Grateful Dead Reveal They Were Planning 60th Anniversary Reunion Before Phil Lesh's Death

The surviving members of the Grateful Dead have revealed that plans for a special 60th anniversary reunion were in the works before Phil Lesh's recent death.

Lesh, who was the founding bassist of California rock, died on October 25 at the age of 84. Five days after his death, bandmates Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart sat down for a previously scheduled interview with CBS This Morning which was intended to include Les.

Now, the interview has aired, with the surviving members noting that a Grateful Dead 60th anniversary reunion project was in the works, with plans for the four members to meet up and shoot once more.

“We were going to see where it would go,” Weir said. “But it was just going to be the four of us playing. And now there are only three of us.”

“I was hoping we could play with him again one more time,” Kreutzmann added. “Well, that was my regret about it, because I know he wanted to play with us again.”

“We were kicking it,” Weir continued. “Actually, we were going to get together and sing a few songs tomorrow.”

The Grateful Dead first formed in 1965 and played for 30 years with various lineups until disbanding after the death of guitarist and singer Jerry Garcia in 1995.

While various reunion projects would be created over the years (including The Other Ones, which featured Lesh, Weir, Kreutzmann and Hart at various points), the four musicians reunited for the 50th anniversary Fare Thee Well concert in 2015. Completed by Trey Anastasio, Bruce Hornsby and Jeff Chimenti, the gigs were a direct precursor to the ongoing group Dead & Company, which did not feature Lesh as part of its members.

In 2024, Dead & Company embarked on their final tour, although they have left the door open for future shows and projects.

Next month, Lesh, Weir, Kreutzmann and Hart will be saluted as part of the 2024 Kennedy Center honorees, with Queen Latifah hosting the 2023 recipient.