Jay Blakesberg To Issue Fare Thee Well Photo Book In December

By Scott Bernstein Oct 28, 2015 9:40 am PDT

Jay Blakesberg had one of the best seats in the house this past summer when Grateful Dead members Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart teamed with Trey Anastasio, Jeff Chimenti and Bruce Hornsby for five Fare Thee Well – Celebrating 50 Years Of Grateful Dead performances as lead photographer. Photos from Jay as well as the other members of his team have been compiled into a fine art, hardcover coffee table photography book that will be released December 1 via Rock Out Books.

FARE THEE WELL: Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Grateful Dead is available now for pre-order at rockoutbooks.com. Basketball legend and Deadhead extraordinaire Bill Walton penned the introduction. “It was a time and space that I will never forget. I am a proud and loyal Deadhead,” he wrote. “This book serves to nurture and activate our finely tuned senses and bring the Fare Thee Well celebration back to life.”

The book also features two essays by Tales From The Golden Road co-host Gary Lambert which add valuable historical perspective. “Joyously undermining all the conventional wisdom of the music business, the band somehow survived and prospered,” Lambert wrote. “And, after fifty years, it can’t be denied that the Dead’s art became a tradition unto itself…”

Blakesberg had full access to the band so in addition to photos from all five shows, you can also expect to see intimate backstage moments as well as images of the enthusiastic throngs of attendees. Jay’s photos are accompanied by shots taken by his team members and JamBase contributors Chad Smith and John Margaretten. All told, the 208-page book contains 305 images.

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