The Grateful Dead taught us that music is a living thing. Something passed hand to hand, heart to heart. On January 14th and 15th at the Bearsville Theater in Woodstock, that truth was on full display during a two-night memorial celebration of life and music honoring Bob Weir.
For a grieving Deadhead, it was as healing as it was heartbreaking and a reminder that while Bobby may be gone, the spirit he helped create is very much alive.
In the wake of the news of Weir’s passing on January 10, tributes began forming almost instantly across New York State. In the Woodstock area, where Grateful Dead music is less a genre than a way of life, it felt inevitable that something special would take shape. What emerged, spearheaded by promoter Peter Shapiro and Marco Benevento of Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, was nothing short of extraordinary.
The first evening began in Bearsville’s pub lounge, where Benevento spun classic Grateful Dead vinyl as fans filled every corner of the room. Strangers embraced like old friends; stories were traded, tears were shed, and smiles came easily. The love in the room was palpable, sentimental, heavy, and comforting all at once. From there, the music unfolded organically. Benevento took his place at the piano and, following a heartfelt welcome and words of reflection from Shapiro, was joined by a one-time-only superjam that embodied the very ethos of the Grateful Dead.
The lineup was staggering: God Street Wine’s Aaron Lieberman, harpist Mikaela Davis, John Lee Shannon of Circles Around the Sun, Josh Kaufman of Bonny Light Horseman, alongside Sam Cohen and Chris Maxwell. No rehearsals. No setlists. Just world-class musicians huddled together, deciding on the fly which songs felt right in the moment. They listened deeply to one another and let the songs choose them in real time.
Bobby-fronted classics like “Dark Hollow,” “Cassidy,” and “Ripple” landed with particular emotional weight. When Benevento introduced “Uncle John’s Band” as a personal favorite, the room seemed to collectively exhale. Woodstock-based Grateful Dead poster artist Mike DuBois quietly sketched in the corner as the band drifted through “Sugar Magnolia,” “Deep Elem Blues,” and “Mama Tried.” Packed shoulder to shoulder, the intimacy was overwhelming in the best possible way. The communal release of “Going Down the Road Feeling Bad” brought the set to a joyful close before the celebration migrated to the big stage at the iconic Bearsville Theater barn.
Waiting there was Deadgrass. Shapiro, noting they were the first band he thought of when assembling the tribute, spoke fondly of his long history with the group dating back to the Wetlands Preserve. Known for reimagining Jerry Garcia’s catalog through a bluegrass-psychedelic lens, Deadgrass, featuring standouts like fiddler Kensuke Shoji alongside Matt Turk, C Lanzbom, and Pete Lister, won over many first-timers in the crowd.
Their set, which opened with a seamless “Truckin’” into “Promised Land,” was a revelation. Other sentimental highlights included a cover of Johnny Cash’s “Big River,” a radiant “Eyes of the World,” and a full, deeply satisfying “Help > Slipknot! > Franklin’s Tower.”
After a short break, Albany’s long-running Dead tribute act The Deadbeats took the stage. With over 30 years of experience behind them, they sounded especially charged on this night. Their electric set opening with “Feels Like a Stranger” into “New Minglewood Blues” felt urgent and alive. A tender “Looks Like Rain” gave way to yet another stirring “Cassidy,” its farewell lyrics echoing far beyond the room.
Those same words appeared outside in the lobby, where a makeshift memorial invited fans to leave handwritten notes for Bobby. Donations were encouraged for HeadCount, the voter-registration nonprofit long intertwined with the Dead’s legacy. Back inside, The Deadbeats powered through “Throwing Stones,” “When I Paint My Masterpiece,” and a rousing “Turn On Your Love Light.” Having seen them many times around Albany, I’m not sure I’ve ever heard them sound better.
If night one was about intimacy and reflection, night two was pure release. Headlined by NYC’s Shakedown Citi, booked at the last minute but more than ready, the evening leaned into deep jams, cosmic exploration, and pure Woodstock joy. With disco balls spinning and an immersive light show illuminating the historic barn, the band launched into “The Mighty Quinn” paired with “Feels Like a Stranger,” immediately sending the crowd into motion.
The energy only intensified when surprise guest Chuck Garvey of moe. joined the band, wielding his sparkling pink “Barbie” guitar to help deliver a ferocious “Catfish John,” reminding everyone that this celebration was about honoring all corners of the Dead’s musical universe. The joy onstage was contagious, spilling into every corner of the room with unmistakable warmth. After “Queen Jane” and a beautifully bluesy “Friend of the Devil,” the first set closed with a run of Bobby ballads like “Black-Throated Wind” into “Rhapsody in Red” and “Let It Grow,” creating a vibe that was both reverent and cathartic.
When Garvey returned for the second set, it was clear something special was coming. Anchored by a massive “Not Fade Away” sandwich, the band embarked on an uninterrupted journey that included a blistering “Deal,” “Crazy Fingers,” “Samson and Delilah,” and a full “Drums > Space” sequence before landing on another jubilant “Going Down the Road Feeling Bad.” In a rare bust-out for this band, Shakedown Citi unveiled “The Other One > The Eleven,” with an emotionally devastating “Wharf Rat” nestled in between, all part of one continuous, fearless musical statement. Nearly an hour after it began, the set finally circled back home with a triumphant “Not Fade Away” reprise.
For the encore, achingly appropriate and deeply moving, the band played “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door,” a song they hadn’t touched in 20 shows. It was a moment of collective release, grief transmuted into gratitude.
These two nights at the Bearsville Theater were not just concerts. They were a communal wake, a celebration, and a promise kept. As a Grateful Dead fan, it was impossible not to feel Bobby’s presence throughout both nights. Not as an absence, but as a guiding force. The storied barn became a sanctuary where sorrow and celebration coexisted, where strangers became family, and where the music reminded us why it all matters. These are the songs that taught us how to live, love, and let go. In Woodstock, surrounded by music, memory, and one another, we said farewell the only way we know how. Together. Bob Weir may be gone, but the music and the love surrounding it, will never fade away.
Marco Benevento & Friends | January 14, 2026 | Bearsville Theater | Bearsville, NY
Deadgrass | January 14, 2026 | Bearsville Theater | Bearsville, NY
Setlist: Truckin, Promised Land, Me and My Uncle, Big River, Eyes of the World, Dark Hollow, Help>Slip>Franklin’s Tower
The Deadbeats | January 14, 2026 | Bearsville Theater | Bearsville, NY
Setlist: Feel Like a Stranger, New Minglewood Blues, Sugar Magnolia, Looks Like Rain, Cassidy, Beat it on Down the Line, Throwing Stones, When I Paint My Masterpiece, Turn on Your Love Light
Shakedown City | January 15, 2026 | Bearsville Theater | Bearsville, NY
Set 1: The Mighty Quinn > Feels Like a Stranger, Catfish John*, Queen Jane, Frend of the Devil, Black Throated Wind > Rhapsody in Red > Let It Grow
Set 2: Not Fade Away*> Deal* > Crazy Fingers > Samson and Delilah, Drums > Space > Going Down The Road Feeling Bad > The Other One > The Eleven > Wharf Rat > The Other One Reprise > Not Fade Away
Encore: Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door
*Featuring Chuck Garvy of moe
First “The Eleven” since 10/17/25, Buffalo, NY Nietzsche’s (18 shows)
First “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” since 10/15/25, Simsbury, CT Talcott Mountain Collective (20 shows)
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