Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros featuring The Wolfpack have announced a five-night residency at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester this December. The group is currently on a fall tour alongside Willie Nelson’s Outlaw Music Festival, and made their joint performance debut at Indiana’s Farm Aid festival.
Led by Bobby Weir, the group includes Don Was, Jay Lane, Jeff Chimenti and Barry Sless. The group has released two live albums Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros: Live in Colorado and Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros: Live in Colorado Vol. 2, to critical praise. This tour is not the group’s first residency at The Capitol Theatre, with a four-night run last winter.
Bobby Weir, a founding member of the legendary Grateful Dead, is one of rock music’s most celebrated and distinctive guitarists. The Grateful Dead is still one of the highest grossing performers in the United States, and holds a world record 2,318 total concerts. Bobby Weir has received the Americana Music Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award, a Goodwill Ambassadorship for the UN Development Program, as well as many other achievements.
Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros featuring The Wolfpack will perform at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY on December 12, 13, 15, 16, and 17. Artist presale begins Thursday, September 28 at 10AM ET, with local presale beginning the same day at 12PM ET. Register for presale here.
General onsale begins Friday, September 29 at 10AM ET. More information and tickets are available here.
The Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros Enhanced Experience includes early venue entrance and merchandise shopping, access to watch a portion of soundcheck, a complimentary cocktail and exclusive merchandise! Packages from 100X Hospitality will go on sale September 28 at 10AM ET.
TOUR DATES
September 26—Mershon Auditorium—Columbus, OH
September 27—The Met Philadelphia—Philadelphia, PA
September 28—Pier Six Pavilion—Baltimore, MD
October 29—Frost Amphitheatre—Stanford, CA
December 12, 13, 15, 16 + 17—The Capitol Theatre—Port Chester, NY
December 29-31—Broward Center for the Performing Arts—Fort Lauderdale, FL
January 12-15, 2024—Playa Luna Presents Dead Ahead —Riviera Cancun, MX
Willie Nelson brought his Outlaw Music Festival to Saratoga for a late-summer jam session. With a tour that celebrates Willie’s lifelong musical genius and his legacy of hits, this tour seems extra special as Willie turned a remarkable 90 years old this year. The show brings an “Outlaw Village” with it, which is a little village of vendors that travel with the festival. And there is certainly a festival vibe as attendees ate and partied all throughout SPAC’s beautiful grounds.
The evening opened with Waylon Payne playing a solo acoustic set of country and bluegrass. (Particle Kid (Willie’s Nelson’s son’s group) was not there to start the night off.) Highlights from Payne’s set include an excellent cover of Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire,” and Payne’s own classic “Born to Lose.” Payne was genuinely thankful to be performing and expressed that gratitude many times. Payne showed up later in the night as Willie’s right hand man during Willie’s set. A good night for Waylon Payne.
Los Lobos was up next. It’s unfortunate that the festival was held on a week night. Even though it was Friday, it was slow to fill and was still visibly empty when Los Lobos took the stage. They handled it like the classic professionals they are though and put on a hell of a set. Even with attendance low, one could look anywhere in the amphitheater and see people dancing to Los Lobos’ hits. With what had to be a nod to Bobby Weir, they opened with their song “Will the Wolf Survive?”. They followed that up with Three Midniters’ “Love Special Delivery.” The standout for the set was the set closing “La Bomba” segueing into The Olympics’ “Good Lovin’” and then back into “La Bomba.” With the set opening and closing with a nod to Mr. Weir, the crowd was warmed up indeed!
Hitting the stage next was The String Cheese Incident. Having been 20 or so years since this listener last saw SCI, it was special to hear them open with “Smile.” Michael Kang busted out his violin and the jam took off into classic Outlaw territory. With a blend of deep cuts and new tunes, it was good to hear these guys again. The highlight for this listener was the 20ish minutes of “Missing Me” segueing into “Just One Story.” Looking around the venue, one could see many Friends of Cheese dancing to the jams.
Setlist: Smile, Get Tight, Suntan, Barstool, Missin’ Me, Just One Story, Bhangra Saanj, Can’t Stop Now.
