The passing of bassist Phil Lesh shook the Grateful Dead’s iconic rhythm of unity, but not before whispers of a monumental reunion began to take shape. According to Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann, and Mickey Hart, the band’s surviving core had been on the brink of reuniting with Lesh for a 60th-anniversary celebration—until fate intervened.
In a recent interview with CBS Mornings, they recorded just days after Lesh’s passing on October 25 at age 84, the three bandmates reflected on their unfulfilled plans. Lesh, ever the cornerstone of the Dead’s cosmic explorations, was meant to join them for this discussion as they prepared for the Kennedy Center Honors.
“We were kicking it around,” Weir said, his voice tinged with the weight of what could have been. “In fact, we were gonna get together and kick some songs around tomorrow.”
For Kreutzmann, the loss felt doubly heavy. “I was hoping that we could play with him again one more time,” he admitted. “That was my sadness on that one. ‘Cause I know he wanted to play with us again, too.”
Lesh last played with the Grateful Dead during the 2015 Fare Thee Well shows, a celebratory and poignant farewell marking their 50th anniversary. Since then, Weir, Hart, and Kreutzmann had carried the torch with Dead & Company, a project that featured John Mayer, while Lesh blazed his own trail with Phil Lesh and Friends.
Talks of a 60th-anniversary reunion had been gaining momentum for 2025, and the plan, as Weir described it, was pure and simple:
“We were gonna see where it goes, but we were just gonna play the four of us… Now there’s only three of us, and that’s different.”
Kreutzmann added that the possibility of commemorating the milestone still lingers, though it would require fresh collaborators to step in. “We’d have to have other musicians join us,” he noted. “And we have some favorite musicians, you know?”
As they reminisced, the surviving members vividly depicted Lesh’s indelible impact on their music and ethos. Weir reflected on their shared intuitive bond: “We developed this language that only we spoke, really.”
Kreutzmann, in turn, captured what Lesh brought to their journey. “He taught us, basically, how to be free.”
It was a freedom that resonated across decades, a sonic liberation that defined the Grateful Dead’s unparalleled chemistry.
Though the full reunion envisioned by the Dead may never come to pass, the surviving trio remains resolute in keeping their flame alive. Whether through new collaborators or special tributes, the 60th anniversary may yet become another chapter in the band’s enduring story—a celebration of both what they’ve lost and what they continue to create.
For now, the echoes of Lesh’s basslines linger, weaving through memories of past triumphs and the unfulfilled promise of one last jam session. A reunion deferred but never forgotten as the Dead’s journey rolls on down the line.
