The decision by the Core Four of the Grateful Dead to ask Phish’s Trey Anastasio to take part in the band’s July 4th Fare Thee Well weekend blowout in Chicago has unsurprisingly ruffled a few feathers in the Deadhead community. But why? Does it come from a prejudice against Phish? Or a bitterness because the media conveniently dubbed Anastasio the successor to Jerry Garcia after his death in 1995? Or perhaps because Dead side-project staples Steve Kimock, John Kadlecik, Warren Haynes, etc. would have been better fits? Whatever the division may be about in some circles, they seem to be petty and misdirected. Anastasio is still as creative of a force and as quality of a player as anyone the Core Four could have chosen for this final farewell. There’s no doubt he will treat the opportunity with the utmost respect and integrity.

Additionally, new and fresh collaborations with heavy sections of improvisation have always been the name of the game for the Grateful Dead and the jam band community, as a whole. After all, just look at how many side projects Jerry Garcia played in and with how many different musicians. What about the different line ups Bob Weir has used in Ratdog since it’s advent, or the number of formulations of Phil Lesh & Friends over the years? And how many bands has Bill Kreutzmann formed over the last year? Two or three? The point is, these guys have always liked variety. Whatever the project may be, it needs be fresh and exiting for them to want to pursue it. Trey will supply them with the proper ammunition to reach the heights they hope to achieve at Fare Thee Well.

The jam band community that the Dead has nurtured for over 50 years is one that embraces the shared experience, the power of the music, and encourages the willingness to take a chance, often times meaning playing with new, or in this case of Anastasio and the Core Four, old friends. So, in the spirit of that notion, and in the hopes that folks will look back on Fare Thee Well as an appropriate send off for the Core Four, here is a list of 15 great jam band sit-ins and collaborations with a few Grateful Dead covers sprinkled in for good measure:

 1. Luckily enough, the only time The Who’s Pete Townshend ever collaborated on stage with the Grateful Dead, it was being filmed for the German TV show, Rockpalast. Both bands were wrapping up stints in Europe and ended up on the TV show together with Townshend sitting in for renditions of Buddy Holly‘s “Not Fade Away” (below), the Dead’s “Wharf Rat,” and Chuck Berry’s “Around And Around.”

2. At their 2014 Kinfolk Celebration at Planet Bluegrass in Lyons, CO, Yonder Mountain String Band teamed up with Widespread Panic‘s John Bell for a majority of their show that night, including this cover of the Dead’s “New Speedway Boogie” for their encore.

3. The String Cheese Incident knows how to put on a good festival and at their 2013 Suwannee Hullaween in Live Oak, FL, with friends Steve Kimock on guitar and Parliament-Funkadelic/Talking Heads‘ famed Bernie Worrell on keyboards, they delighted festival goers to a Jerry Garcia Band favorite and Eddie Harris original, “Freedom Jazz Dance.”

4. Sit-in extraordinaire Warren Haynes certainly made his rounds at the Wanee Festival last summer, sitting in with Dumpstaphunk for some Led Zeppelin tunes one night and then following it up the next with another, covering “Immigrant Song” with Umphrey’s McGee.

5. The official Jam Cruise 11 post-cruise show featured moe. at Revolution Live in Ft. Lauderdale. On this night, moe. was joined by jazz fusion guitarist Stanley Jordan for an odyssey like “Rebubula” that turned out to be quite good.

6. Oysterhead, the short-lived trio of Trey Anastasio, Primus‘ Les Claypool and The Police‘s Stewart Copeland still has a loyal following in the jam band community, if for no other reason than to see it reprised, even as a one-off. In fact, it’s not too far out of the realm of possibility either, as Copeland told Radio.com last November. Here they are at Bonnaroo 2006 playing “Rubberneck Lions” off of their 2001 album, The Grand Pecking Order.

7. One of the things that makes Warren Haynes such an amazing talent is his ability to adapt to any musical setting, whether it might be playing Black Sabbath or The Doors in his own band Gov’t Mule, or unplugged and acoustic digging into a soulful version of The Allman Brothers Band’s “Soulshine” or The Rolling Stones‘ “Wild Horses.” Check out this delicate version of “Patchwork Quilt,” paying homage to Jerry Garcia with Railroad Earth at the Captiol Theatre in Port Chester, NY (10.11.12).

8. Of all of the great acts at Bear Creek Music Festival this past November, Chris Robinson’s collaboration with Soulive as Chris Robinson’s Soulive Revue may have been the most anticipated set of the festival. Filled with all kinds of great covers, their set delivered a lot of great memories including this terrific “Turn On Your Lovelight,” horns and all.

9. Brooklyn’s own Turkuaz and Dopapod teamed up in 2012 for a party in their own backyard at Williamsburg, NY’s Brooklyn Bowl. Here they are together performing The Beatles‘ “With A Little Help From My Friends” with Turkuaz’s Josh Schwartz channeling his best Joe Cocker.

10. The 2012 Summer Camp Music Festival in Chillicothe, IL found the Dead’s Bob Weir sitting in with Primus for a dark and powerful run through Weir’s penned “The Other One,” assisted by drummer Jay Lane, who has played with both Primus and Weir’s Ratdog.

11. The 2010 Northwest String Summit in North Plains, OR at Horning’s Hideout was lucky enough to have the Rhythm Devils make an appearance with festival hosts, Yonder Mountain String Band. This run through “Franklin’s Tower” was an instant classic.

12. Dumpstaphunk‘s ability to “funk up” the Led Zeppelin catalog showcases just how dynamic of a band they are. At last year’s Wanee Festival celebration they had the opportunity to showcase the Zeppelin material, and with help from friends like Warren Haynes and Blues Traveler‘s John Popper (below) the set was a huge success. Check out this cover of “Custard Pie” with Popper on harmonica.

13. Remember that time Phil Lesh, Soulive/Lettuce‘s Eric Krasno and Joe Russo had that jam session in Central Park the morning before a show? This is what collaboration is all about.

14. For his 2012 release party for the album Black Eye Galaxy, New Orleans rocker Anders Osborne enlisted the help of several key sit-in artists. Cue Warren Haynes, Karl Denson, and Billy Iuso for a cover of Little Feat‘s “Spanish Moon.”

15. This wouldn’t be a good list without mentioning how incredible the 1999 Phil Lesh & Friends run at the Warfield in San Francisco was. With Phish’s Trey Anastasio and Page McConnell flanked by Lesh, Steve Kimock, and John Molo, the three night run was an epic coming together of jam band royalty. For a little taste of what is to come with Anastasio on guitar this July 4th weekend in Chicago, check out this great “Shakedown Street.”