Love was in the air at Phil Lesh‘s Terrapin Crossroads on Wednesday night. The former Grateful Dead bassist welcomed fans and a handful of special guests to his intimate concert venue for a night of music to benefit United Way Of California and the North Valley Animal Disaster Group in hopes of aiding victims of the recent Camp Fire wildfires.

Concert streaming service Nugs.net was kind enough to offer a free webcast of Wednesday’s “Love Will See You Through” benefit show, which also included guest appearances from Melvin Seals, Stu Allen, Ross James, Alex Koford, Dan “Lebo” Lebowitz, Grahame Lesh, Greg Loiacono, and more.

The show began with both Phil and Grahame Lesh, Seals, John Molo, Dan Lebowitz, Barry Sless, and Elliott Peck all taking the stage for an uplifting cover of Jerry Garcia/Robert Huner favorite “They Love Each Other” featuring a warm pedal steel solo courtesy of Sless. Greg Loiacono joined in next in place of Grahame for a folky cover of Townes Van Zandt‘s “If I Needed You”. The first set continued with Alex Koford coming to the stage to lead a cover of The Beatles‘ late 1960s peace anthem, “Come Together”, followed by Grahame returning to help perform Garcia’s “Bird Song”.

The 1960s covers continued with the band performing Jimi Hendrix‘s “Bold As Love” featuring an impressive distorted acoustic guitar solo courtesy of Lebowitz. Set one came to a close with performances of The Everly Brothers‘ “All We Really Want To Do” and a lively rendition of Bobby “Blue” Bland‘s “Turn On Your Love Light”, which featured some impressive guitar work from Terrapin Family Band member Ross James.

Set two began with a groovy version of Little Milton‘s “That’s What Love Will Make You Do” with Melvin Seals leading the way on vocals, followed by a Phil-fronted rendition of his American Beauty classic, “Box of Rain”. Lesh held the main vocals of his 1970 tune as the song transitioned into Tom Petty‘s “I Won’t Back Down” for a few verses and a solo before returning back to “Box of Rain”.

The feel-good covers continued with versions of Solomon Burke‘s “Somebody To Love”, Young Rascals‘ “Good Lovin'”, Animal Liberation Orchestra‘s “I Wanna Feel It”, before all the musicians returned to the stage for a set-closing rendition of “Not Fade Away”. The band returned for a two-song encore comprised of the Grateful Dead’s “Attics Of My Life” and an appropriate reading of The Beatles’ “With A Little Help From My Friends”, with all the artists again coming together onthe stage for the final song of the evening. The entire performance from Wednesday night can be watched in the video below.

Phil Lesh – Love Will See You Through Benefit Concert – 12/19/2018

[Video: Nugs.net]

Wednesday’s show was just the latest special performance which Lesh has thrown at his Terrapin venue in recent weeks as 2018 starts to come to a close. Lesh also announced his upcoming birthday plans earlier this week, which will see the bassist celebrate his 79th trip around the sun with three nights at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York on March 14th, 15th, and 16th, 2019. General information for the three-night concert run next March can be found here.

Setlist: Phil Lesh + Special Guests | Terrapin Crossroads | San Rafael, California | 12/19/2018

Set One: They Love Each Other (Jerry Garcia cover), If I Needed You (Townes Van Zandt cover), Come Together (Beatles cover), Bird Song (Jerry Garcia Cover), Bold As Love (Jimi Hendrix), All We Really Want To Do (The Everly Brothers cover), Turn On Your Love Light (Bobby Bland cover)

Set Two: That’s What Love Will Make You Do (Little Milton cover), Box of Rain > I Won’t Back Down (Tom Petty cover) > Box Of Rain, Everybody Needs Somebody To Love (Solomon Burke cover), Good Lovin’ (The Young Rascals cover), I Wanna Feel It (Animal Liberation Orchestra cover), Not Fade Away (The Crickets cover)

Encore: Attics Of My Life, With A Little Help From My Friends (Beatles cover)