Subscribe to the Newsletter “What a long, strange trip it's been” ❤️ Editor's Note The Long Way Around As this newsletter is landing in your email box, Michelle and I will be on our way to Colorado Springs for her high school reunion. As we started making plans for the trip, I was reminded of something I've noticed more and more over the years, which is life rarely unfolds in a straight line. The routes we imagine for ourselves. The careers, relationships, places, and plans we carefully map...
about 2 months ago • 5 min read
Subscribe to the Newsletter “Strangers stoppin’ strangers, just to shake their handEverybody’s playing in the heart of gold band” ❤️ Editor's Note In Repair For the past few months, the music has been something we carry. It’s been there in the background of the day. In quieter moments. In the spaces where things slow down enough to be noticed again. The pace changed.The way we held it changed. And over time, something began to soften. Sunday evenings have taken on a different kind of shape....
3 months ago • 4 min read
Subscribe to the Newsletter "Wildflower seed on the sand and stone, may the four winds blow you safely home." ❤️ Editor's Note The Lessons That Stay Over the past couple of issues, we’ve spent time sitting with the passing of Bob Weir — remembering the presence he carried inside the music for so many years. And like many of you, we’ve found ourselves wondering quietly: What happens now? Will the music gather again in a new form? Will the remaining members continue in different ways? Will the...
4 months ago • 7 min read
Subscribe to the Newsletter Lovely view of Heaven, but I'd rather be with you. ❤️ Editor's Note Staying With It There are moments when the instinct is to look ahead quickly — to ask what’s next, to name the future before the silence has a chance to speak. Lately, many of us have felt that pull. With Bob gone, the question lingers quietly in the background of the music we love. Not loudly. Not urgently. Just present. What happens now? What becomes of something that has never stood still, yet...
5 months ago • 7 min read
Subscribe to the Newsletter Oh Shenandoah, I long to see you. Hey-hey-hey, your rolling river. ❤️ Editor's Note Staying in the Song We arrived back home from a week in Paris early on New Year’s Day. It took us several days to re-acclimate to the time shift. It felt good to be home. To be unpacked. And to have the week ahead as a fresh beginning to the year. Then, on Saturday, the news came. A text from our dear friend Alice. Bob Weir had passed away. The news was surreal. First, disbelief....
6 months ago • 6 min read
Subscribe to the Newsletter 🎶 “Going where the wind don’t blow so strange.” ~ “He's Gone", first performed live April 17, 1972 at the Tivoli Concert Hall, Copenhagen, Denmark. Written by Jerry Garcia & Robert Hunter. 🌹 WANDER Across the Water: The Dead in Europe ’72 There’s a special kind of magic that happens when you step into a new country with no expectations — just open pockets and open ears. The Grateful Dead felt it too. When they crossed the Atlantic in the spring of ’72, they found...
7 months ago • 3 min read
Subscribe to the Newsletter 🎶 "Some folks trust to reason, others trust to might..." ~ “Playing in the Band", first played live February 18, 1971 at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester New York. Words by Robert Hunter, music by Bob Weir and Mickey Hart. Donna Jean Godchaux made her Grateful Dead debut singing harmonies on “Playing in the Band” — a song that became her calling card and a touchstone of the band’s evolving sound. As the music world says farewell to her this week, it feels right...
9 months ago • 4 min read
Subscribe to the Newsletter 🎶 "Let there be songs to fill the air..." ~ “Ripple", first played live February 18, 1970 at the Fillmore East in New York City. Words and music by Robert Hunter and Jerry Garcia. A fitting line for this issue — Jerry was the drop that started the ripple in the water, and as it continues to ripple outwards, the music and fan base continues to expand. ❤️ The Weeks Flew By, and We’re Back It’s been a busy month, and we missed a couple of issues—but the ripple never...
10 months ago • 2 min read
Subscribe to the Newsletter 🎶 "It's a rainbow full of sound, It's fireworks, calliopes and clowns, Everybody's dancing..." ~ “The Music Never Stopped", first played live August 13, 1975 at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco. The words were written by John Perry Barlow, while the music is credited to Bob Weir. A fitting line for this issue — even though the Grateful Dead aren’t on stage and longer, the music never stops. Tribute bands and offshoot projects are proof that the river...
11 months ago • 2 min read