[UPDATE 1/29/25]: Dave Matthews has announced he will be unable to perform at the MusiCares Persons of the Year Gala honoring the Grateful Dead due to “a critical illness in the family.” He has also withdrawn from performing at this week’s FireAid benefit concert in Los Angeles.
Although he won’t make it to the MusiCares Gala, Matthews recently paid tribute to the Grateful Dead at the Kennedy Center Honors ceremony, where he played “Sugaree” with Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi, and more before closing out the show with a rousing rendition of “Not Fade Away”. He also performed a moving version of John Prine’s “Angel From Montgomery” with Emmylou Harris for Kennedy Center Honoree Bonnie Raitt, who turned the song into a smash hit via her 1974 cover.
Scroll down for more on the MusiCares Persons of the Year Gala honoring the Grateful Dead.
[Update 1/21/24]: Dead & Company and various other performers will take part in a January 31st gala honoring the Grateful Dead as the MusiCares Persons of the Year. The event, one of many hosted by the Recording Academy surrounding the Grammy Awards on February 2nd in Los Angeles, will celebrate the Grateful Dead’s creative and philanthropic work and include special posthumous tributes to Jerry Garcia and Phil Lesh.
First reported in on Monday by The Hollywood Reporter, the gala will feature performances by Dead & Company—the modern-day Grateful Dead offshoot featuring longtime members Bob Weir and Mickey Hart alongside John Mayer, Oteil Burbridge, Jeff Chimenti, and Jay Lane—as well as a slew of other talented artists. Additional scheduled performers at the Grateful Dead Musicares Persons of the Year gala include Zac Brown, Stewart Copeland, Sierra Ferrell, Mick Fleetwood, Sammy Hagar, Bruce Hornsby, Norah Jones, Wynonna Judd, Noah Kahan, John Mayer (billed on his own in addition to Dead & Company), Maren Morris, My Morning Jacket, Lukas Nelson, Maggie Rose, Billy Strings, Vampire Weekend, The War and Treaty, The War On Drugs, and Dwight Yoakam. Avowed Deadhead and Bravo TV host Andy Cohen will host the event, while comedian Bert Kreischer will serve as the award’s presenter.
The Dead & Company performance at the Grateful Dead MusiCares Persons of the Year gala in Los Angeles will mark their first official appearance outside Las Vegas, NV’s Sphere since the end of their Final Tour in 2023. In 2024, the group mounted its highly successful Dead Forever Sphere residency, which is due to return to the state-of-the-art venue for its 18-date 2025 season in late March. Find tickets to the 2025 Dead & Company Dead Forever residency at Sphere here.
The Grateful Dead are in the midst of a period of cultural recognition as the group celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2025. Surviving members Weir, Hart, and Bill Kreutzmann were recently celebrated at the Kennedy Center Honors in Washington, D.C. by an all-star lineup of musicians including Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi, Sturgill Simpson, Maggie Rogers, Leon Bridges, Rick Mitarotonda, Don Was, Grahame Lesh, Jeff Chimenti, and Queen Latifah. The event also featured spoken remarks on the band by then-President Joe Biden and actors Miles Teller and Chloë Sevigny. Check out some highlights from the Kennedy Center ceremony here.
For table and ticket information for the Person of the Year 2025 gala honoring the Grateful Dead or to donate to MusiCares, head here. All Person of the Year proceeds support MusiCares’ vital programs and relief efforts. Lately, MusiCares has been raising funds to aid musicians and music professionals impacted by the ongoing wildfires in the Los Angeles area.
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[10/23/24]: In a fitting tribute to one of the most iconic bands in music history, MusiCares has announced the Grateful Dead as its 2025 Persons of the Year. The honor comes as the band prepares to celebrate its 60th anniversary, with original members Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh, and Bob Weir set to receive recognition for their contributions to both music and philanthropy. The special event, part of Grammy Week, will take place at the Los Angeles Convention Center on January 31st, 2025 and include a posthumous tribute to founding member Jerry Garcia.
In a statement, Bill Kreutzmann expressed his awe at the journey that has brought the Grateful Dead to this moment. “None of us would have ever guessed that, sixty years later, the surviving band members would be the honorees of the 2025 MusiCares Persons of the Year award. That’s pretty far out! And extraordinary,” he wrote, adding that while Jerry may not have been one for “pomp and circumstance,” he believes the tributes will be filled with a mix of “tears, laughs, winks, smiles… and memories.”
MusiCares, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the health and wellbeing of music professionals, plays a crucial role in the music industry. Through initiatives that provide mental health resources, addiction recovery, and financial assistance to those in need, MusiCares has become a lifeline for artists facing hardship. Proceeds from the benefit gala will go directly toward funding these efforts, making the Grateful Dead’s recognition not only a celebration of their musical legacy but also a meaningful contribution to the next generation of artists.
The Grateful Dead will also be among those celebrated at the 47th Kennedy Center Honors in December 2024. If Kreuzmann, Hart, Lesh, and Weir make an appearance together, it will be the core four’s first reunion since the 2015 Fare Thee Well concerts at Chicago’s Soldier Field.
With six decades of music behind them, the Grateful Dead’s influence is undeniable. From their counterculture roots in the ’60s to their continued relevance in the modern music scene, the band remains a touchstone of American culture. The MusiCares Persons of the Year award is not just a reflection of the group’s past accomplishments, but a testament to its ongoing impact on the world of music and beyond.
As Kreutzmann put it, “The long, strange trip continues!” And for the Grateful Dead, that trip shows no signs of stopping any time soon.
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