Looking Back At Dead & Company’s 2025 Sphere Cover Song Debuts

The first cover debut of 2025 was the first song performed by Dead & Company at the Sphere this year. Set one on night one began with “Gimme Some Lovin.” According to Jerrybase.com whose stats were relied upon throughout this article, the Grateful Dead covered the Spencer Davis Group hit 87 times between 1984 and 1990. The song’s “We’re so glad you made it” lyrics welcomed the audience as they settled into the Dead Forever ride.

Dead & Co. kept the new tunes rolling on night two at the Sphere with a cover of “Lay Down Sally.” Mayer sang the song that the Jerry Garcia Band often covered between 1990 and 1995. New neon green graphics referencing the early days of video games were the theme of the accompanying visuals and a robot-like dancing bear formed out of the green lines.

Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh, who died in October 2024 at age 84, was recognized often throughout the 2025 Dead Forever run. Lesh’s voice was frequently heard as a substitute for the show-ending archival audio often reserved for a 1960s Grateful Dead news report. Lesh was also represented within the visual scenes accompanying the music.

Lesh sang lead when the Dead covered “Broken Arrow” 35 times between 1993 and 1995. The song appeared on The Band guitarist Robbie Robertson’s 1987 self-titled solo album.

Mayer handled lead vocals for Dead & Co. on “Broken Arrow,” which premiered as the second-to-last song of the fourth Sphere concert. The audio recording of Lesh discussing the bond between the Grateful Dead, their music and their fan community, followed the debut.

The eighth Dead Forever 2025 show saw Dead & Company bring out acclaimed opera singer Renée Fleming to collaborate with Mickey Hart during “Space.” The performance also included Dead & Co. unveiling their cover of “The Harder They Come.” Jerry Garcia was fond of Jimmy Cliff’s reggae favorite, performing it over 360 times with various solo bands between 1973 and 1995.

“The Harder They Come” made a second Sphere appearance this year during the last show of Dead & Company’s run. Oteil Burbridge sang lead both times.

Like on opening night, show 12 started off with a cover song, this time with Weir leading a take on Bob Dylan’s “Tangled Up In Blue.” Jerry Garcia Band first performed the song from Dylan’s iconic 1975 album, Blood On The Tracks, the year after it came out. Garcia played “Tangled Up In Blue” more than 260 times through 1995. “Tangled Up In Blue” was played twice by the Grateful Dead with Dylan during their historic Dylan & The Dead Tour in 1987.

Similar to “The Harder They Come,” the final show of the 2025 Dead Forever residency featured a second performance of “Tangled Up In Blue.”

Dead & Company’s sixth and final cover debut of the 2025 Dead Forever Sphere run occurred during the penultimate concert of the residency. Set two of show 17 began with Weir helming their first “I Fought The Law.” The song written by The Crickets’ Sonny Curtis and popularized by fellow Texas-based band The Bobby Fuller Four was performed by the Grateful Dead over 30 times between 1993 and 1995.