Photo: Dino Perrucci

On Wednesday evening, Grahame Lesh & Friends returned to The Joy Theater in New Orleans for their second and final Busted Down on Bourbon Street performance. The two-night concert series came to an official close after the group of prolific players delivered two sets of Grateful Dead music and associated covers. Last night’s performance amplified the Dead’s Big Easy appeal via songs like “Iko Iko,” a track played over 200 times by the original ensemble and enduring staple of their catalog following its 1977 arrival. 

Last night’s lineup included Lesh, Daniel Donato, Jake Brownstein, John Molo, Cory Henry, Kanika Moore, and the Preservation Hall Horns, in addition to special guests Ivan Neville and Tony Hall. “Viola Lee Blues” served as the concert’s jumping-off point and merged into the ensuing “Bertha.” “Iko Iko” was an idyllic arrival, nodding to the location while also preserving the Dead’s Crescent City throughline, before reprising “Viola Lee.”

The latter sank into “Cumberland Blues,” ahead of the band’s pivot into Jerry Garcia’s 1978 catalog on “Cats Under the Stars.” The remainder of the set lit up through the arrival of “Here Comes Sunshine,” “Tennessee Jed,” and one last nod to “Viola Lee Blues.” The latter half of the concert picked up on “Eyes of the World” before dropping tempo and raising the sails on “Ship of Fools.” “West LA Fadeaway” made the roster, as did “Shakedown Street” and a rare Phil Lesh-associated Robbie Robertson original, “Broken Arrow.” 

Before ending the evening, the ensemble tapped into “St. Stephen” and “Bird Song” with dexterity. The former eventually birthed “Not Fade Away,” the final piece of the second set. For the night’s encore, the group performed “Samson and Delilah.” 

Following Lesh’s time in New Orleans, he will take his self-titled “& Friends” lineup to New York’s Brooklyn Bowl on Thursday, May 7. For tickets and more information, visit www.grahamelesh.com. 

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Grahame Lesh & Friends 

The Joy Theater – New Orleans 

Busted Down on Bourbon Street – Night 2 

April 29, 2026

Set I: Viola Lee Blues > Bertha, Iko Iko, Viola Lee Blues (Reprise) > Cumberland Blues, Cats Under The Stars, Here Comes Sunshine, Tennessee Jed > Viola Lee Blues (Reprise)

Set II: Eyes Of The World, Ship Of Fools, West L.A. Fadeaway, Down By The River, Shakedown Street, Broken Arrow, St. Stephen > Bird Song > St. Stephen (Reprise) > Not Fade Away

Enc.: Samson And Delilah