Oteil Burbridge & Friends Honor Phil Lesh By Bookending Denver Run With ‘Unbroken Chain’

Dead & Company bassist Oteil Burbridge brought his Fall Tour 2024 Denver for a two-night stand at Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom. The concerts marked Burbridge’s first public performances since the death of Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh, whose song “Unbroken Chain” began and ended the Denver run.

The shows presented an Oteil & Friends lineup featuring Burbridge on bass, Lamar Williams Jr. on vocals, Melvin Seals on organ, Jason Crosby on keyboards and violin, Tom Guarna on guitar, Steve Kimock on guitar and John Morgan Kimock on drums.

Lesh’s “Unbroken Chain” kicked off the first set on Friday and was sung by Crosby. Saturday’s second set was punctuated with an encore that saw the ensemble circling back to “Unbroken Chain.”

Written by Lesh and poet Bobby Petersen, “Unbroken Chain” appeared on the Grateful Dead’s 1974 studio album, From The Mars Hotel. The rarity was not played in concert by the Grateful Dead until 1995, when it was performed 10 times, including the band’s final concert on July 9, 1995.

Lesh, who died on October 25 at age 84, was Burbridge’s mentor and collaborator. Burbridge’s last time seeing Lesh was to record an episode of the latter’s Darkstarathon series earlier this year. In a note memorializing his relationship with Lesh, Burbridge shared in part:

“I think one of Phil’s most loving contributions is his musical generosity towards all of us in the next generations. His openness and desire to welcome younger players of all stripes onstage with him was clear. It was great to see him give so many the opportunity to carry this music forward in so many different ways.”

Between performances of “Unbroken Chain” at Cervantes, Burbridge and his cohorts carried the music of the Grateful Dead throughout the two shows. The setlists were interspersed with songs from Burbridge’s former band The Allman Brothers Band, as well as a few of his originals and other cover selections.

View a clip of Friday’s “Unbroken Chain” opener at Cervantes below:

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