The Grateful Dead were among the honorees in President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris‘s final Kennedy Center Honors over the weekend. Check out the footage below.
The ceremony took place at the White House on Sunday (December 8), and saw the band recognised for their contributions to the arts, alongside Francis Ford Coppola, Bonnie Raitt, and Arturo Sandoval.
Bill Kreutzmann, Mickey Hart and Bob Weir were in attendance. Bassist and co-founding member Phil Lesh, who died in October at age 84, was represented by his son Grahame, while former frontman Jerry Garcia, who died in 1995, was represented by daughter Trixie Garcia.
In his speech inducting the band, shared on YouTube, President Biden said: “In the San Francisco Bay at an inflexion point in history, the Grateful Dead have long since transcended 1960s counterculture.”
“Technical virtuosos fiercely dedicated to their craft, they fused decades and dozens of musical styles to create a whole new American sound. Experimental, innovative and brave.”
“Their lyrics tell the story of dreamers and rebels, by iconic jams or just a performance, they’re not just that they’re an ongoing conversation with generations of ‘Doo-Dah’ fans with hundreds and hundreds of songs.
“Record of 59 top 40 albums, 59. 23,000 concerts from Woodstock to Egypt’s great pyramids. One of the most popular bands ever to be watched live in concert,” he said.
Biden went on to say: “Look, there’s still a lot of Deadheads around,” before pointing at himself, and adding: “No two performances even the same, but their spirit and joy is enduring. Tonight we honour Bobby, Bill and Mickey.”
It turns out Biden isn’t the only Deadhead in the White House, though, with former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi later saying she recently re-discovered a purse in her closet that had a 1988 button with the slogan “Deadheads for Dukakis”.
Later, the show concluded with a tribute to the band by Dave Matthews, Maggie Rogers, Leon Bridges and more singing hits like ‘Friend of the Devil’, ‘Ripple’, ‘Sugaree’ and ‘Not Fade Away’.
In other news, Dead & Company recently announced a 2025 residency at the Las Vegas venue, the Sphere.
The band – who are made up of Grateful Dead‘s Bob Weir and Mickey Hart alongside John Mayer, Oteil Burbridge, Jeff Chimenti and Jay Lane – return to a venue after a wildly successful residency this year, which saw them perform in front of the Sphere’s 240-foot screens from May to July 2024.
Elsewhere, Kreutzmann revealed in November that there were plans for a 60th-anniversary reunion that would have included Lesh, prior to his death. “I was hoping that we could play with him again one more time,” he said. “So that, that was my sadness… ’cause I know he wanted to play with us again too.”
“We were kickin’ it around,” Dead & Company member Bob Weir added. “In fact, we were gonna, we were gonna get together and, and kick some songs around tomorrow.”