Mickey Hart Eulogizes Bob Weir at His Memorial: "He Was a True Original"

""There was nothing like Bob Weir," Hart noted. "He was singular. He was not a copy of anything that came before; he was a true original. I could sit here and tell you so many stories about our lives together, but at the heart of it all is that this was never just a band. It was a family. We grew up together. We lived together and raised our kids alongside each other.""

""The Grateful Dead was a ritual band. I felt it the first time I heard Bob play as I walked into that street theater on Haight Street, September 29th, 1967. That night, the theater was dark, dark enough for the band to disappear into only sound. It was consuming. It permeated every pore in my body. I felt the vibrations creep up my spine and, suddenly, I was whole. I was home. Bob was just 19 that fir""

At a public memorial in San Francisco, Mickey Hart eulogized Bob Weir alongside John Mayer and other notable figures. Hart recalled first hearing Weir at a Haight Street theater in 1967 and described the experience as consuming and like coming home. Hart characterized Weir as singular, a visionary musician and the Grateful Dead's comic relief, and related a humorous anecdote about sneaking into a zoo to record animal noises. Hart framed the Grateful Dead as a family that grew up together, living and raising children alongside one another. Hart emphasized that the music and its community remain the power base, urging fans to carry the songs forward. Other memorial participants included John Mayer, Joan Baez, Nancy Pelosi, and San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie, and a video tribute featured many prominent artists.

Read at Consequence