Mickey Hart Talks Future Dead & Company Shows At Las Vegas Sphere

Grateful Dead/Dead & Company drummer Mickey Hart appeared on Barstool’s Pardon My Take podcast yesterday to promote his new ESPN documentary Rhythm Masters. Hart shared his thoughts on whether Dead & Co. would return to Sphere as part of the interview.

Dead & Company recently completed a 30-show Dead Forever residency at the state-of-the-art venue. Concerts were held over 10 non-consecutive weekends spanning May 16 through August 10. Hart is joined in the band by fellow Grateful Dead alum guitarist Bob Weir as well as keyboardist Jeff Chimenti, drummer Jay Lane, bassist Oteil Burbridge and guitarist John Mayer.

Co-host Dan “Big Cat” Katz caught two shows at Sphere, where Dead & Co. followed U2 and Phish as the third band to play the venue. Big Cat asked Hart if there will be more Sphere dates for Dead & Company. “There’s no reason why there wouldn’t be,” Mickey responded. “Let’s leave it at that.”

Mickey Hart has played at thousands of venues around the world but nothing compared to Sphere. “It’s the next step,” the drummer explained. “Once you see the Sphere, then you understand what the future is of music and visuals. When they come together it’s really powerful.”

Dead & Co.’s John Mayer and Bob Weir previously addressed the potential for the band’s return to the venue. “I truly do not know if we’ll come back,” Mayer told Variety. “Last I heard, bands could only play once at the Sphere. Then I heard chatter of that no longer being a rule. That’s the most I know. But I’ll tell you this: If someone asked me to do more, I would absolutely do more. But if we did that, it wouldn’t be this year.”

Bobby told Variety he “wouldn’t be surprised if we get invited back” and that he “would certainly make room for that.” Weir added, “We’re only scratching the surface here” when it came to use of technology.

Hart also discussed the challenges of performing at Sphere. “It’s a new sonic environment that we had to get used to,” Mickey said. “I thought it was suicide to play in the Sphere. Sonically, it’s just not done. With all of the artificial intelligence and the 1600 speakers and hi-def visuals, we made it come alive. We put a lot of time making it feel like the Grateful Dead.”

Watch Mickey address the future of Dead & Co. at Sphere and stream the full episode below: