The further we get from the 1960s, the more we rely on the family trees of legendary bands to keep the music alive. On Friday, April 25 at the Bearsville Theatre, the Terrapin Family Band, joined by special guest star and jam harpist extraordinaire Mikaela Davis, proved once again that all is well with the legacy of Dead music in America. The wheel may well be turning, but this new generation of the Dead family tree isn’t hitting the brakes.
In two spirited sets, the Terrapin Family Band, led by Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh’s son Graham, showed their dexterity and flexibility in covering various Dead eras, while also switching instruments and spotlighting the various members. Lesh kicked off the night on his Gibson semi-hollow body guitar and took the lead for a reharmonized version of “Uncle John’s Band”, and a relatively truncated, but tasty rendition of “Playin’ in the Band”. “Playin’” included a funky Bitches’ Brew of a jam that put the spotlight on Jason Crosby’s tremendous electric keyboard attack.
Drummer Alex Koford, who also might well be the best singer in the Terrapin family, then took the lead on a cover of Bobby Charles’ protest-groove-deep-cut “Street People”. Charles recorded the song for his self-titled 1972 album, which was recorded in Woodstock with The Band and released on Bearsville Records – a fitting pick for a show at The Bearsville Theatre. Later in the first set, Terrapin Family paid musical homage to The Band more directly with “Ophelia”, to the delight of the dancing crowd.
Jam-band scene veteran Jason Crosby continues to be a wonder with the Fender Rhodes tones he gets out of his Nord keyboard, but he’s also a skilled guitarist, fiddler, and vocalist. His wistful fingerpicking and singing on Jerry-ballad “Lazy River Road” was touching and a first set highlight, as were the inventive solos he played on keys and fiddle all night.
Things really kicked off when Hudson Valley native (and Phil Lesh favorite) Mikaela Davis came out from behind the curtain to supply the Donna vocals for “The Music Never Stopped”. It was hard not to notice that there was a low microphone positioned to the side of the stage that would be at just the perfect height for a harpist and everyone within earshot was speculating about what was to come in the second set.
The second set certainly did not disappoint. Ross James switched over to lead guitar for a rollicking take on the Rock and Roll Animal-era Lou Reed class, Sweet Jane. Ross’s rockin’ solo was a reminder that Dead & Co might well be at The Sphere, but that some of the touring (and younger) Dead legacy projects have twice the energy on stage. Terrapin Family Band is not your local Dead cover band – they made that clear throughout the night.
Fulfilling the hopes and dreams of the crowd, Davis rejoined the band on the harp (complete with her incredible effects pedal board) for an epic “Dark Star>Other One>Dark Star”, which makes one wonder if the talented-Davis just rides around with her harp in a trailer everywhere. Her presence kicked everything up a notch. At times Terrapin Family Band misses the rhythm guitar of a Bob Weir stand-in, even though Lesh and James did yeomans’ jobs of playing lead and rhythm all at once. But Mikaela Davis just makes everything better. Her style and her look recall a 70s era Stevie Nicks, she sings like an angel, and she plays the harp like Alice Coltrane – what more could you want? Well, if you want more, she also really knows intuitively how to play with an ensemble. As an improvisationalist, she’s a keen listener, and for much of her time in the set she played “rhythm harp”, something I didn’t really know was a thing until Friday night. Davis certainly one of the best Gen Z things to happen to Dead music. Oh yeah, and she’s heck of a songwriter too.
The “Dark Star” > “The Other One” > “Dark Star” followed by “Birdsong” (which has become something of a Mikaela Davis trademark) was certainly the signature musical statement of the evening. Graham Lesh, who serves as the defacto bandleader/jam conductor led the group into tribal krautrock territory during Dark Star. Like his father, Lesh isn’t flashy, but he’s a consummate musician who lets his instrument speak for him – and everything he played on Friday night confirmed that in the Lesh tradition, Graham is a sonic explorer. Was particularly cool to see Graham put on the bass for a few numbers, which he played with a pick – just like dad.
“Birdsong” featured Davis and a fiery fiddle solo from Crosby which featured a “Scarlet Begonias” tease in answer to Lesh’s solo, which played with the “St. Stephen” riff. Davis’s harp gave everything an added ethereal layer, particularly in the intro to “The Wheel”. Davis left the stage and, despite a minor lyrical flub, Ross James dialed up the energy again in full Bobby-front-man mode in a timely “Throwing Stones” set closer.
Lesh took center stage once more for the perfect spring encore of “Sugar Magnolia” and ended the night with some fun exchanges with Crosby. Crosby’s beatific smiles during the interplay was worth the price of admission and the twirlers were in their element.
Let’s face it, we’ve all been in a sunshine daydream here in Upstate New York, but warm summer festival weather is right around the corner.
Terrapin Family Band – Friday, April 25, 2025 – Bearsville Theatre – Woodstock, NY
Set 1: Uncle John’s Band, Playin’ In The Band, Street People (Bobby Charles cover), Lazy River Road, Ophelia (The Band cover), Stagger Lee, The Music Never Stopped (w/ Mikaela Davis on background vocals)
Set 2: Sweet Jane (Velvet Underground cover w/Wildwood Flower tease and Rock n Roll animal extended intro), Brown Eyed Women, Dark Star > The Other One > Dark Star (w/Mikaela Davis on harp and background vocals), Birdsong (w/Mikaela Davis on harp and co-lead vocals; teases of St. Stephen and Scarlet Begonias in the jam), The Wheel (w/Mikaela Davis on harp and background vocals), Throwing Stones
Encore: Sugar Magnolia
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