The Heart of Town, photo by Dave Vann

Over the weekend, while Dead & Company marked the Grateful Dead’s 60th anniversary with three nights in San Francisco, a litany of the Dead’s devotees gathered on the other side of their original stomping grounds for The Heart of Town, a star-studded tribute to the group and their immortal music. Presented by the San Francisco Giants and Relix, the concert series united more than 60 storied performers for three enthralling nights of reverent and innovative treatments of the Grateful Dead’s beloved catalog, amounting to the most ambitious statement of the band’s influence ever endeavored on stage.

After an outstanding Thursday night that brought appearances from Bill Nershi on “Friend of the Devil” and “Cold Rain and Snow,” Peter Rowan on “Midnight Moonlight” and “Panama Red” and Stephen Stills on four tracks including “Althea” and “For What It’s Worth,” Friday’s program commenced with an exhilarating twist on a classic sequence. Night two’s starting lineup featured guitarists Duane Betts and Tom Hamilton, bassist Trevor Weekz, drummers Cody Dickinson and Nathan Graham and backing vocalists Kanika Moore, Elliott Peck and Nicki Bluhm, all following bandleader and guitarist Grahame Lesh. Together, the ensemble set off the show with a suite of “Help on the Way,” “Slipknot!” and “Franklin’s Tower,” seamlessly trading the spotlight and weaving a treatment of the Allman Brothers Band’s “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” into the second phase of the classic Blues for Allah triptych.

Keyboardist Neal Francis stepped onstage to bolster the band for the bulk of the ensuing set, just as Betts cleared the way for guitar from Luther Dickinson. The new combo started up with “Brown Eyed Women” and reached new heights of lucid improvisation with “Here Comes Sunshine,” which welcomed Karl Denson and Alex Koford into the fold. For the final phase of the first frame, former Giants pitcher Jake Peavy subbed in for Hamilton to lead “Let It Rock” into a set-closing “US Blues.”

Friday’s second set began with Lesh, Luther Dickinson, Graham, Koford, Peck and Bluhm bringing on guitarist Scott Law and bassist Brian Rashap, the latter of whom served only on the extended opening “Terrapin Station.” As BERTHA: Grateful Drag’s Melody Walker and Mike Wheeler joined in to back “Mr. Charlie” and “Ramble on Rose,” the ensemble honed their communication before launching into sprawling jam passages on “Easy Wind” and “Jack Straw.” A massive closing cut of “Crazy Fingers” saw the return of Hamilton and Cody Dickinson and the arrival of Leslie Mendelson and Disco Biscuits keyboardist Aron Magner, who rallied for a triumphant, genre-bending outpouring of creativity. The evening’s last word came with a lively “Goin’ Down the Road Feeling Bad” and touching farewell of “We Bid You Goodnight.”

On Saturday, the Grahame Lesh & Friends ensemble returned to punctuate a historic weekend of collaboration with a tight night three. The new opening assembly of guitarists Lesh, Jackie Greene and Eric Krasno, bassist Erick “Jesus” Coomes, keyboardists John Medeski and Steve Molitz, drummers Cotter Ellis and Adam Deitch and vocalists Peck, Natalie Cressman and Jennifer Hartswick were augmented by innovative contributions from horn expert Stuart Bogie and sacred steel firebrand Robert Randolph on the loping opener of “Truckin’” and “West LA Fadeaway.” Mikaela Davis signed on for lead vocals on “After Midnight” and “France,” while Moore returned to steer “Ship of Fools.” Guitarists John Lee Shannon and Dan “Lebo” Lebowitz, bassist Karina Rykman and drummers Koford and Graham rotated in through the remainder of the set, then supecharged the rendition of “Bertha” that took the band into the intermission.

When Saturday’s second set rolled in with “King Solomon’s Marbles,” Lesh swapped over to the bass, honoring his father, the late legend Phil Lesh, with one of his essential cowrites. The younger Lesh donned his guitar again for the ensuing “Bird Song,” then guided a crew of Krasno, Randolph, Coomes, Medeski, Molitz, Ellis, Deitch, Davis and Peck through a soaring “St. Stephen,” another Phil-penned classic. “Stella Blue” and a surprising and upbeat “Cream Puff War” paved the way for the most impressive jam sequence of the weekend: the supergroup, newly featuring bassist Scott Padden and guitarist Zion Godchaux, wrapped up their second set with a sprawling, cosmic rendition of the tried and true improvisation vehicle “Dark Star,” fitted with a blissful escape into “The Other One” at its midpoint.

After concluding the set with the resonant final chords of the classic unfettered, avant-garde psychedelic epic, the Heart of Town team met a roar of demand from the crowd with a triumphant encore. Lesh, who switched to the bass again, spearheaded a soul-stirring salute to his father with “Box of Rain,” perhaps the song most closely associated with the founding bassist, written to express his grief and love during his own father’s passing. Shannon, Greene, Krasno, Medeski, Molitz, Ellis, Deitch and Pe​​ck provided able accompaniment for the tender moment, then finally called the full band up the stage for a moving send-off of “Touch of Grey.”

The Heart of Town properly honored the Grateful Dead by outlining the new class of torchbearers who passionately carry their music and legacy to listeners 60 years after they first took the world by storm. Through its three-night run, the sold-out landmark celebration featured representatives from some of the jam world’s foremost outfits, including .moe, JGB, The Greyboy Allstars, The Disco Biscuits, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, Goose, The String Cheese Incident, Eggy, North Mississippi Allstars, Midnight North, the Trey Anastasio Band, Dumpstaphunk and more. 

With the latest iteration of his ever-evolving Grahame Lesh & Friends live project, The Heart of Town’s musical director proved once again to be a creative talent singularly capable of guaranteeing that the earth-shaking sound of his father’s band will endure far into the future.

The Heart of Town came to life through the efforts of producing partners Dayglo Presents and Terrapin Station Entertainment. The organizing team was led by Executive Producers Peter Shapiro, Jonathan Shank, Producer Molly Billmyre, with Co-Producers Bradley Tucker, Stephen Grybowski, Jesse Lauter and Musical Director Grahame Lesh. Get an inside look at The Heart of Town in the galleries below, courtesy of photographers Dave Vann and Jay Blakesberg. Read a full recap of night one here.

Dave Vann:

Jay Blakesberg: