Skeleton Crewe

Skeleton Crewe formed in early 2024 as a five-piece of jam-scene veterans: Rob Barraco on keys (Dark Star Orchestra, Phil Lesh & Friends, The Dead), Barry Sless on pedal steel and guitar (Wolf Bros, David Nelson Band), Pete Sears on bass (Jefferson Starship, Hot Tuna), Jay Lane on drums (Dead & Company, RatDog) and Grammy-nominated Hawaiian slack key guitarist Stephen Inglis, who has played with Bill Kreutzmann. Their sets mix original material — much of it Robert Hunter lyrics written with Barraco — with Grateful Dead interpretations and long improvisations that run from traditional Hawaiian playing to psychedelic Americana. The band was originally called Skeleton Krewe and changed the spelling to avoid a clash with a New Orleans marching band. They tour nationally in bursts, and the fall 2026 run takes them from Colorado and Texas up the East Coast and then out to the Pacific Northwest.