The War On Drugs, Vampire Weekend, Mick Fleetwood and others honour Grateful Dead at charity gala

1 February, 2025

The War On Drugs, Vampire Weekend, Mick Fleetwood and others have honoured the Grateful Dead at a Los Angeles charity gala.

On Friday (January 31), the MusiCares Persons Of The Year ceremony took place at the Los Angeles Convention Center, an annual gala that has in the past paid tribute to music legends such as Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell and Dolly Parton.

Grateful Dead became the third group to receive the honour – after Fleetwood Mac and Aerosmith – and surviving members Mickey Hart and Bob Weir were on hand to accept the tribute.

The War On Drugs played the Dead’s 1970 track ‘Box Of Rain’, while Vampire Weekend covered 1974’s ‘Scarlet Begonias’. Billy Strings played ‘Wharf Rat’, Dwight Yoakam covered ‘Truckin’’, Sammy Hagar performed ‘Loose Lucy’, My Morning Jacket played ‘One More Saturday Night’ and Norah Jones covered ‘Ripple’ at the show.

John Mayer, The Police’s Stewart Copeland, Noah Kahan and Maren Morris were all also on hand at the event. Check out fan-captured footage from the night below.

The gala was first announced in October and was originally planned to include a posthumous tribute to Grateful Dead founder Jerry Garcia. However, with founding bassist Phil Lesh dying shortly after the announcement at the age of 85, he was also remembered at the ceremony.

The band were also among the honorees at the Kennedy Center Honors hosted by Joe Biden in December, where Sturgill Simpson performed a touching cover of their song ‘Ripple’.

In other news, Dead & Company – who are made up of Grateful Dead‘s Bob Weir and Mickey Hart alongside John Mayer, Oteil Burbridge, Jeff Chimenti and Jay Lane – have announced a 2025 residency at Las Vegas venue, the Sphere.

The upcoming run will see them continue from the 2024 residency at the same venue. Tickets for Dead & Company at the Sphere are now on sale here, with hotel packages and VIP bundles available. Their 2025 residency will run throughout March, April and May.

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