Why Dead & Company Quit Touring
via Dead & Company / Youtube
Dead & Company performed what is believed to be their last show and the band’s manager, Irving Azoff, has revealed why the group decided to retire from touring.
The farewell tour concluded with three nights of shows in their hometown of San Francisco’s Oracle Park. Azoff explained to Pollstar:
“Touring is physically hard and nobody wants anybody to get really sick out there.
“Billy (Kreutzmann) got really sick last year, and I think that freaked [fellow Dead & Company co-managers] Steve (Moir) and I and Bernie (Cahill) out.”
The band composed of John Mayer, Oteil Burbridge, Jeff Chimenti, Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, and Bill Kreutzmann, came together in a way to pay tribute to the Grateful Dead’s history but also added fresh and exciting elements to their shows.
However, in recent years, Kreutzmann suffered back and heart ailments along with COVID-19 that forced him to miss a number of Dead & Company shows in 2021 and 2022. This year, the founder and drummer opted to sit out the band’s 29-date farewell trek, leaving Weir and Hart as the only remaining Grateful Dead members in Dead & Company. Azoff added:
“Mickey is a wonderful soul and a lovely guy and he can say, ‘I can go forever,’ and Bob would say the same thing but the rigors of 30-some nights with trucks and buses and airplanes and all the moving around, probably for both the quality of the music and the health/safety it was time to at least put an end to the touring.”
The manager then noted:
“These guys love each other and the music stands for itself.
“The touring parts are over, but there are still special events I’m sure will get offered to them, and you never say never. I’ve learned from managing the Eagles all these years that you never ask that question while the tour is going on. You’ve got to let them finish it, get some rest and get back to their lives and the future will bring what it brings.”
Meanwhile, Hart admitted to ABC Audio:
“We never said we’ll never play again, but we’ll never tour again.”
While Mayer wrote on social media:
“Dead & Company is still a band – we just don’t know what the next show will be.”
