The Grateful Dead Honored by John Mayer, Billy Strings, Zac Brown & More at Spirited 2025 MusiCares Persons of the Year Gala

“The Grateful Dead are a lot of things. I would venture to say they are the great American band,” declared Andy Cohen at the opening of MusiCares Persons of the Year annual gala on Friday night (Jan. 31) at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

You’d be hard pressed to find any disagreement among the 2,000 or so Deadheads — whether for a lifetime or just for the night — who danced and sang along to the music of the band, who is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year.

Though there had been some question whether it was appropriate for the evening to proceed as planned given the wildfires that have ravaged parts of Los Angeles County, leaving almost 30 dead and more than 22,000 households destroyed, Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr quickly addressed the disaster and the way MusiCares has helped already  at the beginning of the evening.

MusiCares, the Academy’s philanthropic arm that provides financial aid and other services to those in the music community, “launched a relief effort, raising and distributing almost $4 and a half million dollars in grants to over 2,000 affected music professionals,” he said. “Throughout the Grammy weekend, we’ll continue to raise awareness and funds, celebrate first responders and support this city, so as we begin the 2025 Grammy weekend, there’s no better honoree than the Grateful Dead.” (Though the final numbers aren’t in from the evening, MusiCares executive director Laura Segura said during the night that more than $5.2 million had been raised from a paddle auction with the Dead’s Weir donating $100,000 and comedian Bert Kreischer giving $25,000.)

What a long, strange trip it’s been for the Dead, who were represented by guitarist Weir and drummer Mickey Hart, as well as the late Jerry Garcia’s daughter, Trixie, and the late Phil Lesh’s son, Grahame. (Drummer Bill Kreutzmann joined in via video.) Hart and Weir sat together at a front table taking in the 16 performances feting them with Hart often smiling broadly and swaying along while Weir appeared more stoic, though appreciative.

MusiCares, whose past honorees have included Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Gloria Estefan, Bonnie Raitt and last year’s Person of the Year, Jon Bon Jovi, always provides a stellar evening of music and a chance to hear interpretations of the honoree’s catalog filtered through the musicians chosen to fete them. This year was no different. With a crackerjack band led by Don Was that included members of Goose, Dead & Company and Grahame Lesh, a number of performers made the Dead’s uniquely genre-blending sound into their own.

Among the most pleasing performances were those tributes performed by co-ed duos, which brought a refreshing, feminine energy to some of the songs. The War and Treaty opened the evening, accompanied by Mick Fleetwood and Stewart Copeland, to provide a sassy, playful “Samson and Delilah,” once again proving that there’s no musical style that Michael and Tonya Trotter can’t tackle (They, Sammy Hagar and Marcus King were the only three artists who had performed last year for Bon Jovi who appeared again Friday night).

The War and Treaty were followed by My Morning Jacket, who were joined by a very pregnant Maggie Rose for a funky “One More Saturday Night,” as Rose and MMJ lead singer Jim James’ voices wrapped around each other. Lukas Nelson and Sierra Farrell took to the circular rotating B-stage in the middle of the floor for a gorgeous, intertwining “It Must Have Been the Roses,” which felt like a collaboration album must be inevitable. Farrell, sporting a beautiful rose and ribbon headpiece and red velvet gloves, clearly understood the assignment.

Then there were those acts that felt like descendants of the Dead, who put their own stamp on their performances while still hueing closely to  the jammy sounds of the originals.  Best of the bunch were Zac Brown and Marcus King who united for an exhilarating “Bertha,” while Vampire Weekend brought a lilting airiness to “Scarlet Begonias.” Dwight Yoakam’s version of “Truckin,’” a song he cut nearly 20 years ago, provided a delightful psychobilly turn, while Billy Strings’ “Wharf Rat” and The War on Drugs’ “Box of Rain” (played with Grahame Lesh) both paid homage, while adding their own colors.   

Former and current Dead associates also provided highlights: Bruce Hornsby, who played with the Grateful Dead as keyboardist from 1990-1992 following the death of Brent Mydland, turned in a delicate, intimate take on “Standing on the Moon,” while John Mayer soared on “Terrapin Station.”