While this constant listener is not an old-school Deadhead with hundreds of Grateful Dead shows under his belt, but I have been listening to them for about 40 years now, and they remain in regular rotation at my home and in my car. Having been at this show, and from seeing chatter online, what occurred with the Bobby set this evening was one hell of a Dead set. Bobby Weir and the Wolf Bros Featuring the Wolfpack dropped an incredible set of music on SPAC. The Wolfpack brings horns to jam. Drop a horn section into a “Dark Star”, a slow-building “Dark Star”, and magic happens. Add a “West LA Fade Away”, a “Wharf Rat”, and wrap it up with a “Sugar Magnolia” and you have one incredible set. And all this fails to mention the “El Paso”, the “Greatest Story Ever Told”, and the “New Speedway Boogie”! Listen to this set over Nugs.Net, and don’t you think of skipping that “Lost Sailor” with horns!
Setlist: Bertha, Greatest Story Ever Told, Dark Star, El Paso, Lost Sailor, Saint of Circumstance, West LA Fadeaway, New Speedway Boogie, Wharf Rat, Sugar Magnolia
To cap the evening off, Willie Nelson came on stage and amazed the crowd with his never-ending charisma and charm. His opening number “Whiskey River” segued into “Stay All Night (Stay a Little Longer).” Listening to Willie is always a trip down Nostalgia Lane. He has written so many classic tunes, it’s mind-blowing. Highlights for this listener were “Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys”, “On the Road Again” and that all-time classic “Always on My Mind” (written by Wayne Carson, Johnny Christopher, and Mark James).
The patience shown by die-hard fans waiting for their statesman Willie Nelson paid off that evening. Sitting through the noodle-ly dancing of the Cheese- and Deadheads, fans were now saying they were glad that people were sitting so they could see Willie on stage. Willie was remarkable. At 90 years of age, he came out on stage unassisted, sat and played for an hour, and then left after waving and throwing his bandana into the crowd. Imagine catching Willie Nelson’s bandana? What a keepsake!
Setlist: Whiskey River (Johnny Bush cover), Stay a Little Longer (Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys cover), Still Is Still Moving to Me, Bloody Mary Morning, I Never Cared for You, Workin’ Man Blues (Merle Haggard and The Strangers cover), Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys, Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground, On the Road Again, Always On My Mind, Good Hearted Woman (Waylon Jennings cover), Help Me Make It Through the Night (Kris Kristofferson cover) (Waylon Payne – lead vocals), Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die, Still Not Dead, Georgia (On My Mind) (Hoagy Carmichael and His Orchestra cover), I Been to Georgia on a Fast Train (Billy Joe Shaver cover), Write Your Own Songs (Willie Nelson & Kris Kristofferson cover), Move It on Over (Hank Williams With His Drifting Cowboys cover), Me and Bobby McGee (Kris Kristofferson cover), Will the Circle Be Unbroken? (William MacEwan cover) (with Bob Weir), I’ll Fly Away (Rev. J.M. Gates cover) (with Bob Weir), It’s Hard to Be Humble (Mac Davis cover), Saw the Light
Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros have recently confirmed that they will be performing select shows in Charlottesville, South Burlington, Columbus, Philadelphia and Baltimore this September. The group, led by Weir alongside Don Was, Jay Lane and Jeff Chimenti, will also be joining Willie Nelson’s Outlaw Music Festival 2023, making stops at venues throughout New York State, including Queens and Saratoga Springs.
The band will once again be joined by The Wolfpack, a string and brass quintet featuring Alex Kelly, Brian Switzer, Adam Theis, Mads Tolling and Sheldon Brown, along with Barry Sless on pedal steel performing the expansive catalogue of Grateful Dead, Bobby’s solo albums and more.
They will be joining Willie Nelson’s Outlaw Music Festival 2023 for seven shows this September, including Forest Hills Stadium in Queens, NY, Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga Springs and more. They’ll also make their debut performance at the legendary Farm Aid in Noblesville, IN at Ruoff Music Center on September 23.
About Bobby Weir & Wold Bros
Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros have released two notable live albums, Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros: Live in Colorado followed by Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros: Live in Colorado Vol. 2. Both volumes feature songs recorded live at Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre and Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater in June 2021.
