Oteil Burbridge will not perform his Oteil & Friends concerts at SweetWater 420 Fest or at the Joy Theater in New Orleans, LA during Jazz Fest, he announced late on Wednesday. The Dead & Company bassist stated that his 91-year-old father “has started to cross over” and that he must “go and be by my mother’s side.”
“Please pray for us if you believe in that sort of thing,” Burbridge wrote on social media. “We do and we sure could use all the prayers we can get.”
Though Burbridge will not perform his Oteil & Friends show on Friday in New Orleans, the Voodoo Dead concerts set for Saturday and Sunday will go ahead as planned. The after-dark concerts at Republic NOLA will see George Porter Jr. and Reed Mathis sub in for Burbridge and play beside Steve Kimock, John Medeski, Al Schnier, and John Morgan Kimock, plus special guests Papa Mali (4/30) and Duane Betts (5/1).
Related: Oteil Burbridge Shares Solo Cover Of Grateful Dead’s “Stella Blue” [Video]
Spafford will now perform during Oteil & Friends’ 2 p.m. set at SweetWater 420 Fest’s Thursday pre-party today, April 28th. This marks the latest cancellation to befall the festival kick-off, which originally featured a penultimate set by moe. ahead of two sets by The String Cheese Incident.
Following Chuck Garvey‘s stroke back in November, moe. ceded the performance to Gov’t Mule. Then, late last month, Mule cleared its spring tour scheduled after bandleader Warren Haynes injured his shoulder while on vacation in Costa Rica. Umphrey’s McGee took up the mantle, promising to lead TAUKing McGee and “All Night Wrong” sets prior to SCI’s headlining slot. It was then revealed on Wednesday that Jake Cinninger will sit out UM’s three shows throughout the festival, including a Friday late-night performance at Variety Playhouse.
Our hearts go out to Oteil and the Burbridge family during this difficult time.