While Deadheads wait for official announcements of Dead & Company's summer tour dates, rumors and leaks are starting to fly around the message boards.
According to posters on Phish message boards, the band will start the summer tour at the Bonarroo festival in Tennessee in June, stick mostly to East Coast with diversions to New Orleans, Albuquerque, and Chicago, and finish up in August in Portland, Maine.
Dead and Company is founding members guitarist Bob Weir, drummers Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann, along with John Mayer on lead guitar, Jeff Chimenti on keys, and Oteil Burbridge on bass.DeadCo (as Weir recently suggested could be the band's new, shorter name) will play two sets at the Bonnaroo festival, June 9-12, although which day the Dead will play has yet to be announced.
The Bonnaroo festival is less than thrilling to many fans. Dead Sottile writes on his blog: "I’d rather lose an eye than go to that mess."
According to Sottile, the dates will officially be announced on February 5. "The dates are secure, the venues are booked and another run with our favorite musicians is about to take shape," Sottile says.
The rumored dates are:
June 9-12, Manchester, TN - Bonnaroo
June 17 - Alpharetta, GA - Verizon Wireless Amphitheater at Encore Park
June 24-25 - Miami, FL - Bayfront Park Ampitheater
June 28 - Tampa, FL - Ford Ampitheater
June 30 - New Orleans, LA - UNO Lakefront Arena
July 3-4 - Albuquerque, NM - Isleta Amphitheater
July 20-21 - Chicago, IL - FirstMerit Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island
July 23 - Louisville, KY - KFC YUMI Center
July 25 - Pittsburgh, PA - Stage AE
July 26-27 - Camden, NJ - Susquehanna Bank Center
July 20-31 - Wantaugh, NY - Nikon at Jones Beach Theater
Aug.
3 - Manchester, NH - Verizon Wireless Arena
Aug. 5 - Portland, ME - Cross Insurance Arena
Dead and Company thrilled Dead fans on a national tour last fall, with Mayer electrifying audiences with his blistering blues guitar. While no one would confuse Mayer's licks for Jerry Garcia's, Mayer and the rest of the band infused the shows with an energy not seen for a long time.
Folks not able to make it to the DeadCo dates, or who just can't wait, Dark Star Orchestra announced spring fall dates.DSO's spring tour of the western states starts March 31 in Seattle. The group, which recreates Grateful Dead shows, moves on to Portland and Eugene, Oregon, then Paradise, CA and the UC Theater at Berkeley, before heading out to Lake Tahoe, Salt Lake City, and finishing in Boulder April 14-16.
The East Coast tour starts at the Count Basie Theater in Red Bank, NJ and runs through June 3 and 4 at Hampton Beach, NH.
