bobby from Billy Strings, Trey Anastasio,\u00a0Warren Haynes<\/strong>,\u00a0Joe Russo<\/strong>, and more here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Dead & Company \u2014 \u201cTouch Of Grey\u201d \u2014 San Francisco, CA \u2014 8\/3\/25<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n