Notably, the second volume received praise from Pitchfork who raved, “he stages some of the most beloved material in the Grateful Dead’s catalog with the passion and reverence of a couple spending their 50th anniversary looking back on their wedding day,” while American Songwriter said, “Weir and the Wolfs manage to stay true to the template while also taking the music beyond any original incarnation by reinventing them in ways that find imagination and intrigue well stirred in a contemporary context.”
Weir also released Ace: 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition, an album which features one of the band’s most notable performances, a show at Radio City Music Hall in celebration of his debut solo album, Ace. The band played the entire album live and welcomed a number of special guests, including Tyler Childers and Brittney Spencer.
The band debuted orchestral performances alongside the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center, as well as three nights with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra at the Atlanta Symphony Hall. Each night the ensemble performed a completely unique set featuring hits from the expansive Grateful Dead catalogue, Bobby’s solo albums and more. Stanford professor and composer Dr. Giancarlo Aquilanti provided original orchestration.
The Members
Bobby Weir, one of the original members of the iconic Grateful Dead, honored with a GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007, stands out as one of the rock genre’s most exceptional and unique rhythm guitarists. The Grateful Dead is still one of the highest-grossing concert attractions in the U.S. and their final tally of 2,318 total concerts remains a world record.
Weir has been honored with the Americana Music Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award and the Les Paul Spirit Award, as well as a Goodwill Ambassadorship for the United Nations Development Program. His first solo album in more than ten years, Blue Mountain (2016), was critically praised upon release. Weir has been member of Dead & Company since its formation in 2015. Dead & Company has completed 10 tours and has performed to more than 4 million fans across 235 shows since the band’s debut. Weir is also a member of Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros, who were formed in 2018. The band set out performing the expansive catalogue of Grateful Dead, Bobby’s solo albums and more and has toured extensively throughout the U.S.
Don Was is a GRAMMY-winning producer and founder of the ’80s funk-rock band Was (Not Was), known for hits such as “Walk The Dinosaur” and “Spy In The House Of Love.” As an in-demand, highly acclaimed producer, Was has been honored with four GRAMMY Awards for his production work in each of the past three decades, including Best Album honors for work with the Rolling Stones and Bonnie Raitt. Production credits include the Rolling Stones, Willie Nelson, Roy Orbison, Gregg Allman, John Mayer and Neil Young.
Albums produced by Was have achieved dozens of multi-Platinum, Platinum and Gold certifications and have sold more than 90 million copies worldwide. As one of music’s top bass players, Was has collaborated with countless musicians throughout his storied career, spanning a multitude of genres.
Jay Lane is a longtime Weir collaborator and drummer who played with Weir’s RatDog for more than 16 years. He was also one of Primus’ first drummers and has recently performed with Phil Lesh and Friends as well as Dead & Company.
Acclaimed keyboardist Jeff Chimenti has a long history of working with former members of the Grateful Dead having performed with Bob Weir & RatDog, The Dead and Furthur. He has been a member of Dead & Company since the band’s formation in 2015. In 2020, Jeff Chimenti joined the Wolf Bros.
Tour Dates
September 8—Park City Song Summit Festival—Park City, UT September 10—FirstBank Amphitheater—Franklin, TN* September 12—CCNB Amphitheatre at Heritage Park—Simpsonville, SC* September 13—Ting Pavilion—Charlottesville, VA September 15—Saratoga Performing Arts Center—Saratoga Springs, NY* September 16—Xfinity Center—Mansfield, MA* September 17—Forest Hills—Queens, NY* September 19—The Green At Shelburne Museum—South Burlington, VT September 20—Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater—Bridgeport, CT* September 22—Pine Knob Music Theatre—Clarkston, MI* September 23—Farm Aid—Noblesville, IN September 26—Mershon Auditorium—Columbus, OH September 27—The Met Philadelphia—Philadelphia, PA September 28—Pier Six Pavilion—Baltimore, MD
*Willie Nelson’s Outlaw Music Festival 2023
Tickets and More Information
Ticket sales began on July 21, and are currently available for purchase here. VIP packages will be available for the headline dates as well.
