Red Rocks in Morrison, Colorado played host to a special concert honoring the 75th birthday of late Grateful Dead frontman Jerry Garcia on Friday night. The evening featured sets from a pair of all-star bands put together expressly for the occasion as well as set from Bob Weir & the Campfire Band. John Mayer made a surprise appearance as did a collection of Jerry Garcia’s guitars including Wolf, Tiger, Rosebud and two Travis Bean axes.

The Jerry Garcia 75th Birthday Acoustic Band featuring Kenny Kosek, Sandy Rothman, Travis Book, Anders Osborne and Chris Pandolfi kicked off the action. Kosek and Rothman were members of the short-lived Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band in the late ’80s, while Book and Pandolfi are members of The Infamous Stringdusters. After opening with “Deep Elem Blues,” the ensemble performed a mix of songs from Garcia’s various unplugged projects as well as an acoustic “Black Muddy River” and the first of two versions of “Friend Of The Devil” to be played on Friday.

Up next was a set from an impressive group of musicians dubbed the Jerry Garcia 75th Birthday Band. Original Jerry Garcia Band members Melvin Seals, Jackie LaBranch and Gloria Jones were joined by Oteil Burbridge, Kamasi Washington, Tom Hamilton and Duane Trucks. The band focused on material from the Jerry Garcia Band repertoire including “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You),” “The Harder They Come,” “Cats Down Under The Stars,” “Reuben & Cerise” and “Dear Prudence.” Weir made an appearance on guitar and vocals for a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Señor (Tales Of Yankee Power).” Mayer, the evening’s unannounced surprise guest, showed off fretboard fireworks on the set-closing “Deal.”

Bobby and the Campfire Band closed out the evening. Weir opened the headlining set with a handful of solo acoustic performances including “Only A River” off 2016’s Blue Mountain. Then, not only did the Campfire Band file on stage, but John Mayer came out as well. Mayer led “Althea” as part of a performance that included one Grateful Dead classic after another along with two GD repertoire staples (“Morning Dew”/”I Know You Rider”). An impressive segment came in the form a “Bird Song” > “Dark Star” > “Bird Song.” Weir, Mayer and the Campfire Band brought out Burbridge to add to “Eyes Of The World” towards the end of the set. The evening came to a close with a “Friend Of The Devil”/”Brokedown Palace” encore, which like most of Weir’s set featured John Mayer.

Photo Gallery by Jeremy Williams

Videos (Captured by Kyle Isaac)

[Deal]

[Althea]

[Friend Of The Devil > Brokedown Palace]

[Senor]

[Tangled Up In Blue]

Set One: Jerry Garcia 75th Birthday Acoustic Band: Deep Elem Blues, ??, I’ve Been All Around This World, Friend of the Devil, Two Soldiers, If I Lose, Trouble In Mind, Black Muddy River, Short Life of Trouble

Set Two: Jerry Garcia 75th Birthday Band – How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) > The Harder They Come, Senor (w/Bob Weir guitar/vocals), Waiting For A Miracle, Cats Down Under the Stars, Tangled Up In Blue, Reuben and Cerise, Sisters and Brothers, Gomorrah, Dear Prudence, Deal*

Set Three: Bob Weir & the Campfire Band – Loose Lucy (Solo), Peggy-O (Solo), Only A River (Solo), Althea*, Brown-Eyed Women*, Tennessee Jed*, Bird Song*> Dark Star*> Bird Song*, Eyes of the World**, Morning Dew*, I Know You Rider*

Encore: Friend of the Devil*, Brokedown Palace*

*With John Mayer / ** With John Mayer and Oteil Burbridge