Grateful Dead Reunited: The Dead Tour Dates 2009

The Grateful Dead will live again. The band’s remaining original members have confirmed plans for a new Dead tour in 2009.
The Dead Tour 2009

The Grateful Dead’s Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann, and Mickey Hart played together in support of Barack Obama’s campaign this past fall (video below). Now, the Dead’s members say they’ll embark on their first official Dead tour since 2004.

Also in the works, likely for October 13, is a second Deadheads For Obama concert, planned for the swing state of Pennsylvania.

The first Deadheads for Obama concert took place at the Warfield in San Francisco -- with Weir, Hart, Lesh, drummer John Molo, keyboardist Steve Molitz, guitarist Larry Campbell, pedal steel player Barry Sless, singer-guitarist Jackie Greene, and Karan -- on the eve of the California Democratic primary.

The Dead allied with Obama after Lesh's son began volunteering for Obama's campaign.

"This is the real deal," Lesh said of Obama then.

The band will play 19 shows across 16 cities, joined by keyboardist Jeff Chimenti and Allman Brothers Band/Gov’t Mule guitarist Warren Haynes.

So why now? The band members say the Obama show sparked their interest, and they realized their time together had more life in it yet.

“We’ve got some unfinished business,” Weir says. “Everybody has a whole new bag of tricks. We have the body of material we workedup over the years and we have a mind meld going on here and it would be a sin to let that just wither and die.”

“For me, it’s the question mark that’s really pulling me in — what’s gonna happen?” Lesh asks. “When you walk out on the stage the possibilities are infinite every time.”




The Dead Tour Dates 2009


The following is the full list of Dead tour dates for the 2009 tour. A ticket presale begins January 13, with the full nationwide sale starting on the 23rd.

April 12 Greensboro NC Greensboro Coliseum
April 14 Washington DC Verizon Center
April 15 Charlottesville VA John Paul Jones Arena
April 17 Albany NY Times Union Center
April 18 Worcester MA DCU Center
April 19 Worcester MA DCU Center
April 21 Buffalo NY HSBC Arena
April 22 Wilkes-Barre PA Wachovia Arena @ Casey Plaza
April 24 Uniondale NY Nassau Coliseum
April 25 New York NY Madison Square Garden
April 26 Hartford CT XL Center
April 28 E. Rutherford NJ IZOD Center
April 29 E. Rutherford NJ IZOD Center
May 1 Philadelphia PA Wachovia Spectrum
May 2 Philadelphia PA Wachovia Spectrum
May 5 Chicago IL All State Arena
May 7 Denver CO Pepsi Center
May 9 Los Angeles CA The Forum
May 10 Mountain View CA Shoreline Amphitheater