While rumors swirl about a possible reunion of the “core four” Grateful Dead members, Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart, surrounding the band’s 50th anniversary, Lesh just can’t contain his excitement. The bassist, who owns and performs at his venue Terrapin Crossroads in San Rafael, CA, has announced a year-long celebration of the Dead’s 50th.

The venue will host two Phil & Friends concerts per month, with each dedicated to a year in the band’s era. The first two shows, on January 2nd and 3rd, will pay homage to 1965 and 1966, respectively, with a lineup that includes Stu Allen, Scott Law, Jeff Chimenti, and Cody Dickinson. Those shows will also feature a traditional Phil & Friends set, since the band’s setlists were “scarce” in those days.

By our calculations, the 24 concerts (two per month) would cover through 1990 (since 1975 was a hiatus year), a large portion of the Grateful Dead’s most prolific years.

Here is the full text, via Facebook:

2015 is the 50th anniversary of the Grateful Dead and Terrapin Crossroads will be celebrating throughout the year. Phil will host shows twice a month that reflect each year since the band was first formed in 1965, and also from time to time present art exhibits, conversations with Phil about the shows and their context, along with memorabilia displays tied to the shows themselves.

We begin on January 2nd and 3rd with Phil, Stu Allen, Scott Law, Jeff Chimenti, and Cody Dickinson. These shows will pay tribute to the Grateful Dead by having a full first set of music from the year 1965 on January 2nd, and a set of music from 1966 on January 3rd. Due to the scarcity (and brevity) of set lists from ’65 and ’66, these shows will have normal PLF 2nd sets. This will mark the beginning of a very special year for all of us who love the Grateful Dead.

We invite Terrapin Nation to join us in celebrating this historic anniversary. Tickets for these shows go on sale December 3rd at 11am at the Terrapin Crossroads box office, and December 4th online. Don’t miss out! “Well everybody’s dancing in a ring around the sun Nobody’s finished, we ain’t even begun…”