Tie-dye and dancing bears: Grammy weekend begins with Grateful Dead honored as Persons of the Year

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Dancing bears in bright colors, a fusion of casual and formal wear, such as tie-dye mixed with formal suits. Yes, the Grateful Dead's arrival marked the start of Grammy weekend.

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The band's signature skull logo was prominently displayed in the ever-changing graphics on stage. Their well-known dancing bear mascots also posed for photos with fans in attendance.

Renowned Deadhead Andy Cohen hosted a 2 1/2-hour show at the Los Angeles Convention Center. He reminisced about persuading his parents to permit him to drive from St. Louis to Wisconsin to attend his first Dead concert as a teenager.

I would venture to say they are the great American band," Cohen said. "What a wonder they are.

What if the Grateful Dead has only won two Grammys, one for lifetime achievement in 2007 and one for best music film in 2018. They made their impact with their distinctive sound and extended improvisations that combined elements of rock, blues, jazz, folk, and psychedelia.

We never worried much about living a long life," said 77-year-old guitarist Bob Weir with a smile. "Our main goal was to spread happiness through our music, and we definitely did that.

Drummer Mickey Hart paid tribute to the band's carefree and unconventional fans.

“For 60 years, the Deadheads have carried the torch and brought this music into the next century. Before the world understood what we were all about, our community stood by us and kept us going. Without their support, the Grateful Dead might not have made it.”

Actor Woody Harrelson shared a few stories about his journeys with the band, including the time he “went on a drugless trip to Thailand with Bobby, or so it was a challenge for both of us.”

Weir and Hart were joined on stage to accept the award by three of their bandmates' children: Grahame Lesh, Trixie Garcia, and Justin Kreutzmann.

At the age of 84, Garcia's dad, Jerry, passed away in 1995 at the age of 53. Kreutzmann's dad, Bill, didn't attend but expressed his gratitude in a video message.

"I can still sense his presence in the house,” the 81-year-old Hart said of Bill Kreutzmann. “He's alive in the music, in the rhythm, the heartbeat of everything we achieved together over all these years.”

Grahame Lesh was busy all night playing guitar for the backing band led by musical director Don Was. He performed vocals with The War on Drugs on their rendition of "Box of Rain", which was written by his father.

Weir opened the show on guitar, accompanied by an orchestra. They were soon replaced by The War and Treaty, who performed "Samson and Delilah," with Stewart Copeland and Mick Fleetwood taking turns playing drum solos.

Technical issues briefly affected performances by My Morning Jacket and John Mayer, who then launched into an extended improvisational jam session with Was and Jeff Chimenti on the song "Terrapin Station." Throughout Dead & Company's closing acts of "Sugar Magnolia" and "Touch of Grey," Hart kept glancing offstage as he drummed until a technician brought him a set of in-ear monitors.

Earlier, Hart was on his feet pumping his right arm to Sammy Hagar's "Loose Lucy."

"Bobby, Mick, I love you both, brothers," Hagar said.

There were a couple of quieter moments that stood out, one being Norah Jones' intimate performance of "Ripple" and the other being Bruce Hornsby's rendition of "Standing on the Moon."

Wynonna Judd sang "Ramble On Rose."

“She said from the stage, 'I love you, Robert Weir. You are my family, chosen by me. You were there for me when my mother passed away'.”

Grammy nominee Sierra Ferrell stood out with a crown of red roses as she teamed up with Lukas Nelson on "It Must Have Been the Roses."

Dwight Yoakam got the crowd on its feet dancing during "Truckin'." Grammy nominee Noah Kahan performed "Friend of the Devil" with three guitars, a banjo, and bass featured.

Weir's wife, Natascha, and their daughters, Shala and Chloe, greatly enjoyed dancing at their table near the stage for most of the night.

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I think we're looking at a multi-year effort to get back on track here in Southern California," Weir said. "It's going to require a huge amount of teamwork, but I'm confident that SoCal will bounce back and be better than ever.

MusiCares Executive Director Laura Segura stated that $9.3 million was raised and another $5.2 million was pledged during the dinner.

“This is completely unprecedented for this event,” she said.

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