After a final triumphant three-gig run in front of more than 120,000 hometown fans in San Francisco’s Oracle Park last week the Grateful Dead spin-off band Dead & Company hung up their guitars for good. Along the way, the iconic OG jam band featuring original members guitarist Bob Weir and drummer Mickey Hart — along with singer/guitarist John Mayer — posted the best grosses and attendance numbers in the group’s eight-year history according to figures provided to Billboard.
The final run of dates played to more than 840,000 fans and grossed almost $115 million, with the San Francisco Chronicle reporting that the trio of San Francisco dates were projected to have a a nearly $31 million economic impact on the city. The Final Tour outing by the legendarily road dog band with its equally legendary traveling Deadhead fanbase kicked off on May 19 with the first of two dates as Los Angeles’ Kia Forum. It capped a 10-tour run that began in 2015 that was attended by more than four million fans at 235 shows.
Among the venue records and other highlights on the Final Tour (according to figures provided by the Dead):
- More than 130,000 tickets sold during the groups first three-show run at Folsom Field in Colorado, where Dead & Co. hold the record for most performances at the venue (13).
- The all-time record for shows played at Chicago’s venerable Wrigley Field (10), along with all-time paid attendance mark with 360,000 tickets sold. The group also has the record for single-show paid attendance for more than 40,000 for a 2017 gig.
- Most performances at New York’s Citi Field (11), including two sold-out shows this year to nearly 74,000.
- The all-time attendance record at Boston’s Fenway Park for most tickets sold in a single night, which was previously held by hometown heroes Aerosmith.
- The Final Tour found the band playing 112 unique songs; since their 2015 launch, Dead & Co. played 145 unique songs during 235 shows.
- Since 2015 the band has raised more than $13 million for nonprofits and environmental and social causes — including $4 million donated through charity auctions and online raffles. Among the beneficiaries were: Headcount, Reverb, National Parks Conservation Association, The Jerry Garcia Foundation, Heart And Armor Foundation, Gorilla Doctors, Seva.org, OXFAM, MusiCares, Surfrider Foundation, WhyHunger, iGiveTrees, Positive Legacy, Further Foundation, Conscious Alliance, Rainforest Action Network, Last Prisoner Project, HAPA, SPLC, and dozens of local and regional nonprofit groups.
- Working with Reverb since 2015, the band dedicated more than $1.6 million to greenhouse gas reductions and climate justice projects, avoided use of 125,000 single-use plastic bottles, neutralized 51,000 tonnes of CO2 and saw 100,000 environmental actions taken by fans.
- Registered more than 25,000 fans to vote.
With the final curtain appearing to close on the nearly 60-year road run by the Dead (and its various incarnations’) Weir, 75, has already announced a fall run of shows by his Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros featuring the Wolfpack group.
