Photo Credit: Jay Blakesberg

Last night, March 28, Dead & Company stepped on stage at Las Vegas’ Sphere for the fifth show of their resurrected Dead Forever residency. To keep the energy roaring for their second series at the experientially unparalleled venue, the legendary group continued to turn up rarities in honor of the late bassist Phil Lesh, who passed on October 25 of last year. After saluting their beloved friend and bandmate with “Box of Rain” and “Broken Arrow” through their first week back in Sin City, the band embedded another tribute on Friday with an unexpected treatment of “Passenger.”

Dead & Co. set off their first frame with a high-spirited, uptempo romp through “Let the Good Times Roll,” then maintained that exuberant feeling for the setlist staple “Playing in the Band.” The storied sextet of Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, Oteil Burbridge, John Mayer, Jay Lane and Jeff Chimenti stretched out and explored a different mood with the traditional “Cold Rain and Snow” before breaking into a boogie with their first cover of the Vandellas’ R&B classic “Dancin’ in the Streets” since last June, a funk and funky early highlight from the show. After merging into the wide-eyed wonder of Jerry Garcia’s “They Love Each Other,” the band cruised into the set break with a rollicking, locomotive sing-along on “Cassie Jones.”

Dead & Company returned to the stage for the second set with a breezy “Althea,” which melted away into the psychedelic odyssey of “Dark Star.” Deep into their interplanetary exploration, the group took a detour after the first verse as Weir steered the crew into “Passenger,” composed by Lesh for Terrapin Station in 1977. This marked only Dead & Company’s seventh performance of the coveted deep cut and their second at Sphere, following another rare treatment on August 8, 2024. After this thrilling surprise, Weir pulled the band back into the second verse of “Dark Star” and veered again from the furthest reaches of its jam into a surprisingly sequenced “Jack Straw.”

More high-demand second-set medleys ensued as the band pulled into an exultant “Fire on the Mountain” and the far-out rhythmic staples “Drums” and “Space” before dropping into “Black Peter.” The band returned to blissed-out get-downs with “Brown-Eyed Women” and “Estimated Prophet,” then finally wrapped the exciting show with its classic heartwarming closer “Not Fade Away.”

Dead & Company will return to Sphere tonight, then issue 12 more performances in the pilgrimage-worthy space through May 17. For tickets and more information on the residency, visit deadandcompany.com.

Watch a fan-recorded video of the “Dark Star” and “Passenger” medley below, and read on for the full setlist from Friday night.

Dead & Company
Sphere – Las Vegas
3/29/25

Set I: Let the Good Times Roll, Playing in the Band, Cold Rain and Snow, Dancin’ in the Streets > They Love Each Other, Casey JonesSet II: Althea, Dark Star > Passenger > Dark Star > Jack Straw, Fire on the Mountain > Drums > Space > Black Peter, Brown-Eyed Women, Estimated Prophet, Not Fade Away