Lukas Nelson & Friends Celebrate Bob Weir’s Legacy At Sweetwater Benefit

Lukas Nelson returned to Sweetwater Music Hall in Mill Valley, California on Monday for a Music Heals International benefit honoring Bob Weir, with whom he shared the stage at numerous previous fundraisers for the nonprofit. Nelson joined Grahame Lesh, Dan “Lebo” Lebowitz, Holly Bowling, John Molo and Paul Beaubrun for an evening mixing Grateful Dead favorites, Weir’s solo material and songs from Nelson and Beaubrun.

Presented by Music Heals International and Hardly Strictly Bluegrass’ Out Of The Park series, the sold-out September 28 concert honored Weir posthumously as the recipient of the Rob Wasserman Memorial Ambassador Award. Nelson received the inaugural award last year. A portion of proceeds also benefited Sweet Relief and Weir’s Furthur Foundation.

Music Heals International was founded in 2013 by Sara Wasserman, daughter of Weir’s longtime collaborator and RatDog bandmate Rob Wasserman. The organization provides free music education to children in Haiti, India and Venezuela. Its origins trace to a conversation Sara had with Sean Penn at Sweetwater’s 2012 opening, where Weir and her father performed with RatDog. Wasserman subsequently traveled to Haiti with Nelson before launching MHI, she recalled in a recent Grateful Web interview.

“For over a decade, since the very beginning, he showed up every year for us,” Wasserman said of Weir. Nelson and Weir’s collaborations at MHI benefits included a 2019 appearance featuring “Cassidy” and several Bob Dylan songs, as well as a 2021 fundraiser where they played “Loose Lucy,” “Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain” and “Before You Accuse Me.”

Monday’s concert began with Beaubrun performing solo before Lebo, Lesh, Bowling and Molo joined him for his original “Pote Lavi.” Beaubrun then departed, leaving the quartet to devote the remainder of the opening set to Weir’s repertoire.

Lebo led “Cassidy,” which sandwiched a Grahame Lesh-sung “The Other One.” Lesh then handled “Estimated Prophet” before Lebo sang “Only A River” from Weir’s 2016 solo album, Blue Mountain, to end the set.

Nelson opened the second set with a solo segment that included a take on his father Willie’s song “Angel Flying To Close To The Ground” and a singalong version of “Ripple.” Lebo, Lesh, Bowling and Molo then joined him for a stretch alternating Nelson’s originals with Grateful Dead classics. “Fool Me Once” gave way to “Friend Of The Devil,” followed by “Just Outside Of Austin,” “Althea,” “Find Yourself” and “Truckin’.”

Beaubrun returned for a Haitian song before the musicians finished the evening with “Not Fade Away.” Watch footage of Nelson’s solo “Ripple” and four songs from the ensemble’s set below:

Ripple

Friend Of The Devil

Althea

Truckin’

Not Fade Away

Setlist

Set One: Paul Beaubrun Solo Song [1], Pote Lavi[2], Cassidy[3] > The Other One[4] > Cassidy[3], Estimated Prophet[4] > Only A River[3]

Set Two: Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground [5], If I Started Over [5], Ripple [5], Fool Me Once[6], Friend Of The Devil[6], Just Outside Of Austin[6], Althea[6], Find Yourself[6], Truckin’[6], Gade Sa Yo Fè Mwen [7], Not Fade Away[7]

Footnotes:

• [1] Paul Beaubrun solo
• [2] Paul Beaubrun with Lebo, Grahame Lesh, Holly Bowling and John Molo
• [3] Lebo, Grahame Lesh, Holly Bowling and John Molo; Lebo on lead vocals
• [4] Lebo, Grahame Lesh, Holly Bowling and John Molo; Grahame Lesh on lead vocals
• [5] Lukas Nelson solo
• [6] Lukas Nelson with Lebo, Grahame Lesh, Holly Bowling and John Molo
• [7] Lukas Nelson, Lebo, Grahame Lesh, Holly Bowling and John Molo with Paul Beaubrun