4 Bands To Check out if You Like the Grateful Dead

The Grateful Dead has long since disbanded, and few bands since have garnered as substantial and dedicated of a fanbase as they did. That being said, their hefty discography is still limited, and quite a few diehard and casual fans alike might be craving something adjacent to Grateful Dead. We’re here to help! Let’s take a look at four bands like Grateful Dead to check out if you need some solid fusion rock music.

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1. Phish

This is probably the most obvious entry on our list. Both Grateful Dead and Phish are known for their improv style of performing, long-winded live shows, and general “jam band” labels. Grateful Dead came up in the 1960s while Phish launched in the 1980s, so there are some stylistic differences there. But both bands are quite similar, and Phish is popular among many Grateful Dead fans already.

2. Dead & Company

There aren’t many bands out there that are quite like Grateful Dead, but Dead & Company is more or less an extension of them. Dead & Company is made up of quite a few former members of Grateful Dead, including Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, and Bill Kreutzman. John Mayer is also in the lineup, too. Their recent Las Vegas residency at The Sphere in 2024 was on another level.

3. New Riders Of The Purple Sage

New Riders Of The Purple Sage came about around the same time as Grateful Dead, and is another band composed of a few former Dead members. Specifically, the original lineup featured Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh, and Mickey Hart, among others. The lineup today looks quite different, but New Riders Of The Purple Sage is still the perfect country-rock outfit for fans of Grateful Dead’s more country-leaning records.

4. The String Cheese Incident

Looking for something a bit more fresh and new? The String Cheese Incident came to be in the early 1990s and they are still going strong today. Like The Grateful Dead, The String Cheese Incident is a jam band known for crossing and blending multiple genres on-stage, from bluegrass to rock to country to jazz to prog-rock. SCI also has a pretty strong and dedicated fanbase, though nothing will likely ever rival Deadheads.

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