Dead & Company finished off the first weekend of their 2025 Dead Forever Sphere residency with a third night of spectacular visuals and solid jams. After offering small nods to Phil Lesh on nights one and two, the band capped off night three by paying homage to the late Grateful Dead bassist with one of his signature songs, “Box of Rain”.
Starting the first set off strong, Bob Weir, John Mayer, Mickey Hart, Oteil Burbridge, Jeff Chimenti, and Jay Lane loosened up and welcomed fans with a rocking “Minglewood Blues”. Weir and Mayer traded licks on their respective stratocasters—Mayer again wielding his replica of Jerry Garcia‘s “Alligator”—and Chimenti chimed in with an energizing organ solo.
As the Sphere opened up to reveal 710 Ashbury, the band rolled away the dew with a spirited “Franklin’s Tower”. The crowd sang along during each chorus as the room ascended from street level through the atmosphere and to the stars. Mayer and Chimenti were already having fun, interacting playfully and exchanging knowing grins.
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A tropical rain forest scene accompanied a relaxed-tempo version of “Jack Straw”, which ramped up in energy before settling back down with the final lyric, “My old buddy you’re moving much too slow.” Chimenti then laid into the organ once more during a rocking but straightforward rendition of “Big Railroad Blues”.
The Dead’s famous Wall of Sound PA manifested behind the band during “Cassidy” before transforming into a rainbow road through space. Riding around the rings of Saturn, the band opened up with the freest jam of the set and landed smoothly in the song’s final bridge.
The first frame finished with an upbeat “Deal”, which is always a favorite in Vegas with its gambling theme. Mayer locked eyes with fans in the front row and egged on the crowd with an intense guitar solo before the band dropped in volume at the end of a solid blues shuffle jam.
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Starting off set two with “China Cat Sunflower”, Dead & Company tricked fans with a phony error message on the Sphere screen. Only after the backdrop filled up with dozens of popups did it become obvious that the error was intentional—never trust a prankster.
The joke continued with a message from a supposed hacker, who offered to restore the show if the crowd won a hand of blackjack. After flipping the last card to reveal the audience had won, the hacker honored their word and abruptly turned the Sphere back on, instantaneously transforming the room into an otherworldly landscape.
The band meanwhile segued smoothly into “I Know You Rider” as the visuals shifted to a sequence of famous venues from the Dead’s history, starting with Cornell and ending with Hampton Coliseum. The band stretched out a bit without ever leaving the song’s underlying form, and Mickey laid into the toms as the song peaked with the line, “I wish I was a headlight, on a north bound train.”
After starting with “China” > “Rider”, the set continued with another traditional pairing, “Help on the Way” > “Slipknot!”, which was one of the freer segments of the show.
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A stoic “He’s Gone” featured the Egypt-inspired visuals debuted on Friday and a strong solo from Mayer. The jam gradually disintegrated, leaving the crowd to wonder if it was over until Mayer finished the song with the final main melody.
John, Bob, Oteil, and Jeff then left the stage for “Drums”, which started gently with Mickey and Jay playing melodically on electronic drum pads. The percussive segment escalated to a frenzy as Oteil joined the drummers and the three exchanged pounding tribal rhythms. A trippy echo effect added to the chaos as Jay turned a large rototom drum like a wheel to alter the pitch as it resonated. Mickey once again finished solo on the Beam, as he did the previous two nights.
A truncated bass solo and “Space” segment then gave way to a powerful “Stella Blue”.
“Playing in the Band” was one of most experimental jams of the night. After a false ending, Mayer reinterpreted the underlying melody in a minor key before the band launched into the triumphant final chorus.
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The crowd cheered for late Grateful Dead members Jerry Garcia and Phil Lesh when their images appeared on screen during an emotional “Morning Dew”, and after whooshing through the stars at near warp speed, the Sphere began its descent back down to 710 Ashbury.
An audio clip of Lesh discussing the band’s intention to “create a community of spirit with the music” played over the PA before Dead & Company offered a touching tribute by closing out the first weekend of their Sphere residency with one of his signature songs, “Box of Rain”.
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Click below to check out fan-shot videos and a gallery of photos from Night 3 of Dead Forever 2025 at Sphere via Alive Coverage.
Dead & Company return to Sphere on Thursday, March 27th for the second weekend of the band’s 18-show run. Find a full list of upcoming dates and ticketing information here.
Dead & Company – “Minglewood Blues” – 3/22/25
[Video: Gratefuldeadgriffin]
Setlist: Dead & Company | Sphere | Las Vegas, NV | 3/22/25
Set 1: Minglewood Blues (Cannon’s Jug Stompers), Franklin’s Tower, Jack Straw, Big Railroad Blues (Cannon’s Jug Stompers), Cassidy (Bob Weir), Deal (Jerry Garcia)
Set 2: China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider ([traditional]), Help on the Way > Slipknot! > He’s Gone > Drums > Space > Stella Blue, Playing in the Band, Morning Dew (Bonnie Dobson), Dead Forever Video Clip (Featuring Phil Lesh), Box of Rain [1]
[1] LTP 6/21/22, tribute to Phil Lesh
Dead & Company | Sphere | Las Vegas, NV | 3/22/25 | Various Photographers
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Photo: Alive Coverage -
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Photo: Alive Coverage -
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Photo: Alive Coverage -
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Photo: Alive Coverage
