This weekend in Chicago, the long strange trip is coming to an end. Celebrating their 50th anniversary, the remaining members of the Grateful Dead are gathering for three final shows they’re calling “Fare Thee Well.” The concerts are being held at Soldier Field, where they played their last show with Jerry Garcia 20 years ago. The band played two shows over the weekend in the Bay Area, where it began.
For most of its history, the Dead has had two drummers, something far less common in rock music when Mickey Hart joined the group to play alongside Bill Kreutzmann.
Hart and Kreutzmann are joining Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Bruce Hornsby, Phish’s Trey Anastasio and others for the final shows. I spoke with Mickey Hart in 2010, when Rhythm Devils, his band with Kreutzmann, came to town.
