Sturgill Simpson, Bob Weir and John Mayer all on one stage? Say much less.
Nation music star with numerous genre-bending hits? Test. Succeed beneath the fully totally different title of “Johnny Blue Skies” that permits for an exploration into a distinct sound? Test. The power to drop in and play with one of the recognizable bands within the historical past of music? Test.
Sturgill Simpson is solely one of the versatile artists the music business has ever seen, and perhaps that’s why he’s by no means precisely slot in with the normal mould of contemporary music. Sturgill is the whole lot you need out a contemporary artist, however the whole lot that fashionable music doesn’t need. It’s a bizarre juxtaposition, however that’s what makes the artist recognized each as Sturgill and Johnny Blue Skies so particular.
The surviving members of the Grateful Lifeless – Bobby Weir, Invoice Kreutzmann, and Mickey Hart – presently play collectively in a bunch known as “Lifeless & Firm.” That firm a part of the title refers back to the different artists that assist fill out the remainder of the band, together with the uberly proficient and underrated John Mayer. It’s cool to suppose that the band Lifeless Heads comply with round religiously has existed in some type or vogue because the mid 1960’s. For reference, it’s the equal of if the surviving members of The Beatles had been nonetheless touring collectively.
Although the official Grateful Lifeless band broke up shortly after frontman Jerry Garcia handed away in 1995, different variations of the band have stored the spirit of the Grateful Lifeless alive (complicated, I do know). And the one two artists that the surviving members have trusted to step into long-term roles that honor Garcia – not change – is John Mayer and Sturgill Simpson.
Mayer has traditionally performed with the model of the band known as Lifeless & Firm, however Simpson has additionally subbed in on loads of events. This time round, throughout Lifeless & Firm’s three-night run (August 1-3) at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, California, each Mayer and Simpson shared the stage with the surviving members of the Grateful Lifeless in a live performance occasion that got down to have a good time 60 years of Grateful Lifeless music.
And it was superior.
Beneath you’ll see a 10-minute-plus rendition of the Lifeless’s “Morning Dew,” with Stu dealing with the lead vocals and Mayer backing him up with an insane guitar solo (and Bob Weir conserving the ship on target). Anti-jam-band folks would in all probability desire for the music to be shortened up, however those that love the longevity of a jam would possibly revisit this video a time or two.
And boy oh boy did Sturgill carry it with this legendary model of “Morning Dew,” which is nicely value your time:
Signal me up for extra of that.
That does pose an attention-grabbing query… may John Mayer and Sturgill Simpson (and perhaps even Billy Strings) be trusted to maintain the Grateful Lifeless music going after the surviving members of the Lifeless dangle it up? If something, this video proves that John and Johnny (Blue Skies) may take the baton and run with the band, so long as Lifeless Heads are okay with it.
Simply name it Uncle Johns’ Band…
