The Bearsville Theater will host two nights of music and remembrance Wednesday and Thursday to honor Bob Weir, the Grateful Dead guitarist and co-founder who died Saturday and whose decades-long career left deep roots in the Hudson Valley.
Wednesday’s event, titled “A Gathering to Celebrate the Life and Music of Bob Weir,” is free but at capacity. Saugerties-based keyboardist Marco Benevento will serve as DJ, spinning Grateful Dead albums, alongside sing-alongs and live performances. Scheduled performers include Mikaela Davis, Sam Cohen, Aaron Lieberman, Chris Maxwell, John Lee Shannon, Josh Kaufman, and the bands The Deadbeats and Deadgrass.
On Thursday, the theater will host the second night of the gathering, featuring a performance by Grateful Dead tribute band Shakedown Citi. Ticket proceeds will be donated to HeadCount, which works to harness “the power of music and popular culture to register voters and promote participation in democracy,” according to the organization’s website. Weir was a member of the HeadCount board; his wife, Natascha, is a board member; and Peter Shapiro, who operates the Bearsville Theater, is a board member.
Together, the events underscore Weir’s lasting imprint on the Hudson Valley. Over decades of touring and recording, he performed at venues across the region including Bearsville Theater, Levon Helm Studios, and Hunter Mountain, and held recording sessions in Woodstock. The Grateful Dead also built a particularly strong relationship with New York City and upstate New York through frequent touring, a bond that remains evident among regional Deadheads.
The commemorations carry special resonance at Bearsville Theater. Peter Shapiro, a national concert promoter, worked closely with Bob Weir for years and operated several venues where he welcomed Weir to perform, including the Capitol Theatre, Brooklyn Bowl, and the former Wetlands Preserve. Shapiro also staged the 2015 Fare Thee Well concerts, which reunited Weir with surviving Grateful Dead bandmates to mark the group’s 50th anniversary.
Many of Wednesday’s performers share direct musical ties to Weir. Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, which includes Benevento, has welcomed Weir as a guest. Davis has sat in with Weir; Lieberman’s band God Street Wine performed with him; and Kaufman produced Weir’s 2016 album Blue Mountain. Cohen collaborated with Weir on multiple occasions; Shannon is a member of the Grateful Dead-inspired bandCircles Around the Sun; and Maxwell is a longtime Woodstock musician. The Deadbeats have performed Grateful Dead music in the Hudson Valley for more than three decades, while Deadgrass has built a loyal regional following.
Tickets for Thursday’s event range from $7 to $102.
John W. Barry is a reporter for The Overlook. Reach him at john@theoverlooknews.com.