Grateful Dead stars Bob Weir & Phil Lesh to tour as a duo for the first time

Grateful Dead co-founders Bob Weir and Phil Lesh are hitting the road as a duo for the first time.
The rock icons have lined up six dates in 2018 as part of the Bobby and Phil Tour, which will begin in early March (18) at Radio City Music Hall in New York.
The idea to hit the road together came about as Weir and Lesh celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Grateful Dead’s 1977 studio album Terrapin Station this summer (17), performing at Lesh’s own Terrapin Crossroads.
“I guess it was last summer, Phil and I played a little duo show… we had enough fun so we figured, ‘Hey, let’s do this, let’s make a little go of this’,” Weir explains, while Lesh adds, “Playing with Bob always brings me great joy. The intuitive playing that we have developed over five decades of creating music together always leads to new realms of musical experience, something that I find especially exciting, and I think that fans of our music will enjoy this new format as much as I do.”
The news comes less than a week after the duo was forced to scrap Dead & Company dates in Louisiana and Florida following singer John Mayer’s hospitalisation.
Mayer had to undergo emergency surgery to have his appendix removed.
The group has announced its axed New Orleans concert will now take place on 24 February (18), while the Fort Lauderdale and Orlando shows in Florida, which were set for this past weekend (08-10Dec17), will be held on 26 and 27 February.