What does the future hold for the Grateful Dead following the death of Bob Weir?
Back in 2016, Bob Weir had a sudden out-of-body experience as John Mayer, Oteil Burbridge and the rest of Dead & Company were preparing to play a set one evening. “Suddenly I was 20 feet behind my own head and looking at the whole thing and kind of happy with how the song turned out,” Weir told Rolling Stone author David Fricke.
“Then I looked around, and it had been 20 years. John’s hair had gone gray. Oteil’s was white. I looked back at the drummers, and there were some new guys. I looked at myself again, at the back of my head – and it was a new guy. That changed my entire perception of what we were actually doing here.”
A visionary look into a future without the founders
In other words, Weir imagined that Dead & Company would continue even if Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann and himself were no longer part of the band. At that time it was still a theoretical future. But Kreutzmann retired in 2023, Weir’s death was announced this weekend, and the future of Dead & Company – as well as the entire universe of Dead-affiliated bands – now stands at a crucial turning point.
The only real parallel is in 1995, when Jerry Garcia died, the Grateful Dead finally fell apart as a touring band and the scene split. Back then, the “Core Four” – Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann – were still there to carry on the legacy. Today Hart is the only active member of this core. Nobody knows exactly where the journey will take us, but six plausible scenarios can be sketched out.
Scenario 1: Dead & Company continue with John Mayer
When Kreutzmann stepped aside, Dead & Company brought in a replacement, Weir’s RatDog drummer Jay Lane, and carried on largely undeterred. Replacing Weir will be much more difficult. He sang half of the songs and was the central musical and spiritual connection to the Grateful Dead’s past. At least one more guitarist would be needed to fill this gap.
Yet, against all odds, John Mayer has been completely accepted by the Dead fan base. He is the most likely candidate to carry on the legacy. No other Jerry Garcia replacement has ever been as popular. Should Mayer be willing to move on and find the right lineup, Dead & Company could continue to be a formidable live force. It would never be the same, some old Deadheads would stay away, but the band could always fill places like the Sphere in Las Vegas. The presence of Mickey Hart would also give them more authenticity than other formations in the extended Dead cosmos. And yes. Dead & Company officially played a farewell tour in 2023. When has something like this ever stopped a band?
Scenario 2: Mayer leaves, the rest regroup
The existence of Dead & Company depends on whether John Mayer wants to continue without Weir. If he decides to pursue a solo career, it is unclear whether the other members will be allowed to continue using the name. One possibility would be to bring in musicians like Warren Haynes or former Furthur and Dark Star Orchestra singer John Kadlecik, change the band name and see how the audience reacts.
Over the years, various constellations of former members have toured as The Other Ones, The Dead, Furthur or Dead & Company. So why not another name? Without Mayer, stadium or arena tours would probably be out of the question, but it would remain a big draw in the jam band scene.
Mayer himself is currently clearly concentrating on his solo career. “It’s like putting the brakes on an 18-ton truck to make room for an album in 2026,” he recently told Rolling Stone. “I have done this. The work here in my studio and the last three months is to fulfill all the commitments I have already made and to cancel everything else in order to free up a year in which my only role is that of an artist.”
Scenario 3: Mayer leaves, the group falls apart
Oteil Burbridge, Jeff Chimenti and Jay Lane occupy a unique position in the cosmos of classic rock. They weren’t members of the original band, but are treated as such by fans. There are hardly any comparable situations. If Mayer finally leaves, they could start their own projects – with names like Oteil and Friends or Jeff Chimenti’s Dead Experience. They earned their status and the fans would follow them.
Scenario 4: The torch goes to Mickey Hart
Hart’s previous solo projects had a difficult time, as they were always competing with more prominent acts like Phil Lesh and Friends, RatDog and Furthur. Now he is suddenly the only active original member of the Grateful Dead. This could be his chance to form a group like Mickey Hart & Company. With the right musicians, this band would have the best chance of success – simply because of the authentic connection to the Grateful Dead history. In addition, the sacred ritual of “Drums/Space” would live on.
Scenario 5: Joe Russo’s Almost Dead continues to grow
Over the past 13 years, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead have built an enormous audience. For many Deadheads, they are the closest thing to a real Dead show, some even preferring them to Dead & Company. If Dead & Company is history, JRAD could become the dominant force. They will probably never play arenas or the Sphere, but with musicians like singer and guitarist Tom Hamilton their future is strong.
After Weir’s death, Russo published a moving tribute. “I quickly realized that he was an absolute genius and master of his craft,” he wrote. “It was like listening to someone speak a completely new language with complete beauty and naturalness.”
Scenario 6: The Dead scene completely falls apart
Perhaps most likely, no single group will fill the role of Dead & Company – or even come close to it. Bob Weir was a unique, irreplaceable force.
After Garcia’s death in 1995, Phish’s fan base grew enormously as many young fans migrated there. It’s possible that Phish will attract even more Deadheads while bands like Goose, Lettuce or Pigeons Playing Ping Pong continue to grow.
New Deadheads emerge every day, and they demand a collective live experience. You can’t dance and jam alone – it’s a communal experience. That’s why Burbridge, Chimenti, Russo, Lane, Kadlecik and many others will carry this music forward. And if one day they stop, those who played with them will do so. In 1965, the Grateful Dead broke the laws of physics and created a musical perpetual motion machine. It will continue forever.