Thousands of fans celebrate life of legendary Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir in San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Thousands gathered at the San Francisco Civic Center on Saturday to celebrate the life of legendary guitarist and founding member of the Grateful Dead Bob Weir, who died last week 78 years old.
Musicians Joan Baez and John Mayer spoke on a makeshift stage in front of the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium after four Buddhist monks opened the event with a prayer in Tibetan. Fans carried long-stemmed red roses and placed some at an altar filled with photos and candles. They wrote notes on colored paper, expressing their love and thanking him for the trip.
Some asked him to say hello to his singer and guitarist friend Jerry Garcia and bass player Phil Leshas well as founding members who predeceased him. Garcia died in 1995; Lesh died in 2024.
“I’m here to celebrate Bob Weir,” said Ruthie Garcia, no relation to Jerry, who has been a fan since 1989. “I congratulate him and help him get home.”
Saturday’s celebration was attended by scores of fans, some using walkers and wearing long dreadlocks and tie-dye clothing. But there were also young couples, men in their 20s, and a father who brought his 6-year-old son to pass on his love of live music and the close-knit Deadhead community to the next generation.
The Bay Area native joined the Grateful Dead (originally the Warlocks) in San Francisco in 1965 when he was just 17 years old. He wrote or co-wrote and performed lead vocals on Dead classics such as “Sugar Magnolia,” “One More Saturday Night” and “Mexicali Blues.” Although he adopted a long beard like Garcia’s later in life, he was generally thought to look less shaggy than the other band members.
The Dead played music inspired by blues, jazz, country, folk and psychedelia, with long improvised melodies. Their concerts attracted avid Deadheads who followed them on tour. The band played for decades after Garcia’s death. Dead and Friends With John Mayer.
Darla Sagos, who took an early flight from Seattle Saturday morning to publicly mourn the loss, said she suspected something was wrong when there were no new concerts announced after Dead & Company played three nights in San Francisco last summer. This was unusual as his schedule often showed where he would play next.
“We were hoping everything was fine and we could get more music from it,” he said. “But we will continue to make music, together with all of us and everyone who will play it.”
Sagos and her husband, Adam Sagos, have a one-year-old grandson who will grow up knowing music.
In the statement made on Weir’s Instagram account, it was announced that he passed away on January 10. It was stated that he beat cancer but succumbed to underlying lung problems. He is survived by his wife and two daughters, who attended Saturday’s event.
His daughter, Monet Weir, said his death was sudden and unexpected, but he had always wished that the legacy of music and the Dead would outlive him.
He said he believes American music can unite.
“The show must go on,” said Monet Weir.
