Grahame Lesh kicked off Unbroken Chain: A Celebration of the Life and Music of Phil Lesh last night at The Capitol Theatre with an all-star band comprised of Rick Mitarotonda, Eric Krasno, Oteil Burbridge, John Molo, Jennifer Hartswick, Jason Crosby, and several special guests.
The day started with a gathering of family, friends, and fans of Phil Lesh, who all came together for the official dedication of Phil Lesh Lane in honor of the late Grateful Dead bassist and longtime Capitol Theatre performer.
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Later, the show then opened with an emotional “Box of Rain”, one of Phil Lesh’s signature songs, with Grahame Lesh and Amy Helm on lead vocals and Terrapin Family Band drummer Alex Koford on backing vocals.
The energy picked up with “Cumberland Blues”, which featured mighty fine picking from Krasno and Mitarotonda, and stayed high for “They Love Each Other”. Then, following a Rick-led “Tennessee Jed”, a blistering “Bertha”, and a bold “Brown-Eyed Women”, Ross James and Alex Koford joined in on guitar and drums to help close out the set with a deep jam on “The Music Never Stopped” and a high-energy “Casey Jones”.
The second frame started with big set two energy as the band launched into spacey improvisation with special guest Scott Law on guitar during a cosmic “Dark Star” jam. That ethereal exploration landed in “Uncle John’s Band”, which included a standout bass solo from Oteil Burbridge.
Then, after “Playing in the Band” and “New Potato Caboose”, a string of special guest sit-ins began as Amy Helm emerged to sing a stirring “Morning Dew” along with Koford. Holly Bowling jumped on piano for “Eyes of the World”, with Helm still on vocals; Oteil sang lead while Crosby played fiddle on “Mountains of the Moon”; and Lavon Collins sat in on drums for the set closer, “Turn On Your Love Light”.
Rick got the Morning Dew solo and yeah it was beautiful pic.twitter.com/9s95lM1vQh
— Noah B (@noahb73) March 15, 2025
Capitol Theatre owner Peter Shapiro took a moment to reflect on Phil Lesh’s positive legacy before Grahame delivered his version of his father’s famous “Donor Rap” encouraging organ donation. The evening then concluded with a heartfelt “Attics of My Life” and an uplifting “Touch of Grey”.
Click below to view fan-shot videos from night one of Unbroken Chain: A Celebration of the Life and Music of Phil Lesh last night at The Capitol Theatre. The entire show is available to stream via nugs.net.
The festivities continue tonight, on what would have been Phil’s 85th birthday, with a the same core lineup plus more special guests including John Scofield, John Medeski, Natalie Cressman, and Adam Minkoff. Karl Denson, Jackie Greene, Tom Hamilton, Adam MacDougall, Teresa Williams, and more are on the lineup for Sunday night, and the fourth and final night will feature Lesh’s longstanding quintet, The Q, comprised of Gov’t Mule frontman Warren Haynes, Widespread Panic’s Jimmy Herring, Dark Star Orchestra keyboardist Rob Barraco, and John Molo on drums. Stream the entire run via nugs.
“Box Of Rain” – 3/14/25
Setlist: Unbroken Chain: A Celebration of the Life and Music of Phil Lesh | Capitol Theatre | Port Chest, NY | 3/14/25
Set 1: Box of Rain (with Amy Helm), Cumberland Blues, They Love Each Other, Tennessee Jed, Bertha, Brown-Eyed Women, The Music Never Stopped, Casey Jones
Set 2: Dark Star (Instrumental) (>), Uncle John’s Band, Playing in the Band, New Potato Caboose, Morning Dew (with Amy Helm), Eyes of the World, Mountains of the Moon (with Oteil Burbridge, Oteil on vocals), Turn On Your Love Light
Encore: Attics of My Life (with Amy Helm, preceded by Donor Rap), Touch of Grey