Grateful Dead Selected As 2025 MusiCares Persons Of The Year

MusiCares picked the Grateful Dead as the 2025 MusiCares Persons of the Year. “Core four” members Bill Kreutzmann, Mickey Hart, Bobby Weir and Phil Lesh will be honored at the 34th annual Persons of the Year benefit gala, which will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center on January 31, 2025 during Grammys Week.

The legendary band will celebrate its 60th anniversary in 2025. MusiCares selected the Grateful Dead in recognition of “their immense contributions to music, their tireless philanthropic efforts and their pioneering role in fostering communities through their concerts and activism.” Renowned musicians will pay tribute to the Grateful Dead during the tribute concert portion of the gala. The night will also include special tributes to late founding guitarist Jerry Garcia.

MusiCares provides critical mental and physical health, human and addiction recovery services to those in the music community. The organization was founded by the Recording Academy in 1989 as a U.S. based, independent 501(c)(3) charity.

Lesh, Weir, Kreutzmann and Hart issued a joint statement about receiving the honor, writing:

“It’s simple: we all need music. It speaks to each of us, offering what we need to face what life presents—enhancing our joys, helping us spread them, and making our sorrows easier to bear. We can’t imagine a world without it. As our ol’ pal, Jerry, used to say, ‘You get some, you give some back,’ a tremendously effective way to share those benefits.

While we can’t prove that the Muse — the force behind what we do — is working to build a support system for the show, over sixty years in music has taught us that it takes a lot of dedicated people to bring everything to life. Each person behind the scenes has honed their skills to meet the many needs of the show. Without them, it wouldn’t be what the Muse intends, and each of them is essential, pouring their hearts and spirits into it.

We also want to recognize the community of Dead Heads for their unwavering support over the years—we wouldn’t be here without you.

We are deeply honored to be recognized as MusiCares Persons of the Year. This honor is truly a testament to the legacy of the music, which has always been bigger than us—it’s about the connection between us, the crew, and all those who’ve been on this long strange trip. It’s not just about what we create, but about making sure the people behind it, behind us every night, the ones who quietly make it all happen, get the support they need to keep going, no matter what life throws at them. We’re grateful to stand with MusiCares and hope everyone continues to support this vital mission to ensure music thrives in perpetuity.”

The tribute concert will follow a cocktail reception and dinner. Tickets for MusiCares’ Persons of the Year benefit gala are on sale now.