Getting his start as a bluegrass performer, Jerry Garcia co-founded The Grateful Dead in 1965. The countercultural icons went on to cultivate one of the most dedicated fanbases of all time, becoming more of a movement than a band. Garcia died unexpectedly on Aug. 9, 1995, at age 53, exactly one month after The Grateful Dead performed their final concert at Chicago’s Soldier Field. Recently, another bluegrass virtuoso, Billy Strings, joined Dead & Company onstage on what would have been Garcia’s 83rd birthday.
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Dead & Company formed from the remnants of The Grateful Dead in 2015, with guitarist Bill Weir and drumming duo Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann (who has since been replaced by Jay Lane.) Grammy winner John Mayer, bassist Oteil Burbridge, and keyboardist Jeff Chimenti round out the lineup.
On Friday, Aug. 1, Billy Strings joined Dead & Company on electric guitar during the first of three shows celebrating the Grateful Dead’s 60th anniversary at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. The “Cocaine Blues” crooner, 32, blew the crowd away with a sweeping 13-minute rendition of the 1971 track “Wharf Rat.”
Strings’ master guitar skills and gritty vocals were on full display as he sang, Half of my life
I spent doing time for some other f—er’s crime / The other half found me stumbling around drunk on burgundy wine / But I’ll get back on my feet someday.
Billy Strings knocking it out of the park with Wharf Rat. pic.twitter.com/C9gud39yFR
— Deadhead Trader (@Deadhead_Trader) August 2, 2025
“Looks like Bobby passing the torch. This is badass!” remarked one fan.
“Like a Lighthouse in an Ocean Storm”
Having his own complicated history with substance use, Billy Strings can certainly relate to “Wharf Rat’s” August West. Perhaps that’s part of what drew him to the Grateful Dead in the first place. Back in 2020, the “Dust in a Baggie” singer reflected on Jerry Garcia’s influence in the liner notes for Garcia Live Volume 14.
Bob Weir, John Mayer, and Billy Strings just going off pic.twitter.com/X3A26WStHE
— Nuanced Film Takes (@BadFilmTakes1) August 2, 2025
“Finding Jerry’s music opened up so many doors for me as a musician. It taught me that music is boundary-less,” Strings wrote. “Instead of just playing a quick 30-second solo, I started to take songs for a ride… Once you start taking chances musically and allowing raw vulnerability and musical conversation into the live performance, you realize that the fans are right there with you.”
Calling The Grateful Dead “quite possibly the world’s best live music band,” Strings continued, “I’m so glad I saw the light. I’m so glad that I acquired the taste. I can hear Jerry’s guitar ringing out like a lighthouse in an ocean storm, leading us home to safety.”
Featured image by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
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