A sea of tie-dye washed over Las Vegas on Thursday as fans from around the world flocked to join Dead & Company as the band kicked off its 2025 Dead Forever Sphere residency.

The venue was abuzz before showtime, with Deadheads of all ilks and ages bubbling with anticipation, some arriving for their first Sphere show, others returning for the 31st time. Upon entering the theater space, they were greeted with the same view of industrial scaffolding that was on screen pre-show in 2024. The familiar sight was no surprise since repeated visuals were to be expected based on what the band has said in interviews—the entire show was designed to be “modular,” according to John Mayer, meaning the visuals could be shuffled and reused from show to show and year to year—but the night would also see the debut of some dazzling new animations.

When they finally took the stage, Mayer, Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, Oteil Burbridge, Jeff Chimenti, and Jay Lane kicked things off with the Dead & Company debut of The Spencer Davis Group‘s “Gimme Some Lovin'”. Repeating the lyric “so glad you made it,” they welcomed the audience for night one of what is sure to be another unforgettable run.

Just like in 2024, the virtual scaffolding opened up after the first tune, creating a 13-point lightning bolt as it revealed the Grateful Dead’s old home at 710 Ashbury. Ascending from street level up into space during “Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo”, the band then launched into a joyous rendition of “Bertha”, which saw the first new visuals of the run. A floating sheet of blotter paper adorned with colorful dancing bears fell from the heavens and expanded to cover the entire Sphere screen. The bears began to boogie as the band played on, and then changed colors to create psychedelic patterns and a trippy video display of the musicians on stage.

Familiar visuals accompanied “New Speedway Boogie” before Mayer took the lead on “Brown-Eyed Women”. He loosened up with a guitar solo between verses, and Chimenti matched his energy with a bluesy solo of his own. The two ended up jamming together, reigniting the special chemistry they’ve developed over the years, which has become a driving force and focal point of Dead & Company’s sound.

Weir sounded particularly on point singing “Good Lovin'”, effortlessly breaking from his chest voice into his falsetto range, and Burbridge boogied barefootedly during a Latin-inspired jam. “Don’t Ease Me In” finished the first set off with more new visuals featuring a wall of cartoonish television sets.

Returning from set break, Dead & Co. eased into set two with a funky “Feel Like Stranger”. Weir’s iconic rhythm guitar playing shined as they settled into the jam, perfectly complementing Mayer’s muted leads with its biting tone. Burbridge meanwhile danced around them on the bass, and Lane held down the groove. At the end of the jam, Weir and Mayer harmonized on the main melody before finishing strong.

“Scarlet Begonias” featured a cast of larger-than-life characters from the back cover artwork of the Grateful Dead’s 1974 album From the Mars Hotel who towered over the band, laughing and dancing in one of the most surreal scenes of night. The song was followed by its traditional partner, “Fire on the Mountain”, which saw each member of the band except Jay Lane sing a verse and ended with Mickey rapping his part much to the crowd’s delight.

The audience was equally enthused when Mayer strummed the opening chords of “Terrapin Station”, which was a highlight of the night. Along with Jeff and Oteil, he explored new harmonic territory at the start of the song, bringing out unexpected colors during the instrumental section. At the end of the tune, Jay and Mickey exchanged smiles as Mickey played some powerful fills on the toms.

The Sphere then transformed into a stained glass dome during “Drums”, which started with just Jay and Mickey. Oteil then joined in, but the high point came at the end, when Jay and Oteil left Mickey to experiment like a mad scientist on the beam and assorted synths. The crowd applauded approvingly as the 81-year-old Rhythm Devil left the stage, the beam still reverberating throughout the venue.

Jeff, John, Bob, and Oteil explored pleasant, airy melodies before a blue background during “Space”, eventually segueing smoothly into “Standing on the Moon”. The crowd cheered at the reference to the Gulf of Mexico (a.k.a. the Gulf of America), and Jeff playfully filled in the cracks with twinkling keys during a standout guitar solo from Mayer. Weir’s voice really brought the song’s vivid imagery to life, though it was Mayer’s soaring guitar work that drew the loudest applause. The crowd then seemed to hang on every word that Mayer sang during a particularly powerful “Althea”.

“Going Down the Road Feeling Bad” was another highlight of the night. The song began with the familiar scene of a skeleton Uncle Sam dancing on a grave, with the Dead’s stealie logo on the headstone behind him. He then revved up the engine of his motorcycle for a psychedelic joy ride. Unlike last year, this time he was joined by a skeletonized Lady Liberty, who parachuted down from the sky right onto the back of his bike.

“Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” marked the start of the descent back down to 710 Ashbury, but rather than the vintage newscast that played at the end of each show in 2024, the voice of late Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh boomed over the speakers. In a brief but moving clip taken from an interview with Tucker Carlson, he described the unique community that formed around the Grateful Dead, saying, “We were trying to create a community of spirit with the music.”

Dead & Company closed out night one with “Touch of Grey”, which was accompanied by a collage of photographs from throughout the bands 60-year history mixed with live video of the band, embodying the line from “Stella Blue”, “all the years combine.” Mickey’s enthusiastic tom fills recalled his heyday drumming alongside Bill Kreutzmann, and Mayer and Weir went lyric for lyric on the last verse before harmonizing their voices on the final lines.

With some familiar scenes, some new visuals, and all-around stellar playing, night one at Sphere was a strong start to Dead & Company’s 2025 Sphere residency. With 17 more shows left to go, there are sure to be many more surprises and unforgettable nights in Sin City.

Below, view a gallery of photos from Night 1 of Dead Forever 2025 at Sphere via Rich Fury/Sphere Entertainment, Jay Blakesberg/Dead & Company, Chloe Weir/Dead & Company, and Alive Coverage. Check out more video clips from opening night here and stay tuned for more nightly coverage. Find a full list of upcoming dates and ticketing information here.

Setlist: Dead & Company | Sphere | Las Vegas | 3/20/25
Set 1: Gimme Some Lovin’ (The Spencer Davis Group), Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo, Bertha, New Speedway Boogie, Brown-Eyed Women, Good Lovin’ (The Olympics), Don’t Ease Me In (Henry Thomas)
Set 2: Feel Like a Stranger, Scarlet Begonias (>) Fire on the Mountain, Terrapin Station (>), Drums (Mickey Hart on balafon,>), Space (>), Standing on the Moon, Althea, Going Down the Road Feeling Bad ([traditional]), Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (Bob Dylan), Dead Forever Video Clip (Featuring Phil Lesh), Touch of Grey