Dead and Company tour only shows of the year, Mickey Hart confirms in exclusive interview

Update: Dead and Company has canceled its summer tour.

Mickey Hart is ready for summer.

The drummer will be back on the road with Dead and Company for a 17-show run kicking off July 10 and 11 at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado.

Hart confirmed in an exclusive interview with the Asbury Park Press and USA TODAY NETWORK that these will be the band's only headlining shows in 2020.

"The band’s playing great now, and these will be the only shows of the year," Hart said on Wednesday. "So it’s very worthwhile, being part of this great organization now in this part of my life. The band’s playing great, that’s all that really matters. The band’s playing great, fans want to dance. That makes a good life.”

In addition to the summer tour, Dead and Company will make a previously-announced appearance at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. The show, originally scheduled for May 2, has been postponed until fall due to the coronavirus outbreak.

If you're hoping to see the band this year, those are all of the opportunities you will have.

"That’s it," Hart confirmed. "It’s written. And, of course, New Orleans. As Walter Cronkite would say, ‘That’s the way it is.’ ”

Dead and Company, which launched in 2015, features Grateful Dead drummers Hart and Bill Kreutzmann with singer/guitarist Bob Weir playing alongside singer/guitarist John Mayer, bassist Oteil Burbridge and keyboard player Jeff Chimenti.

Tour dates also include two-night engagements at Chicago's Wrigley Field July 24 and 25, and Boston's Fenway Park to close out the tour on Aug. 7 and 8. Tickets go on sale via Ticketmaster to the general public starting at 10 a.m. Friday, Feb. 14.

"Everybody’s in conversation in the band," said Hart. "We’re not just playing the tunes, of course. We’re re-inventing them every night, so it’s a pleasure to do that — so much fun and so rewarding to see how much they love the music now."

Hart explained the band's limited touring schedule for 2020.

"We just needed to play this amount of dates because people wanted to do their other things — John, he has a life, and so does Bob and me and Bill — and also to have a little family time at this time in our lives," said Hart. "I think it’s part of the rhythm, the overall rhythm of the band.

"So that’s all I can say about it. It’s time for experimentation. It’s time for family time, all of those things. So playing this summer really will get it out and then after that there’s other projects that will be happening with me and Bill and of course Bob."

Dead and Company's summer outing includes an Aug. 1 debut at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford.

The MetLife Stadium show, happening on late Grateful Dead singer and guitarist Jerry Garcia's birthday, is at the Meadowlands Sports Complex where the Grateful Dead performed at the former Brendan Byrne Arena and Giants Stadium a combined 30 times, according to online fan database DeadLists.

"It became very intimate, being able to relax and play in the stadium set-up," Hart said of the Dead's time at Giants Stadium. "You know, that took a long time to learn and so we kind of rolled that into what we do today. We really came to play really well in stadiums.

For more news from the Grateful Dead family, check out this video of filmmaker Justin Kreutzmann's visit to Asbury Park for the Asbury Park Music and Film Festival:

"It’s just one of those things. It’s funny: We could play actually in a little room as well, but somehow the resonance of all those people giving you the energy then you giving it back then them giving it back to you. This little game we play with the audience, that makes it really a joyful time."

Dead and Company Summer 2020 tour dates: