Dead & Company Spin A New Tale With ‘Tangled Up In Blue’ Debut At Las Vegas Sphere

Dead & Company closed out their fourth of six 2025 weekends at Sphere in Las Vegas on Saturday with their 42nd show overall and 12th of this year’s Dead Forever residency at the high-tech venue. The sextet opened Saturday’s concert with their first-ever cover of Bob Dylan's “Tangled Up In Blue” and also fit 2025 debuts of “The Wheel,” “Here Comes Sunshine” and “Looks Like Rain” into the setlist.

Dead & Co. — Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir and drummer Mickey Hart with guitarist John Mayer, bassist Oteil Burbridge, keyboardist Jeff Chimenti and drummer Jay Lane — took the stage around 7:35 p.m. local time and performed the song from Dylan’s iconic 1975 album, Blood On The Tracks, in front of the scaffolding imagery that has accompanied the first tune each night.

While the Grateful Dead only performed “Tangled Up In Blue” twice with Bob Dylan during their historic Dylan & The Dead tour in July 1987, the Jerry Garcia Band regularly covered the song from 1976 through 1995. Bobby Weir handled lead vocals on the Dead & Co. debut.

“Lift off” was achieved and the scaffolding parted for the “Shakedown Street” that filled the two-slot. Animated visuals of the Dead’s former home in San Francisco’s Haight-Asbury neighborhood complemented the extended performance of the title track from the Grateful Dead’s 1978 studio album. The band then spent the next 23 minutes working through the oft-paired “Scarlet Begonias” and “Fire On The Mountain.” Burbridge, Mayer and Weir traded lead vocal duties before Hart delivered a rap within “Fire On The Mountain.”

The second surprise of the night followed as Dead & Co. rolled out their first “Wheel” since June 20, 2024. A day-appropriate “One More Saturday Night” brought Saturday’s first set to a close.

Dead & Company launched their final set of the weekend with the 2025 debut of “Here Comes Sunshine.” The Hunter/Garcia classic from the 1973 GD album Wake Of The Flood was last played by the sextet on June 6, 2024 — a gap of 32 shows. Mayer laid down a particularly bluesy solo as live video of the band was displayed underneath an animated rainbow. D&C members appeared within a tie-dye visual towards the end of the song.

“Estimated Prophet” and “Eyes Of The World” were then linked to create a 30-minute sequence that was heavy on improvisation. From there, Dead & Company played fan-favorite “Terrapin Station.”

The last notes of “Terrapin” faded into the evening’s “Drums” section. Mickey Hart, Jay Lane and Oteil Burbridge took attendees on a wild rhythmic trip. Hart was eventually left on stage to strum The Beam, which paved the way for “Space.” Bobby Weir, Jeff Chimenti, John Mayer and Burbridge jammed on an eerie pattern before Lane and Hart returned. The band then lit into “Looks Like Rain,” the fourth and final 2025 debut of the night, as black-and-white live video was projected behind them.

Dead & Co. fired up “Cold Rain & Snow” next. “Uncle Sam,” the motorcycle-riding skeleton from the Grateful Dead Movie, danced and rode across many landscapes on his bike before arriving at Sphere just as the band ended the traditional song. It was then back to the Bob Dylan repertoire for a powerful “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” as the visuals brought fans back to Haight-Ashbury. The six-piece punctuated the show with “Not Fade Away” while images of band members and others who have died were displayed.

Find the setlist, The Skinny, an audience recording and some videos of Saturday’s Dead & Co. Sphere show by scrolling below.

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Audio Taped by Stella Dew