The sudden and somber news of Neal Casal‘s death on August 26th is still fresh in the minds of those within the music community as fans, friends, and colleagues continue to come to terms with the loss of yet another talent gone too soon. While it’s easy to think about loss, it’s more important to focus on all the fun that the fan-favorite guitarist provided at countless shows, festivals, and communal jams throughout the years from his time in Ryan Adams & the Cardinals all the way up until his final performance at LOCKN‘ this past weekend.
One of the highlight memories the L4LM team has of Casal was his cover of Grateful Dead‘s “Truckin'” during an all-star performance at New York City’s Brooklyn Bowl back on May 31st, 2017. The show that night was part of a benefit to raise money for the Southern Poverty Law Center and saw Joe Russo’s Friends With Benefits take the stage with rotating contributions from John Scofield, Nels Cline, Billy Martin, Dave Dreiwitz, Cass McCombs, Dave Harrington, Tom Hamilton, Delicate Steve, Scott Metzger, and Casal.
This, of course, was the same night that Jerry Garcia‘s beloved “Wolf” guitar set a world record when it was auctioned for a mind-blowing $3.2 million. Casal found himself in the lucky position to play the famed guitar before it was sold to the wealthy bidder, which included a performance of the Dead’s 1970 classic, “Truckin'”.
Relive a part of Casal’s memorable performance with some thrilling solo work on “Wolf” below.
Joe Russo’s Friends With Benefits with Neal Casal – “Truckin'” – 5/31/2017
[Video: Photograph1974]