Jerry-Inspired Sturgill Simpson Jams with Dead Again in Cancun

Proving the second time is a charm, Bob Weir and his pals returned to Cancun for the second annual Dead Ahead Festival in the Mexican resort town.

Joining the Grateful Dead guitarist and singer were Rick Mitarotonda of Goose, Don Was of the Wolf Bros, country star Sturgill Simpson; along with Dead & Co. cohorts Oteil Burbridge, Jeff Chimenti, and Jay Lane.

Together they played many of the Dead staples fans have enjoyed for decades, except these were performed in the all-inclusive digs of the Moon Palace Hotel.

On Friday night (1/10) after kicking off the night with the crowd pleasing, upbeat "Sugar Magnolia," Weir stepped aside to let Simpson take the spotlight on the Jerry Garcia classic "Sugaree."

Although he sounded like a perfect fit, Sturgill had covered the Allman Brothers and Nirvana more in his past than the Dead.

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On paper it might look like the only time he'd performed a tune from the SF legends was a month ago at the Kennedy Center when he did "Ripple" with Was to honor the group.

But it was at the inaugural Dead Ahead show in 2024 that got Simpson, who was on the tail end of a three-year recovery from injury, to fall back in love with performing music.

“I wasn’t doing anything and I was asked, did I want to go to Mexico for a couple of days and play guitar for the Grateful Dead?" he told Uncut.

"I wasn’t really familiar with them, because in my early 20s in Kentucky there was a jam band scene which I dismissed as unstructured noodling, and I lumped the Dead into that. Then when Bob sent me 60 songs I had to learn, I thought, why is this so easy? It’s almost like I could anticipate where Jerry was going. And it was because Jerry played folk, country, bluegrass and blues, the same way I play guitar! He is now my favorite guitar player," he said.

"And after I got home from those shows, all I could think about was playing guitar for 10 hours a day again," Simpson continued.

"I called my booking agent and said, ‘I wanna go on tour.’ Jerry Garcia, I hate to say it, might have saved my life!”

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Sturgill leading the way is so much different than John Mayer - another unlikely guitarist whose career was blessed with a second wind after strumming alongside Weir et al - in that he brings a gruffer Kris Kristofferson vibe.

Simpson was a big part of the festival and it's difficult to think this is the last we've seen of he and Weir together this year.

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Sunday (1/12) it was a different country superstar, Brandi Carlile who sat in with the boys for trio of tunes.

Starting off with a pair of Jerry songs ("Bird Song" and "Loser"), the Grammy-winner and co-founder of the Highwaywomen completed the trifecta with a beautiful version of "Box of Rain."

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On Monday (1/13), the fourth night of the long weekend fest, it was the addition of Britney Spencer dueting with Bobby on "Looks Like Rain" that had the crowd cheering throughout the tune and after Rick's scorching solo.

Hopefully Spencer finds her way back on stage with Dead & Co. when they return to the Las Vegas Strip for “Dead Forever – Live At Sphere” from March 20 through May 17.

Last spring, you may remember Dead & Co pushed the Sphere for all it promised with 30 shows of incredible visuals and state-of-the-art sound. Time flies and the band will be enjoying their 10th anniversary as they play their residency weekend after weekend in the desert.

Tickets available on the Dead and Company website.

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