The surviving members of the Grateful Dead, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh, and Bob Weir, have confirmed the month-old rumor today that they will be adding two additional Bay Area dates to their brief "Fare Thee Well" tour, which had originally been announced as just three concerts at Chicago's Soldier Field over July 4th weekend. Along with Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio and keyboardists Bruce Hornsby and Jeff Chimenti, the band will reunite for the 50th anniversary of their founding for two nights on June 27 and 28 at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara.
As they write in a note to fans today on Dead50.net, they decided not only to return to the site of their final concert in 1995, but also to the Bay Area, where they first met.
Although none of us knew it when we walked off the stage at Soldier Field on July 9, 1995, the Grateful Dead's long strange trip ended in Chicago that night. As you are aware, twenty years later, we’re returning to Chicago to properly say Fare Thee Well.
But every good ending must start with a beginning. For us, it all began fifty years ago when we grabbed a bunch of instruments off the walls of a music store in Palo Alto California and began banging away on them in the back room, at night after the store had closed for the day.
Since we made the decision to go back to Chicago to say our final goodbye, it has become clear to us that we first need to return to our beginnings, where we first said hello — to each other and to all of you.
And so it is that we have decided to plug in for two additional shows on June 27 and 28 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California — just a dozen miles south of where Dana Morgan’s Music Store once stood.
A total of 65,000 tickets will be going on sale for each night at Levi's and will be available via a form on the site, through an "online mail order" and request system. They're priced between $59.50 and $199.50. And, because it's the Dead, there are "Taper" tickets available for people who want to bring recording gear to the show.
There are also travel packages with options to stay in San Jose, Santa Clara, or San Francisco. The tickets will only be on sale through Tuesday, April 14, at noon.
Brace yourselves, San Francisco and Santa Clara, for a complete and total invasion of aging hippies, incense salespeople, and hemp clothing enthusiasts come the end of June.
Previously: Grateful Dead Reportedly Consider Bay Area Performances Ahead Of Chicago Finale
