Dead & Company Plays Private Fundraiser In Hollywood For Oceana

Dead & Company helped raise over $1.1 million by performing at a private fundraiser in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles on Sunday night. Proceeds from the concert benefited Oceana’s mission of protecting and preserving the world’s oceans.

Guitarists Bob Weir and John Mayer, bassist Oteil Burbridge, keyboardist Jeff Chimenti and drummers Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann played a 65-minute set according to a report from Billboard. Tickets for the “Rock Under The Stars” benefit fetched $5,000 each with approximately 200 attendees on hand at the backyard concert. Last night’s performance came after similar benefits featuring Don Henley & Friends one year prior and Sting in 2016.

“Going from a stadium to a house party is a very interesting dynamic, but the point is a musician is privileged to be a musician and musicians should give back that privilege,” Hart told Billboard in reference to going from a performance at Dodger Stadium on Saturday to the intimate backyard concert on Sunday. “In general, you gotta defend the treasures. One of them is the oceans and you have to defend it however you can. You have to fight the evil that’s in the White House now with everything you have. So any night I can raise a million dollars is a good night.”

A number of celebrities were on hand at last night’s benefit including actors Jeff Goldblum, Ed Begley Jr., Dean Norris and Kelly Lynch. Dead & Company opened with “Dark Star” according to Billboard and returned to the jam vehicle a few times throughout the hour-plus performance. Weir also led his Sunday sermon of “Samson & Delilah” as well as a cover of Bob Dylan’s “When I Paint My Masterpiece.” Mayer’s turn in the spotlight included a rendition of “Brown-Eyed Women.” The concert concluded with Grateful Dead/Dead & Company live staples “Shakedown Street” and “Touch Of Grey.”

Dead & Company returns to the stage on Wednesday night in Albuquerque.

Watch a few clips from Sunday night’s benefit:

[Franklin’s Tower]

[Franklin’s Tower]

[Shakedown Street]

Setlist (via Billboard)

Set: Dark Star v1, Samson & Delilah, Dark Star jam, Brown-Eyed Women, When I Paint My Masterpiece, Franklin’s Tower, Dark Star v2, Shakedown Street, Touch Of Grey