Watch Sturgill Simpson Rip Through ‘Big River’ With Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros In Mexico

Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros headlined the first day of music at the inaugural Dead Ahead concert vacation event in Riviera Cancún, Mexico on Friday (January 12). The core five-piece lineup of guitarist Bob Weir, bassist Don Was, drummer Jay Lane, keyboardist Jeff Chimenti and pedal steel guitarist Barry Sless was joined by Sturgill Simpson during their first of two sets on Friday for a performance of a Johnny Cash song Weir played regularly with the Grateful Dead.

Weir went solo to start his ensemble’s first set of Dead Ahead 2024 by performing a take on Little Feat’s “Easy To Slip.” Was and Lane then teamed with Bob Weir for a cover of Bob Dylan’s “When I Paint My Masterpiece.” The opening frame continued as Chimenti joined Bobby, Don and Jay for the Grateful Dead favorite “Brown Eyed Women.”

Sturgill Simpson was Wolf Bros’ initial guest of the night on Friday. The acclaimed outlaw country musician augmented Weir, Was, Lane, Chimenti and Sless on “Big River.” Originally written and recorded by Johnny Cash as a single in 1958, Weir performed “Big River” hundreds of times as a member of the Grateful Dead between 1970 and 1995. The song has also been a staple of Bobby’s post-Dead projects. Simpson took multiple solos on Wolf Bros’ “Big River” in Mexico.

Following Simpson’s appearance, Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros were supplemented by The Wolf Pack horns and strings on the Grateful Dead classics “Greatest Story Ever Told,” “Weather Report Suite” and “Let It Grow” to close their first set of the Dead Ahead festival. The group came back to kick off Friday’s second set with “Two Djinn” from Weir’s RatDog days. Then, Goose guitarist Rick Mitarotonda added to the Grateful Dead classic “New Speedway Boogie” before Derek Trucks swapped in for a run connecting “Playing In The Band” and “He’s Gone.”

Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros featuring The Wolf Pack went at it alone to resume Friday’s second set with a lengthy “Terrapin Station Suite” featuring the “Lady With A Fan,” “Terrapin Station,” “Terrapin Transit,” “At A Siding” and “Terrapin Flyer” segments of the title track from the Grateful Dead’s 1977 studio album. Next, Weir guided the group through the beloved Hunter/Garcia ballad “Stella Blue” and one of his own signature songs, “Sugar Magnolia,” to cap the second set. The band returned to punctuate the show with a “Ripple” encore.

See fan-shot footage of Weir & Wolf Bros’ “Terrapin Station Suite” performance in Mexico below:

Setlist (via Bob Weir Instagram)