Another night, another ride on the cosmic carousel with Dead & Company at Sphere in Las Vegas. On the final Friday of April, Bob Weir, John Mayer, Mickey Hart, Jeff Chimenti, Oteil Burbridge, and Jay Lane settled into a confident, playful pocket, delivering a show that was heavy on grooves and peppered with just enough weirdness to remind you where you were.

If Thursday night was about getting loose, Friday was about going deep. The band leaned into exploratory jams, stacking layers between John’s guitar runs and Jeff’s buttery keys, and letting Bob steer the ship with that weathered, road-tested voice. Add in the usual eye-popping visuals—dancing bears, Martian lounges, lava lamp tunnels—and it was clear: the Dead Forever residency is still moving forward, one wild night at a time.

The band eased into orbit with Sam Cooke’s “Good Times”, hanging inside the rocket hangar while John, Bob, and Jeff each took a vocal turn. No rush, no fuss, just setting the table for the night ahead.

“Playing in the Band” kicked the energy up a notch, blasting off from Haight-Ashbury into a jam that got jazzy and a little experimental. Mayer and Chimenti traded playful lines, stretching the theme just far enough to get the wheels turning.

“Help on the Way” > “Slipknot!” turned things trippier, with colorful soundbars melting into a twisting tunnel and the band diving into deep, psychedelic territory. Inside The Mars Hotel (literally, thanks to the Sphere’s visuals), the music got loose, elastic, and exploratory—classic Dead without ever slipping into chaos.

“Cumberland Blues” brought us back to terra firma, or at least the grainy county of the Wild West. John, Bob, and Jeff took turns spinning the song into a lively, rollicking workout. Mayer and Weir traded vocals, with both digging in like they had boots on dusty floors.

“Jack Straw” rode the same momentum, soaring through a cartoonish paint-by-numbers landscape, with Mayer catching fire on the final verses. The highlight? An animated Jerry Garcia relaxing in front of a cabin.

The first set wrapped with a tight, funky “Deal”, set against a wireframe bear-filled world. John led the charge vocally and teamed up with Jeff for a crunchy, bouncy jam that felt like two old friends daring each other to push a little further.

Set two opened with “Sugaree”, and Mayer didn’t waste time. The Egyptian-eye tunnel spun outward, the lava lamp dome oozed overhead, and John and Jeff absolutely tore it up, digging deep into a jam that sizzled without losing its footing.

“Lost Sailor” > “Saint of Circumstance” took us underwater, past glowing mushrooms and shipwrecks, then back up into a crystalline acid-tunnel world where John climbed into upper octaves and Jeff rumbled low. Bob’s vocals were heartfelt, if a little frayed in spots—just the way you want them on a sailor’s journey.

“They Love Each Other” was pure Sunday-morning sunshine, drenched in rainbows and rose petals from Sphere’s ceiling. Mayer kept it easy and breezy on vocals, but ripped his solo like a man with a mission.

The vibe shifted into pure party mode with “In the Midnight Hour”, Bob throwing himself into Wilson Pickett’s classic with some serious swagger. Mayer snuck in little riffs behind him, egging the crowd into a loose, bouncy singalong.

But the heart of the night with “Morning Dew”—slow, patient, aching in all the right ways.

Bob roared, John dug deep, and for a few minutes, the whole neon universe of Sphere seemed to stand still. The bears, the skulls, the swirling peace signs—it all circled overhead like a blessing from the beyond.

Then, it was time for the rhythm devils.

“Drums” > “Space” kicked off with Mickey, Jay, and Oteil turning the Sphere into a cathedral of sound. Stained glass shattered into mushroom beats, Mickey’s brain lit up like a circuit board, and before the kaleidoscopic madness, they snuck in a hilarious surprise: the theme from HBO’s White Lotus, Season 3.

Mickey steered “Space” through swirling celestial clouds before the band reassembled for a tender “Standing on the Moon”. Mayer wrapped notes around Bob’s vocals like silver thread. It was one of those perfect post-Space songs, slow and soft but still heavy.

“Althea” rolled through a tour of legendary Dead venues—Winterland, Red Rocks, Madison Square Garden—and Mayer slid into that sweet spot, vocals easy, solos flowing.

“Uncle John’s Band” lifted the room back to Haight-Ashbury circa 1965, a full-band chorale with John and Jeff bouncing off each other one more time before sending us back through the neon wormhole.

For the encore, it was time to burn down the station with a roaring “Casey Jones”. Mayer led the vocals, Sphere exploded into a montage of 60 years of Grateful Dead photos, and the crowd clapped along like their hands might catch fire.

One more ride on the train. One more Friday night well-spent.

This was Dead & Company at their most balanced: exploratory but grounded, playful yet tight, emotional without trying too hard.

John Mayer and Jeff Chimenti kept the jams lively and full of surprises. Bob Weir kept the stories alive. And Sphere, as always, wrapped it all in a spinning, swirling daydream of color and sound.

Dead & Company return to Sphere on Saturday to round out the fourth weekend of Dead Forever 2025. Tickets for the remaining dates are available here.

Dead & Company – “Playing In The Band” – 4/25/25

[Video: ajfanchristine]

Dead & Company – “Sugaree” – 4/25/25

[Video:  Gunnar Hanson]

Dead & Company – “Jack Straw”, “Deal” – 4/25/25

[Video: Gunnar Hanson]

Setlist: Dead & Company | Sphere | Las Vegas, NV | 4/25/25
Set 1: Good Times (Sam Cooke), Playing in the Band, Help on the Way > Slipknot! > Cumberland Blues, Jack Straw, Deal (Jerry Garcia)
Set 2: Sugaree (Jerry Garcia), Lost Sailor > Saint of Circumstance, They Love Each Other (Jerry Garcia), In the Midnight Hour (Wilson Pickett), Morning Dew (Bonnie Dobson), Drums > Space > Standing on the Moon, Althea, Uncle John’s Band
Encore: Casey Jones