The Avett Brothers Debut Grateful Dead Cover At Red Rocks

The Avett Brothers celebrated 15 years of headlining Red Rocks Amphitheatre over the weekend with their 39th – 41st concerts at the majestic Colorado venue. A special treat came during through night two on Saturday, when The Avetts premiered a spot-on cover of the Grateful Dead's “Ripple.”

The band’s latest visit marked their first to Red Rocks since Grateful Dead co-founding guitarist Bob Weir died at age 78 on January 10, 2026. The Avetts and Bob Weir teamed up for live collaborations on multiple occasions. Weir sat-in with The Avett Brothers for two songs at the 2014 Mountain Jam festival before joining the band on eight tunes at the 2017 Lockn’ Festival.

The GD guitarist and Americana act also shared the stage at Red Rocks during The Avetts’ 2014 run at the venue. Bob Weir & RatDog opened for The Avett Brothers in Morrison on July 11, 2014. Members of The Avetts sat-in with RatDog on “Franklin’s Tower” before Weir joined the headliners for “Going Down The Road Feelin’ Bad,” “Little Sadie” and “Uncle John’s Band.”

The Avett Brothers debuted their take on “Ripple” in the eight-slot on Saturday night. Siblings Seth and Scott Avett traded lead and harmony vocals throughout the Hunter/Garcia classic. Tania Elizabeth shined with her mandolin accompaniment.

Watch The Avett Brothers’ first-ever cover of “Ripple” below:

Earlier in the night, The Avetts opened with “Foggy Mountain Breakdown,” a Flatt & Scruggs cover they debuted at beginning of the first night of the run and used to kick off their encore on Sunday. The rest of Saturday’s 23-song setlist was loaded with fan-favorites from throughout their career, including “Shame,” “Murder In The City,” “I Wish I Was,” “November Blue” and “Kick Drum Heart.”

A take on the traditional “Frog Went A-Courting” got the Saturday night encore underway. The Avetts followed with “The Fall” and closed out the evening by performing “The Prettiest Thing.”