The varied selection dove deep into the group’s canon and while there’s no way to cover every tune, signature songs like “Casey Jones,” Shakedown Street” and “Uncle John’s Band” went undone often in favor of lesser-known tunes.

Actor and longtime fan Woody Harrelson presented Hart and Weir with their award, humorously recalling his adventures with the group, including “smoking a fatty with Jerry in a bathroom of the vice presidential mansion and the band getting the boot by a very angry Al Gore.”

Hart picked up on the story adding that the event occurred on his daughter’s first birthday, with Gore even presenting her with a cake, but then segued into how the Grateful Dead’s mission has always been communal.  

“For me, music’s always been more than just sound. It’s a force, a healer. But music doesn’t exist in a vacuum,” he said. “Music needs a community to play to. And in turn, a community needs its music. We know the power of community because we’ve lived it. Deadheads have kept the dream alive for 60 years now and continue to take this music into the next century.

“The Grateful Dead has always been more than just music,” Hart continued. “It’s about the people who believed in it, supported it and built something bigger than any one of us before the world even knew what to make of us. Our community lifted us up and kept us going. Without their support, there would be no Grateful Dead… [Music] soothes the soul, raises our consciousness and gives us strength when we need it most, because at the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about — giving back the very thing that’s given us so much.”

Following Hart, Weir took the stage and tied in the evening with the devastating Los Angeles fires. Growing up, Weir said he would spend his summers at camp, which evolved into a summer job as a ranch hand, “which as it turns out, was the only real job I’ve ever had outside of music,” he said. “But in all of this, I learned early on that you’re gonna get a lot more done a lot faster if you can make a team effort of your tasks… What we have here in SoCal these days is a rebuild that’s gonna take some time & effort — and an immense amount of teamwork. My guess is it’s gonna take a few years, but SoCal will be back, stronger and shinier.”

Hart also addressed the Grateful Dead’s long legacy of helping others. “All along, my old pal Jerry used to say, ‘You get some, you give some back.’ And so we did. From early on it was more than apparent to us that we could be of substantial benefit to our broader community — and have big fun doing it. We also learned right away that it was an honor and a privilege to be in this position — something we never took lightly… That brings us back to MusiCares, a beacon of hope in the music industry that provides financial assistance, mental health resources, recovery programs and other support to artists and music technicians facing challenges. Their work ensures that the people who make music — from behind-the-scene professionals to household names — will be able to carry on.”

To close the evening, Dead & Co took the stage for a medley of a Mayer-led “Althea” and then “Sugar Magnolia,” and the band’s only top 40 hit, 1987’s “Touch of Grey,” with Weir on lead for the latter two.  It was a tuneful, upbeat set with “Grey’s” “We will get by/ We will survive” refrain serving as the perfect benediction for the night and a reminder that no matter how challenging times get, whether from fires and illness and other obstacles, there is, hopefully, a brighter road ahead.

Check out the Grateful Dead’s MusiCares setlist below:

“Samson and Delilah” (The War and Treaty with Mick Fleetwood and Stewart Copeland)

“One More Saturday Night” (My Morning Jacket with Maggie Rose)

“Ripple” (Norah Jones)

“Bertha” (Zac Brown and Marcus King)

“Ramble on Rose” (Wynonna Judd)

“Friend of the Devil” (Noah Kahan with Bela Fleck)

“Scarlet Begonias” (Vampire Weekend)

“Truckin’” (Dwight Yoakam)

“They Love Each Other” (Maren Morris)

“It Must Have Been the Roses” (Lukas Nelson and Sierra Farrell)

“Wharf Rat” (Billy Strings)

“Loose Lucy” (Sammy Hagar)

“Standing on the Moon” (Bruce Hornsby with Rick Mitarotonda)

“Box of Rain” (The War on Drugs)

“Terrapin Station” (John Mayer)

“Althea/Sugar Magnolis/Touch of Grey” (Dead & Company)