Bob Weir’s Second Act: How a Grateful Dead Guitarist Redefined His Legacy
Bob Weir navigated Jerry Garcia’s death by reinventing his role from Dead’s youngest guitarist to its elder statesman, guiding new configurations (RatDog, Furthur, Dead & Company, Wolf Bros) while battling grief, pain and health issues. His late-life fitness push, sobriety, Blue Mountain’s country-inflected rebirth, and orchestrated Dead performances helped cement his status as the living embodiment of the Grateful Dead, a legacy that remained central until his death in 2026.