Dead and Company celebrated 60 years of the Grateful Dead with concerts in San Francisco over the weekend — and John Mayer couldn’t be more honored to be part of the festivities. In a sweet Instagram post, the guitarist thanked fans for accepting him as he honored the band’s legacy.
“Night 3 in Golden Gate Park celebrating 60 years of @gratefuldead will be a one we’ll never forget,” he wrote, also thanking Graheme Lesh, son of Grateful Dead’s late bassist Phil Lesh, for joining the group for all three nights. (Founding member Phil Lesh died in October 2024, his son performed “Morning Dew” with the band on Saturday.)
“No matter how many shows we play as a band, I will always be a guest in this musical world, and I’ll never lose sight of what is the great honor of my life,” Mayer said. “Happy 60th, Grateful Dead, and long may you run, @bobweir, @mickeyhart, and @billkreutzmann.”
Mayer ended his post by acknowledging the legacy of Jerry Garcia. “It must be said… I’ll never come close to playing like @jerrygarcia,” he wrote. “But if I can somehow get you closer to him – and to the spirit he created 60 years ago – then I suppose I’ve done my job. Thank you for accepting me.”
Mayer also celebrated performing with Phish’s Trey Anastasio during the shows. The Phish member joined Dead and Co. for performances of “Scarlet Begonias” and “Fire on the Mountain” during the Golden Gate Park show Sunday night. The Trey Anastasio Band also served as the warm-up act for the shows.
“Beyond the full-circle moment of it all, the lock we had going was instant,” Mayer wrote. “Trey’s ear-to-fretboard data transfer time is unparalleled. I’m still blown away.”
In December 2024, the Dead were honored at the Kennedy Center and were celebrated as MusiCares’ Persons of the Year in January in Los Angeles. Just before Phil Lesh died last fall, Bobby Weir told Rolling Stone the band was considering reuniting for the anniversary.
“I think when Phil checked out, so did that notion, because we don’t have a bass player who’s been playing with us for 60 years now,” he said. “And that was the intriguing prospect. … I think you need somebody holding down the bottom. Phil had all kinds of ideas that were pretty much unique to him. I grew up with Phil holding down the bottom in his unique way.”
