Bands

Helena, MT

Helena's four-piece Dead band, named for the Haight address, built on improv.

Stamford, CT

Fairfield County Dead band with ties to Stella Blues Band and Laughin' Bones.

New Brunswick, NJ

New Brunswick six-piece playing Grateful Dead and Jerry Garcia Band across NJ and Staten Island.

Boston, MA · since 2015

Boston's touring Dead tribute since 2015, with a 250-song book and no two nights alike.

Kansas City, MO

Kansas City's Dead band, house favorites at Mike Kelly's Westsider and the Royals' Dead Night.

Milwaukee, WI · since 1990

Milwaukee's Dead band since 1990, with 20-plus Summerfests and three own albums.

Woodstock, NY · since 2019

The world's only all-female Grateful Dead tribute, assembled from five states.

Los Angeles, CA · since 2023

Acoustic LA duo playing the Dead songbook straight, with a monthly residency at Culver City's Cinema Bar.

Boca Raton, FL · since 1990

South Florida's Grateful Dead band since Halloween 1990, playing every week.

Los Angeles, CA · since 1987

LA's oldest Dead tribute: born 1987, 4,000-plus shows, every era, a different setlist every night.

Chicago, IL · since 1997

Recreates a specific historic Grateful Dead concert, night after night.

Broadcaster, author and musician who has spent a working life inside the Grateful Dead's music.

Felton, CA

Santa Cruz Mountains Grateful Dead tribute at home in Felton.

St. Petersburg, FL

St. Petersburg's Dead band, playing Central Florida's bars from Maitland to Melbourne.

St. Petersburg, FL

Florida Dead tribute chasing the sound, feel, and spirit, with room for spontaneity.

Philadelphia, PA

A six-piece Philadelphia-area Dead tribute working the suburban brewery and tavern circuit.

St. Petersburg, FL · since 2017

Tampa Bay's Dead and JGB band since 2017, free shows most weekends.

Portland, OR

Portland, Oregon five-piece keeping the Grateful Dead's sound going for a younger crowd.

Neptune, NJ

Jersey Shore Dead band with a fall of afternoon shows and a Halloween at Dharma Bums.

McDonough, GA

McDonough, Georgia bar band pairing Grateful Dead jams with classic rock favorites.

Austin, TX · since 2010

Austin's Dead band, chasing the whole catalog two long sets at a time since 2010.

Allentown, PA

Allentown, PA Grateful Dead tribute working Lehigh Valley breweries and North Jersey taprooms.

Seattle, WA

A Seattle electric quartet built for the psychedelic, danceable end of the Dead catalog.

Charleston, WV

Charleston, West Virginia band billing itself as celebrating the music of the Grateful Dead (mostly).

Cleveland, OH

A six-piece Cleveland mainstay playing the Dead somewhere in Northeast Ohio nearly every week.

Crested Butte, CO · since 2018

Crested Butte six-piece named for an Althea lyric, with two drummers and four-part harmony.

San Diego, CA · since 1989

Grateful Dead every Monday at Winstons in Ocean Beach since 1992 — San Diego's longest club residency.

Cincinnati, OH

Cincinnati jam band playing the Grateful Dead catalog around southwest Ohio.

Atlanta, GA

Atlanta Dead tribute that has climbed from brewery patios to the Variety Playhouse.

Philadelphia, PA

Philadelphia Grateful Dead cover band that posts its own live tapes to Bandcamp.

Portland, OR · since 1999

Portland's Dead institution since 1999, treating the catalog as a launch pad.

Lafayette, IN · since 2015

Lafayette, Indiana Dead tribute born in the band's 50th-anniversary summer, with a 1950s streak.

Minneapolis, MN

Three Twin Cities frontwomen trading leads on the Dead catalog over a crack backing band.

since 2023

Joel Martin's Grateful Dead band, three hundred West Coast shows and counting.

Washington, DC · since 2017

The DC area's busiest Dead tribute, grown out of the city's weekly Grateful Dead open jams.

Lynbrook, NY · since 2004

Long Island's Grateful Dead tribute since 2004, from Brooklyn Bowl to the Westbury stage.

Indianapolis, IN · since 2008

Indianapolis Dead tribute built on long-form improvisation and setlists that never repeat.

Baltimore, MD

A Baltimore Dead tribute that has held down York Road bars and Maryland theaters for fifteen years.

St. Louis, MO · since 1976

St. Louis institution and, at fifty years running, the longest-lived Dead tribute in the country.

Philadelphia, PA · since 2019

Philly's high-energy Dead tribute, born from a one-off 2019 tribute night that stuck.

Madison, WI

Madison's hard-rippin' Dead tribute, big on experimental setlists and soulful vocals.

Virginia Beach, VA

Virginia Beach seven-piece covering every Dead role, Pigpen and Donna included.

Queens, NY

Astoria's neighborhood Dead band, at the Shillelagh Tavern and Culture Lab LIC.

St. Petersburg, FL · since 2024

Tampa Bay all-star Dead band formed in 2024 from Uncle John's Band and Dead Set Florida.

Wilkes-Barre, PA

Northeastern Pennsylvania jam band playing mostly Dead with Allmans mixed in.

