Oteil Burbridge offered some light to start the new year on Saturday with a cover of Grateful Dead‘s “Stella Blue”. The Dead & Company bassist recorded the solo cover in his music room where he teaches bass lessons from the Ozone.
In this (comparatively) brief 4:58-minute telling, the bassist’s buttery vocals take center stage. Burbridge’s vocals have proved something of a secret weapon for Dead & Company in the years since its formation in 2015. Oteil has taken up “Fire On The Mountain” as a signature song, as well as occasionally offering delicate renditions of “If I Had The World To Give“. Though Bob Weir typically sings “Stella Blue” these days, Saturday’s video shows Oteil is up for the challenge.
“Wishing you all a Happy New Year! Here’s to starting out on a fresh note,” Oteil wrote in the video’s description. “May your hope be renewed and your strength be replenished!”
Watch Oteil Burbridge perform the Grateful Dead’s “Stella Blue”. Dead & Company is set to return to the stage on January 7th to kick off the first weekend of its annual Playing In The Sand destination event at Riviera Maya in Mexico. The band recently announced it will offer refunds to anyone who wishes to bow out of the event due to the spread of the COVID-19 omicron variant. Visit the band’s website for more information.
Oteil Burbridge – “Stella Blue” (Grateful Dead)