Over the past few years, Bob Weir & Wolf Bros has grown to include numerous personnel like The Wolfpack strings and horns, pedal steel player Barry Sless, Dead & Company keyboardist Jeff Chimenti, and sometimes a full blown symphony orchestra, but those who remember the band’s first tour in 2018 look back fondly on the stripped-down trio format with which the group began. After celebrating New Year’s Eve with a three-set blowout at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale, FL, Weir and his Wolf Bros Jay Lane and Don Was revived their original trio format to close out a six-show New Year’s run with two performances just down the road at The Parker.
Stripped of all accoutrements, the Wolf Bros trio perfectly highlights Weir’s stately presence while showcasing his abilities as a gifted storyteller. Without an unwieldy ensemble crowding the sonic landscape, his unique, free-flowing playing style shines forth, and his age-tempered voice brings songs to life in a completely different way.
The trio completed its year-ending run on Thursday and Friday nights, welcoming 2025 with two intimate shows packed with Grateful Dead classics, covers from the great American songbook, and compositions from throughout Weir’s 60-year career. Highlights of Thursday’s setlist included the ironically upbeat “Going Down the Road Feeling Bad”, early rock and roll classics by Chuck Berry and The Beatles, some deeper cuts from Weir’s days with Ratdog, and a couple rare bust-outs including Wolf Bros’ first rendition of Willie Dixon‘s “The Little Red Rooster” since 2023 and their first take on Weir’s solo tune “Gonesville” in nearly five years. Selections like “Blackbird”, “Dear Prudence”, and “Morning Dew” added emotional depth to the show, while a joyous “Touch of Grey” encore ended the night on a cheerful note.
Friday’s show was a little more rocking, with Deadhead favorites like “Althea”, “Feel Like a Stranger”, and “New Speedway Boogie” in the first set alongside a pairing of Ratdog’s “Even So” and “October Queen”. Covers including Little Feat‘s “Easy to Slip”, Bob Dylan‘s “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall”, and Eddie Cooley‘s “Fever” dominated the second frame, which concluded with a heavy “Black Peter” and a rocking “Johnny B. Goode”. The trio finished things off with an encore featuring an appropriate cut from Dylan, “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue”, and an emotional “Brokedown Palace”.
Check out photos from Bob Weir & Wolf Bros trio at The Parker by Chloe Weir and click below to watch fan-shot footage. Scroll down to view the full setlists.
Weir is gearing up to head to Mexico for Dead Ahead before returning to Sphere with Dead & Company this spring. Find tickets and a full list of upcoming shows here or try the secondary market.
View this post on Instagram
Bob Weir & Wolf Bros – The Parker – Fort Lauderdale, FL – 1/2/25 [Video Playlist]
[Videos: LiveGrateful]
Setlist: Bob Weir & Wolf Bros | The Parker | Fort Lauderdale, FL | 1/2/25
Set 1: Althea (Grateful Dead), Feel Like a Stranger, City Girls, Only a River (Josh Ritter), Even So (Ratdog), October Queen (Ratdog), New Speedway Boogie (Grateful Dead)
Set 2: Sugaree (Jerry Garcia), Easy to Slip (Little Feat), A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall (Bob Dylan), Estimated Prophet (Grateful Dead), Fever (Eddie Cooley), Black Peter (Grateful Dead), Johnny B. Goode
Encore: It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue (Bob Dylan), Brokedown Palace (Grateful Dead)
Setlist: Bob Weir & Wolf Bros | The Parker | Fort Lauderdale, FL | 1/3/25
Set 1: Going Down the Road Feeling Bad ([traditional]), The Little Red Rooster (Willie Dixon), Odessa (Ratdog), Catfish John (Bob McDill), Mexicali Blues (Bob Weir), Loose Lucy (Grateful Dead), Blackbird (The Beatles), Around and Around (Chuck Berry)
Set 2: Me and Bobby McGee (Kris Kristofferson), Gonesville (Bob Weir), China Cat Sunflower (Grateful Dead) (>), I Know You Rider ([traditional]), Dear Prudence (The Beatles), Ashes and Glass (Ratdog), Morning Dew (Bonnie Dobson)
Encore: Touch of Grey (Grateful Dead)
Note: “Lay My Lily Down” was on the written setlist, but “Ashes and Glass” was played instead.