Mystic, CT · since 2018

Southeastern Connecticut six-piece that grew out of a monthly Dead night in 2018.

Philadelphia, PA

Philadelphia Garcia tribute run out of a West Mt. Airy compound, with Dead, JGB and Dylan in the sets.

Worcester, MA

Worcester five-piece Dead tribute working New England's halls, breweries and festivals.

Bay Shore, NY · since 1990

Long Island's Dead band since 1990, with a standing date at the Boulton Center.

Portland, OR

Portland's tribute to Jerry Garcia, named for a Cats Under the Stars deep cut.

Chicago, IL · since 2014

Chicago's Garcia's regulars, playing deep cuts and full-show recreations since 2014.

Taunton, MA · since 1997

Taunton, Massachusetts Dead band that marked 25 years by playing Europe '72 whole.

Denver, CO · since 1987

Colorado's longest-running Dead tribute, playing the catalog continuously since February 1987.

Sarasota, FL

Sarasota five-piece built on the Dead and Garcia, with a first-Sunday residency at Jungle Hideaway.

North Smithfield, RI

A six-piece out of North Smithfield playing Dead tunes around Rhode Island, Mass and Connecticut.

Delray Beach, FL

Delray Beach's Grateful Dead band, a Terra Fermata and Crazy Uncle Mike's regular.

Philadelphia, PA · since 1992

Philadelphia's Dead band since 1992, a Stone Pony and Ardmore Music Hall fixture.

Austin, TX

Austin all-star lineup recreating the Jerry Garcia Band, drawn from Deadeye, The Watters and HeartByrne.

Philadelphia, PA

Philadelphia-area five-piece, 20-plus years on Dead and Dylan, touring upstate NY as an acoustic duo.

Melbourne, FL

Melbourne's Grateful Dead tribute — vintage psychedelic party nights on the Space Coast.

New York, NY · since 2009

Tri-state Dead tribute since 2009 and the band behind Free Dead in the Park.

San Rafael, CA

The Bay Area's house band for the Dead — deep jams and a fresh setlist every night.

Richmond, VA · since 2015

Richmond six-piece recreating the Dead's catalog plus the covers the band made its own.

Pacifica, CA

Pacifica regulars playing the Dead catalog at Winters Tavern.

Columbia, SC

Columbia SC instrumental quartet that improvises on the Dead in set-length excursions, no vocals.

Chicago, IL · since 1999

Chicago's premier Dead act, with a long history of touring alongside Melvin Seals and Tom Constanten.

Chicago, IL

Chicago Dead tribute drawn from area session players, at home at Reggies and out in the suburbs.

Santa Cruz, CA

Santa Cruz's premier Grateful Dead tribute — the Bay Area's longest-running.

Roanoke, VA · since 2016

Roanoke's Grateful Dead tribute since 2016, a fixture at 5 Points Music Sanctuary.

Greenville, SC

Greenville, South Carolina band paying tribute to the Dead and the Allman Brothers together.

Blacksburg, VA · since 1986

Blacksburg's Dead band since 1986, started when a birthday party's band no-showed.

Chelsea, MI

A Washtenaw County band playing Grateful Dead and Jerry Garcia classics on free-music nights.

Orlando, FL · since 2020

Orlando Dead band since 2020, a regular free-show fixture at Rockpit Brewing.

Nashville, TN · since 2014

Nashville's Dead institution, holding down Grateful Monday at Acme Feed & Seed since 2014.

Albany, NY

The Capital Region's Grateful Dead band, from Lark Hall to the Glove Theatre.

Massachusetts sextet mashing the Grateful Dead and the Rolling Stones since 2024.

Westbury, NY

Nassau County's Dead band — the Nutty Irishman, the Warehouse, and Long Island's town parks.

High-energy Jersey five-piece: Dead greatest hits, deep cuts, and the covers the Dead loved.

Flagler Beach, FL

Flagler Beach five-piece playing Grateful Dead-inspired sets at beachside bars.

Clearwater, FL · since 1989

Florida's longest-running Dead tribute — Thursday-night church since 1989.

Lancaster, PA

Lancaster PA band playing Grateful Dead and Jerry Garcia Band, plus the odd non-Dead curveball.

Akron, OH

Akron's only Grateful Dead tribute, and it has already graduated to the Civic Theatre stage.

Morristown, NJ · since 2018

Northern New Jersey's fast-rising Dead tribute, packing rooms since 2018.

Tempe, AZ · since 1994

Arizona's longest-running Dead band, going since 1994 and stocked with JGB players.

Media, PA

A Philadelphia-suburb Dead cover band that posts a full setlist and recording after every show.

Pleasantville, NY

Grateful Dead band from Westchester.

St. Louis, MO · since 2016

St. Louis Dead band born from a one-off Jerry birthday party that never quite ended.

Morrisville, PA

Lower Bucks County six-piece that has been jamming Dead and Garcia Band tunes for over 30 years.

Montreal

Montreal's Grateful Dead band, forty-one Halloweens deep at the Wheel Club.

Las Vegas, NV · since 2015

Las Vegas Dead and Garcia band with a running residency in the Tuscany's Copa Room.

