Revered American folk artists Gillian Welch and David Rawlings are set to take a deep dive into the Grateful Dead’s musical archive, performing music from the Dead’s 1981 live album, “Reckoning,” during a limited-run tour celebrating the 45th anniversary of the classic album.
The longtime musical collaborators, known for their intimate harmonies, intricate guitar interplay and rapt attention to traditional American song forms, have flirted over time, with repertoire from the Dead’s lengthy catalog. As Welch said in a statement, the Dead’s music is “a mountain,” and these shows mark a thoughtful excursion deep into favorite territory. Among the well-loved classics on the album are “It Must Have Been the Roses,” “Dark Hollow,” “Dire Wolf” and “The Monkey and the Engineer”
The duo’s six-date acoustic “Reckoning” tour is set to include stops at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York; Oakland’s Fox Theater and New Orleans’ Saenger Theatre, before appearing at the Newport Folk Festival this summer. And it’s a great follow-up to what has been a successful year for Welch and Rawlings, with a Grammy Award for best folk album honoring their long-in-the-making 2025 release, “Woodland.” Bay Area fans can catch them for two nights in Oakland beginning April 17.
Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 13.
This article originally published at Gillian Welch and David Rawlings revisit the Grateful Dead’s ‘Reckoning’ at Oakland’s Fox Theater.