Phil Lesh & The Terrapin Family Band Recruit Horns For 50 Years Of Jazz Fest Tribute

On Saturday, Phil Lesh hosted “Life Is A Carnival: Phil Lesh & The Terrapin Family Band & Special Guests Celebrate Jazz Fest” at the Grate Room at Terrapin Crossroads in San Rafael. The bassist along with guitarists Ross James, Grahame Lesh and Alex Koford, keyboardist Scott Guberman, vocalist Elliott Peck and drummer Nathan Graham mixed Grateful Dead classics with a variety of covers during the two set show. The Monophonics‘ horn section lent a hand at various points of the evening.

The night got off the ground with the horn section in tow for a pair of tunes as the ensemble offered up “Tennesse Jed” and a Peck-led take on Van Morrison’s “Caravan.” From there, Lesh & Co. would dig in on a “Dupree’s Diamond Blues Jam” before transitioning into the folk tune “Stealin’.” Additional first set highlight’s included the Monophonics horns assisting on “Scarlet Begonias,” Randy Newman’s “Kingfish” from the New Orleans native’s 1974 LP Good Old Boys as well as takes on Bobby “Blue” Bland’s “Turn On Your Love Light” and The Rolling Stones’ “Rip This Joint.”

The second frame focused almost exclusively on the Grateful Dead’s catalog as “The Music Never Stopped” was tapped to get things off the ground. The Band’s “Life Is A Carnival” came ahead of a run on Dead classics. Expansive takes on “Playing In The Band,” “The Wheel” and “Eyes Of The World” along with the trifecta of “Help On The Way,” “Slipknot!” and “Franklin’s Tower,” the latter of which saw the return of the Monophonics horns helped fill out the majority of the stanza. The meaty troupe closed out the set with Wilson Pickett’s “In The Midnight Hour” with all the musicians returning back the stage as they delivered “Ripple” as the lone encore.

Watch full show video captured by Deadheadland below:

Set One

Set Two

Setlist

Set One: Tennessee Jed*, Caravan*, Dupree’s Diamond Blues Jam > Stealin’, Scarlet Begonias*, They Love Each Other, Kingfish*, Box Of Rain, Turn On Your Love Light*, Rip This Joint*

Set Two: The Music Never Stopped, Life Is A Carnival*, Playing In The Band, The Wheel, Unbroken Chain, Eyes Of The World*, Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Franklin’s Tower*, In The Midnight Hour*

Encore: Ripple*

* – w/ Monophonics horns