Stella Blue’s Band Returns for Free Dead in the Park 2026

Stella Blue’s Band will perform the seventh annual Free Dead in the Park concert Tuesday, May 12 at the Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park in New York City, with doors at 4:30 p.m. The free event benefits Riverkeeper, the Hudson River environmental advocacy organization.

The concert is presented by The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester and Friends of Free Dead in the Park.

This year’s event carries special significance following the passing of Bob Weir. Capitol Theatre owner Peter Shapiro, who also produces the Hudson River Music Festival and the Dead-adjacent Garcia’s club at The Cap, said the community’s gathering this year will honor Weir’s memory and his longtime commitment to environmental causes.

“With the passing of Bob Weir, this is a special year for the community to come together and celebrate the music of the Grateful Dead and support the environment — a cause we know Bob was passionate about,” Shapiro said. “We expect Bob to be there with us.”

Steve Liesman, the band’s rhythm guitar player, a Riverkeeper board member and senior economics reporter for CNBC, echoed that sentiment.

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t going to be thinking of Bob Weir this year,” Liesman said, “but I feel pretty strongly he’ll be looking down at us and smiling from ear to ear beneath that bushy beard.”

Free Dead in the Park launched in 2018 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Grateful Dead’s free concert at the same bandshell alongside Jefferson Airplane and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. The annual show has since grown into a major fundraising event for Riverkeeper’s mission to protect and restore the Hudson River.

Founded in 2009, Stella Blue’s Band is a six-piece Grateful Dead tribute act based in the New York area, featuring two drummers and a focus on recreating the energy of the Dead’s live performances.

Attendees who become Riverkeeper members at the event will receive a commemorative T-shirt featuring artwork by Kelley Wills of Brain Flower Designs. More information is available at freedeadinthepark.com.