San Rafael, CA

Four Marin players on the Dead and Jerry Garcia Band songbooks, named for the place they were living when they started.

St. Cloud, MN · since 2015

St. Cloud five-piece named for the Dead's most famous segue, onstage since 2016.

Boston, MA

Boston DIY-collective Dead project with four long Grateful Dead covers on Citizens' Loft's 2023 comp.

Syracuse, NY · since 1996

Syracuse Dead band going since 1996, with two drummers and a deep Dead-family songbook.

Burlington, VT · since 1983

Burlington Dead band whose two founders have been at it since Boston in 1983.

Boulder, CO

Boulder veterans of four other Front Range Dead bands who turned a weekly jam into a working band.

Bozeman, MT · since 2019

A Bozeman six-piece built on three-part harmonies, born from a one-off Dead night at the Filling Station.

Athens, GA · since 2018

Athens, Georgia Grateful Dead act formed in 2018 around a drums-and-bass core.

Southold, NY

North Fork Long Island's Dead-centered barn collective, playing Treiber Farms each spring and fall.

North Bay Grateful Dead tribute with a standing two-night run at the Mystic.

Santa Fe, NM

Long-running northern New Mexico Grateful Dead band, playing two sets outdoors at The Bridge.

Chicago, IL

Chicago Dead tribute working a five-state Midwest circuit of bars and brewpubs.

Nantucket, MA · since 2024

Nantucket's Grateful Dead experience — harmony-minded Dead at Cisco Brewers and the Chicken Box.

Ann Arbor, MI

Ann Arbor act built around Miko and Jim Rowan playing Grateful Dead classics.

Dallas, TX · since 2005

Dallas Dead band since 2005, carrying a 230-song book into Deep Ellum theaters.

Philadelphia, PA

Philadelphia Dead tribute working the acoustic end of the songbook, two to eight pieces.

Rogers, AR · since 2008

An eight-piece Northwest Arkansas collective that has played the Dead with rotating friends since 2008.

Jacksonville, FL · since 1989

North Florida's longest-running Dead band, playing psychedelic Dead sets since 1989.

Norfolk, VA · since 2012

Hampton Roads six-piece that has played nothing but Dead since 2012, off a 100-song list.

Hastings-on-Hudson, NY

Hastings-on-Hudson five-piece whose free riverfront Dead shows pull hundreds to the Hudson.

Syracuse, NY

Central New York players doing a fresh read on the Grateful Dead; regulars at Funk 'n Waffles' Dead Night.

Charlottesville, VA

A Charlottesville band playing Grateful Dead music around town, by its own plain description.

Brooklyn, NY · since 2022

Brooklyn five-piece Dead band, working NYC clubs, breweries, and Long Island bars since 2022.

Syracuse, NY

Syracuse Dead-scene side project that surfaces now and then for Funk 'n Waffles' Monday Dead Night.

Austin, TX

Austin-area Dead cover band with a country-fried Texas accent on the catalog.

Humboldt County quartet playing the Jerry Garcia Band and Legion of Mary book as a funky dance party.

Bay Area Grateful Dead tribute built around John Wheeler and Mark Harold, who met in Napa.

Nashville, TN

Nashville's longest-running Grateful Dead tribute band, going since the early nineties.

Dead-and-JGB cover band seen at Scalia & Co. in Monroe, NY; little else is documented.

Asheville, NC

Asheville's Dead-centric jam band since 2004, playing Jerry Garcia and Grateful Dead their own way.

Toronto

Toronto's Grateful Dead tribute, at home in the Monarch Tavern and up at Lee's Palace.

Minneapolis, MN · since 2011

Minneapolis lifers who have played Grateful Dead music every single Sunday since 2011, past show 750.

Peekskill, NY

Westchester/Putnam Dead cover band out of Peekskill playing riverfront parks and small bars.

Memphis, TN

Memphis band playing Dead, JGB, Old & In the Way, New Riders and the Byrds, free on Sunday afternoons.

Nashville, TN

Nashville group with a free weekly Wednesday Grateful Dead residency at Tennessee Brew Works.

Columbus, OH · since 2019

A five-piece Columbus band working the full 1960s-to-1990s catalog at Woodlands Tavern.

Dallas, TX · since 1989

Dallas's Deep Ellum Dead night from 1989, revived by Kenny Withrow as a rotating-cast band.

Jackson, WY · since 2010

Jackson Hole's eight-piece Dead band, named the night they found it at the Knotty Pine.

East Lansing, MI

East Lansing string band playing the Dead catalog on mandolin, dobro, banjo and guitar.

Newark, DE

A Newark, Delaware jam band splitting its sets between the Dead and Jerry Garcia.

Phoenix, AZ

Arizona's longest-running Dead band, twenty-three years around the Phoenix valley.

Omaha, NE

An Omaha five-piece that works the small-town Iowa and Nebraska circuit playing mostly Dead.

Five North Jersey players who met answering a Deadhead call at Montclair's Meat Locker.

Berkeley, CA

A Bay Area tribute built around Bob Weir's songs, his rhythm playing and his corner of the catalog.