The American rock group The Grateful Dead was founded in Palo Alto, California, in 1965. Dead heads, or devoted followers of the touring band, developed their own culture during the 1970s. The Grateful Dead’s surviving members came together in 2015 for a tour.
What they believed to be an end to their tour in fact spawned a brand-new fan base. The new group carried on with their tour as Dead & Company, this time adding John Mayer along for the ride.
What type of new band merchandise is out now?
The Grateful Dead’s new followers developed a love for the trippy universe of Grateful Dead goods despite appreciating the band’s musical catalog. Bright SB Dunks with shearling accents and the iconic dancing bear logo are the outcome of Nike’s Grateful Dead cooperation.
The band’s iconic rose, skull, and lightning bolt symbols are featured on Grateful Dead caps, polos, and leather jackets. The growing recognition of the band’s tie-dye aesthetic has given rise to a vibrant DIY streetwear culture, thus Grateful Dead clothing is not just found in official releases.
Essentially any concert venue, no matter the genre of music, is guaranteed to have at least one merchant dedicated to selling Dead wear. Hats, shirts, a Grateful Dead women’s t-shirt, stuffed animals with the logo can all be found there. In addition, music stores and even head shops all seem to carry a line of dancing bears clothing and novelty items that can be purchased any day of the week.
Are there still Deadheads who follow the band around the country?
The Grateful Dead were primarily viewed by the general public in the late 20th century. However, the Dead have recently become one of the most well-known American rock groups right now, particularly as the August 25th anniversary of Garcia’s passing approaches. In 2015, a survey revealed that people of all ages and political ideologies enjoyed the Dead.
In fact, the survey found that the Dead were more popular among the demographics you would anticipate to dislike them less, people between the ages of 18 and 44, than it was among baby boomers, the generation that grew up during the band’s heyday. Republicans also liked them a little bit better than the independents and Democrats did.
Other, less quantitative indications of the Dead’s broad acceptance exist. When Jerry Garcia continued to be alive, as an occurrence that was popular between a small group of devoted Deadheads who notably followed the musicians from gig to gig while selling cheap acid and grilled cheese sandwiches in parking lots via Jersey City. These are still common sights, although merchandise booths are much more common.
This year, new Grateful Dead apparel, including sneakers and deodorant, has been released. Who would have imagined that people would choose to smell similar to the Dead?
What new material do the band members have out today?
The band’s official podcast, Good Old Grateful Dead Cast, one of the most popular this summer, explores the development of their legendary album, Workingman’s Dead, which commemorates 50 this year. Numerous additional Dead podcasts are also available.
Additionally, a sizable new Vinyl Me, Please box set that repackages some of the Grateful Dead’s best albums features liner notes written by a diverse group of young musicians, from indie rockers such as Jim James of My Morning Jacket alongside MC Taylor of Hiss Golden Messenger to country singer Margo Price.
Even Dead homage bands, like the renowned Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, have advanced to headlining big outdoor venues, including Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre. They still have hundreds of roadies who travel along with the band to the venues, selling merchandise at all of the shows.
It isn’t uncommon at all to find Grateful Dead merchandise in large retailers, like Costco, although most of the custom graphics (https://www.rasmussen.edu/degrees/design/blog/what-is-graphic-design/) on shirts are found on online retailers who specialize in selling the band logo items.
When did the surge in popularity begin again?
This so-called “Dead bump” dates back to 2015, whenever the band’s core 4 surviving members got back together to perform Fare Thee Well gigs in Illinois and California that summer. Soon after, John Mayer joined forces with guitarist Bob Weir, percussionist Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart, and bassist Mickey Hart to form Dead & Company, which went on to become the Dead’s most successful lineup after Garcia’s demise.
They distributed two million tickets and generated over two hundred million dollars in revenue on the road as of 2019.
The band was introduced to a broader, younger audience two years later thanks to the outstanding four-hour movie Long Strange Trip, which contextualized the band’s history down to the smallest details of their monumental “Wall of Sound” song. No one else rock band documentary has ever included as much feedback from roadies.