Joe Russo’s Almost Dead just wrapped up a six-night, sold-out run dubbed “Fall Ball III” at Brooklyn Bowl in New York City. The juggernaut Grateful Dead tribute quintet celebrated the success of the two-weekend Brooklyn run with the announcement of nine more shows in 2018, including their annual shindig in New Orleans during the second weekend of Jazz Fest.

The band started playing two-night runs at NOLA’s Joy Theatre in 2015, and triumphantly expanded to three nights in 2017. For their 2018 return to the crescent city, Joe Russo, Tom Hamilton, Scott Metzger, Marco Benevento, and Dave Dreiwitz have planned their biggest Big Easy celebrations yet: On Friday, May 4th and Saturday, May 5th, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead will take over Mardi Gras World Ballroom in the Port of New Orleans. The new venue, whose capacity is more than triple that of the Joy, marks a huge upgrade for fans traveling to experience the inspired music scene of New Orleans during Jazz Fest. The party just got a whole lot bigger, and on May 4th and 5th, the space is getting hot!

Live For Live Music will be hosting a special pre-sale for JRAD’s 2018 Jazz Fest late nights on Thursday, October 19 from 10am – 10pm CT (11am – 11pm ET). Use password “LIVEJRAD” to access the pre-sale. Tickets for Friday 5/4 can be found here, and Saturday 5/5 here. General on-sale for the New Orleans shows will be on Friday, Oct 20 at 2pm EST. These tickets move fast, don’t miss out!

The music and mythology of the Grateful Dead runs deep in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. The band played there countless times over the course of their career, including the fateful trip in 1970 that resulted in the majority of the band and crew being arrested after having their hotel rooms raided for drugs during their performance.

Remembering The Time The Grateful Dead Were “Busted Down On Bourbon Street” In 1970

Strapped for cash for legal fees, the band played an additional last-minute show the next night, and literally passed around a donation bucket to help clear their names. The charges were eventually dropped, but the incident lives on forever in Dead lore, immortalized in the lyrics to their famed road warrior epic, “Truckin'”:

 

“Busted, down on Bourbon Street,

Set up, like a bowlin’ pin,

Knocked down, it gets to wearin’ thin,

They just won’t let you be…”

Of course, the talented members of Almost Dead are no strangers to the Jazz Fest scene. But with the band’s exciting leap from the Joy Theatre to the Mardi Gras World Ballroom this year, the party will undoubtedly expand and become another strong tradition for years to come.

As the excitement builds for Joe Russo’s Almost Dead’s 2-night run at the Mardi Gras World Ballroom during Jazz Fest, enjoy this 40+ minute video of the quintet performing “Throwing Stones ~ Stella Blue ~ Music Never Stopped” last year in New Orleans on 5/7/17 via JoeRussos AlmostDead on YouTube:

[Photo by Dave Vann]