What is Dead may never die! The saying is not only a Game of Thrones Iron Islander catch-phrase, but also an apt explanation for the music and communal scene that the Grateful Dead has created over the last 50+ years. Even after the passing of their leader, Jerry Garcia, back on August 9th, 1995, the remaining members of the band pushed on in various formations over these last two decades with continued success. Beyond the surviving band members, many musicians have taken up the cause of the Grateful Dead in their own way, re-creating and paying tribute to the band that has left an indelible mark on so many lives. The upcoming SKULL & ROSES 2, set to take place April 6th-8th at Ventura County Fairgrounds, will do just that, celebrating the spirit, energy, and community that the Dead have created. [You can purchase 20% Discounted Tickets Here].

The lineup consists of 20+ Dead-inspired outfits including Golden Gate Wingmen, Circles Around the Sun, Stu Allen & Mars Hotel, Melvin Seals & JGB, Shred Is Dead, Moonalice, David Gans, Cubensis, Roosevelt Collier, Alligator, and more. Throw in two stages with no overlapping sets, a vibrant campground scene where bands not on the bill are able to set up for their own impromptu jams, and a location that has some fairly deep Grateful Dead history of its own (the group played 11 shows there from ’82-’87), Skull & Roses is going into its second year with plenty of inspiration to move the masses brightly…

Circles Around The Sun

When Chris Robinson Brotherhood guitarist Neal Casal was asked to create the set break music for the Dead’s 50th Anniversary Fare Thee Well shows, he thought it was a one-time thing, never imagining the massive response that the project would elicit. Now officially dubbed Circles Around the Sun, the band has taken on a life of its own, and rightfully so. Thematically, you can hear flourishes of various Dead songs that were used as inspiration in creating the music, but what Casal, Adam MacDougall, Mark Levy, and Dan Horn are playing is very much their own psychedelic rock journey.

EXCLUSIVE: Neal Casal Talks CRB, LSD, & The Future Of Circles Around The Sun

Skull & Roses founder Chris Mitrovich explains the need for Circles to be on the bill, “I was watching the Fare Thee Well live streams, listening to the set break music, and was blown away by what I was hearing. I had no clue what it was, but very much wanted to know. After learning the backstory, and seeing them eventually go on to play some shows, I knew that these guys had to be a part of this celebration.”

Circles Around The Sun – “Kasey’s Bones” – Terrapin Crossroads – 7/28/17:

[via nowiknowuryder]

Golden Gate Wingmen

The Golden Gate Wingmen have a rather impressive collective resume, with each member coming from Grateful Dead side-projects such as Dead & Company, Furthur, Phil Lesh & Friends, and Billy & The Kids. The quartet of John Kadlecik (guitar), Jeff Chimenti (keys), Jay Lane (drums), and Reed Mathis (bass) are as an accomplished outfit to play the Dead catalog as you’re going to get today outside of the actual guys that wrote the songs. These guys know the music inside and out, making their set something that is sure to take attendees on a deep and exploratory journey.

Golden Gate Wingmen – “Ramble On Rose” – Ardmore Music Hall – 3/27/16:

[via LiquidSilverStream]

Stu Allen & Mars Hotel

Stu Allen & Mars Hotel has been a staple of the Berkeley scene since 2011 with their weekly Grateful Dead Night residency at Ashkenaz. Joined by an ever-rotating cast of incredible musicians, Allen himself has played with Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, and Billy Kreutzmann over the years, including fronting Melvin Seals & JGB from 2004-2011. He is as committed to keeping the spirit of the Grateful Dead alive as any other musicians in the scene.

Phil Lesh & Friends ft. Stu Allen “He’s Gone” – Terrapin Crossroads – 9/14/17

[via Andy Logan]

Melvin Seals & JGB

Melvin Seals & Jerry Garcia Band remembers Garcia’s most important project outside of the Dead–and the one that allowed him to freely explore his diverse musical tastes. Led by Seals, the only remaining member from the original band, JGB has entered into a new phase of their evolution, with the recent announcement of two new female powerhouse singers in Lady Chi and Sunshine Becker. Seals & JGB are sure to offer up the goods, including some rare song selections that Jerry Garcia Band played only a handful of times.

Melvin Seals & JGB – “That’s What Love Will Make You Do” – Jerry Jam

[via Jerry Jam]

While chatting about the Skull & Roses lineup, festival founder Chris Mitrovich, whose first show was the “comeback” show after Jerry fell into a coma right before the band was set to play Ventura in ’86, argues, “These aren’t just ‘tribute’ bands, these are bands interpreting the music in their own way. To call any of these acts a tribute does a disservice to the hard work and dedication these musicians have put into creating their own vision of the Dead catalog while paying honors to it at the same time. The word ‘tribute’ doesn’t do the music being created justice. A band such as Cubensis has been rocking the SoCal Dead scene for 30+ years and has a rabid following of their own. They are much more than some average tribute band.”

David Gans, for example, is a living Grateful Dead encyclopedia. Along with playing with various members of the Dead himself, he also wrote the book Playing in the Band: An Oral and Visual Portrait of the Grateful Dead and co-hosts the SiriusXM program Tales from the Golden Road with Gary Lambert. Then you have a newer group such as Shred Is Dead led by guitarist Marcus Rezak (Digital Tape Machine), Grammy Award-winning drummer Raul Pineda, percussionist/vocalist Ben Thomas (Zappa Plays Zappa), bassist Eli Marcus (Steve Vai), and keyboardist Aaron Provisor (Abe Laboriel Jr.), that has put a progressive and high-energy spin to the music.

“I want the music separated from the artist. How does this message go on independent of the messenger in exploring these interpretations? We’re challenging these bands to do their own thing,” Mitrovich explains. “Come in and jam for Jerry. Do your thing. That’s what I am trying to create here. There are so many acts out there, all across the country, paying honors to the music, I figured I’d try and get them together. Let’s poke around the various scenes and see what we could put together.”

Tickets for Skull & Roses 2 are currently on-sale with a 20% discount and can be purchased here. For event updates and additional information, join the Facebook page.

Enter To Win A Pair Of Weekend Passes: