Former Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh will be headlining Sunday Daydream festivals in July and August with his Phil and Friends band. The outdoor shows at McNears Beach Park in San Rafael, produced by his sons, Grahame, 37, and Brian, 34, are aimed at reviving the community spirit of Terrapin Crossroads, the restaurant, bar and music venue that Lesh opened on the San Rafael Canal in 2012. After about a decade as a popular gathering place for musicians and music fans, Terrapin closed in 2021.
RELATED: The spirit of Phil Lesh’s Terrapin Crossroads lives on at his sons’ Sunday Daydream festivals
Before the upcoming Daydream shows, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame musician took the time to answer some questions via email.
Q First off, how are you? I see you celebrated your 84th birthday with five shows at the Capitol Theatre in New York in March, so you’re still making music and delighting your fans. How important have music and performing been for you as you’ve faced the challenges of aging?
A I would have to say that music and performing are as essential as food and drink to me, but even more so as I get older. While it can sometimes be more of a challenge physically than it was when I was a young whippersnapper, I’ve found that age brings wisdom, and with that comes musical experience and knowledge that I didn’t have when I was younger.
Q When Terrapin closed in 2021, you said you’d like to see its spirit of music and community return perhaps in another location or form. Did you have in mind the concept of pop-up Terrapin roadshows like the upcoming Sunday Daydream 3 and 4 festivals? And is it more practical and cost effective than a brick-and-mortar gathering place like Terrapin?
A As magical as Terrapin Crossroads was, there were definite challenges that came with running a brick-and-mortar location of that size. We had an amazing run for a decade, but now we’re so excited to expand the magic of Terrapin to other iterations. The Sunday Daydream concerts were inspired by the outdoor shows at Terrapin, but we’ve also got so many other projects in the works that are going to capture that same sense of community: I’ve launched a YouTube channel called the Terrapin Clubhouse, where we’re exploring the music of the Grateful Dead with “Darkstarathons,” “Clubhouse Sessions” and more. I’m going to be starting a podcast where I can chat with Deadheads, exploring all things Grateful Dead (past, present and future), and on top of that, we’ll be launching a series of video vignettes that explores the music and mythology of the Grateful Dead relative to more contemporary music. The spirit of Terrapin has always been about music and community, and this way we can reach people all around the universe.
Q You write in your memoir, “Searching for the Sound,” that after your first son, Grahame, was born, you were determined to be a hands-on, full-time dad. How have you and …read more
Source:: The Mercury News – Entertainment
