Today is one day of deep sadness and mourning for Deadheads all over the planet. Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh has died at the age of 84. “(He) passed away peacefully this morning,” said a statement from his family. “He was surrounded by his family and full of love. Phil brought immense joy to everyone around him and leaves behind a legacy of music and love. We ask that you respect the privacy of the Lesh family at this time.”

The Grateful Dead bassist had been struggling with health problems for years and survived prostate cancer in 2007 and bladder cancer in 2015. But in all that time, Lesh has never stopped making music. He celebrated his 84th birthday in March with a series of Phil Lesh and Friends shows at the Capitol Theater in Porter Chester, New York, headlined a performance at San Francisco’s Warfield Theater on May 9, and then performed at McNears Beach Park in San Francisco. Rafael, California on July 21. The last show ended up being the last concert of Lesh’s life.

The McNears Beach Phil Lesh and Friends concert took place on the 50th anniversary of the Grateful Dead’s Hollywood Bowl show on July 21, 1974. And to celebrate the occasion, Lesh – joined by drummer John Molo, keyboardist Jason Crosby, guitarist/singer Stanley Jordan , singer Elliott Peck, guitarist/singer Stu Allen, guitarist/singer Dan “Lebo” Lebowitz and guitarist/singer Grahame Lesh – performed many of the same songs that The Dead played that day, with only “Over The Rainbow” the numbers were added. mix.

They closed out 1970’s “Sugar Magnolia,” a song the Dead played more than 600 times. “We’ve got one more for you before curfew,” Lesh told the crowd. “I want to thank you all for coming and being here. If you’re at home and have nothing to do, check out Terrapin Clubhouse’s YouTube channel. We’ve got a lot of music for you, and we’ll be releasing a podcast in the fall. Phil’s son Grahame then introduced the band and ended up joining his father. “I’m the luckiest man in the world,” Phil said afterwards, “because I get to play with these guys.”

When the group took the stage again at McNears Beach Park on August 18, Phil Lesh was nowhere to be seen. Sam Grisman, son of longtime Jerry Garcia collaborator David Grisman, played bass in his place. It was an ominous sign, but fans knew little about Lesh’s poor health until news broke that he had passed away.

Lesh has built about 18 different lives in his 84 years on this planet. In this video from his last show he is visibly quite weak, but his playing remains excellent. The group will hopefully continue with Grahame Lesh and Sam Grisman in the lead. As we learned after Garcia died in 1995, this music is bigger than any one person. It will live forever.