What’s the best live music set you’ve ever seen? How about this year? If you can’t answer, maybe your best is yet to come. For me? Last night was simply special.
It’s hard to top the musical catalog of one of the all-time great American bands when put in the hands of OG members teamed with some of the most elite contemporary players in the industry, and then let the group loose on a 24-date residency at the most advanced venue on the planet.
To further gild the lily, John Mayer (who joined founding Grateful Dead members Bob Weir and Mickey Hart to form the band), after crushing the index finger on his fretting hand last week — a blow that would’ve sidelined just about any guitarist — not only showed up but put on a masterclass of Grateful Dead guitar wizardry with just three fingers. The popstar Padawan has evolved into one of the most fully realized musicians of our lifetime.
Translation? I am confident that Dead & Company at Sphere in Las Vegas will land firmly in the upper echelon of any “Best Of” list I will mention for the rest of my days. Along with the band delivering a pair of the best-executed sets I’ve ever witnessed, the venue offered the most detailed live sound and immersive visual experience imaginable.
If Vegas isn’t on your horizon, there’s plenty of live music to be found in the Garden City, even for fellow Deadheads. Brian Brittingham and his tribute supergroup, Scarlet Begonias, are doing their part to ensure the music never stops.
The group performs frequently at venues like Southbound Smokehouse and other local spots. The band is stacked with the best of the best that Augusta has to offer — Brittingham (In Like Flynn/Fried Goat) is joined by Bentley Rhodes (In Like Flynn/Bloodkin) on dueling drums, Grady Nickel (Horsepower) along with Jason Shepard (Daddy Grace/The Wombats) on guitar/vocals, Michael Garrett on keys/vocals and George Dale on bass.
Tell me this town ain’t got no heart? You’ve just got to poke around.
Seen in the October 2024 issue of Augusta magazine
