Released on DVD/BluRay as well as a double-CD set,
Dear Jerry captures a tribute concert to
Jerry Garcia held on May 14, 2015 at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland. Every surviving member of
the Dead appeared -- usually separately, although all but
Phil Lesh showed up for "Touch of Grey" -- along with a few peers (
David Grisman,
Jorma Kaukonen), fellow travelers (
Allen Toussaint,
Jimmy Cliff,
Peter Frampton), and acolytes (
Los Lobos,
Buddy Miller,
Moe,
Widespread Panic). Although the presence of
Eric Church on an ambling, defiant "Tennessee Jed" serves as something as a surprise, most of
Dear Jerry is pleasingly familiar, in both sound and sensibility, hitting most of the major songs in its 20 tracks. While there are a few standouts -- that
Church number,
Toussaint playing his own "Get Out of My Life Woman" with elegant insouciance, a sly "Deal" from
Miller, a rampaging "Bertha" from
Los Lobos and
Bob Weir -- the most gratifying thing about
Dear Jerry is how it touches upon bluegrass, rock, folk, blues, and R&B, all of the major elements of
Garcia's style, without ever making much of a fuss about it. [
Dear Jerry was also released on a single CD with 21 tracks.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine