It’s Nights of the Living Dead: The Sequel.
When Bobby Weir and Wolf Bros closed out 2023 last December in Fort Lauderdale, the three-night Broward Center run by the Grateful Dead-adjacent band felt like an unprecedented, once-in-a-lifetime event. But exactly one year later — like one more milepost on the “long, strange trip” that echoes the Dead’s signature lyric — Weir and Co. are not only reprising the year-end residency this month, but tacking on an extra date plus two scaled-down, new-year shows at The Parker.
The Broward Center shows are Friday, Dec. 27, Saturday, Dec. 28, Monday, Dec. 30 and Tuesday, Dec. 31. Bobby Weir with Wolf Bros Trio play The Parker on Thursday, Jan. 2 and Friday, Jan. 3. Though a local rarity, the run of six shows is not out of sync with the Dead’s road-warrior legacy. The legendary band’s total of 2,318 concerts remains a world record.
That “long strange trip” of the Dead’s took a couple more left turns this year, as the now-venerable group was honored in December at the 47th Annual Kennedy Center Honors and also was named as 2025 MusiCares Persons of the Year by the charitable affiliate of the Grammy Awards.
“These multi-day concert residences are new to Broward Center,” says Keith Hinson, the marketing manager who oversaw promotion of the shows. “To be honest, these New Year’s Eve residencies that are now ubiquitous were started by the Grateful Dead. This is a tradition that the Dead and their offshoots have a history of dating back into the ’70s.
Hinson says that having one of the founding members of the Grateful Dead on stage ringing in New Year’s Eve is a coup.
“. . . Not once, but two years in a row now — it’s the highest honor.”
The residencies rippled from the band’s one-off concert at the venue in February.
“It was a huge success, an instant sellout,” Hinson says of the February show. “They had a great experience. They enjoyed everything that Fort Lauderdale and the venue had to offer. When they were shopping around for a venue for a New Year’s Eve residency, they came back and said, ‘Hey, spending those cold dates at the end of December in South Florida doesn’t sound too bad. Would you guys be interested?’ And we absolutely jumped at the opportunity. All three nights sold out the moment they went on sale.”
Hinton explains it like this: “It was a bit of interest on their end and interest on our end. Last year was such a great success. And it went off without a hitch. They had a wonderful time. We had such a wonderful time with the production, the crew, the band. And the patrons just loved it. So we were chomping at the bit to have them back.”
The second group of shows at The Parker came about, according to Hinson, when Weir wanted to do something on a smaller scale.
“There was an idea of like, ‘Hey, I wanna do some Bob and Wolf Brothers Trio shows as well.’ And that’s when we said, ‘Well, we also have The Parker right up the street. It would be a perfect place. Come move in for a week. We got six nights we can offer you and you can spend your New Year’s here in sunny South Florida.’”
And maybe, it could become a tradition, Hinson hopes.
“This is something that we would love to do annually.”
And We Were There
Culminating on New Year’s Eve, last year’s concerts transformed the elegant Au-Rene Theater into a Deadhead love-in. The atmosphere and the air, particularly near the stage, were redolent of the flower-power buzz that famously wafted about the legendary psychedelic group for three decades and still swirls around its living-Dead spin-offs.
“You know, if you can’t beat them, join them,” says Hinson, who describes himself as a Deadhead. “This is an audience that’s fun-loving. Just show up and have a good time — that’s the mantra we know of the audience. But that was the mantra of our staff as well — let’s ring in the New Year in grand fashion. There was nothing that was problematic in any way. They could not have been more of a joy to have here on our campus. . . We wanted them to feel like this is a home for those three days last year, and we want them to feel like it’s a home these six days this year.”
That welcome will again extend to Shakedown Street, the vendor village that has followed the Grateful Dead and its offshoots from show to show for decades.
“It was one of the first times we ever hosted a pre-show immersive experience, like we did for Shakedown Street on the Wendt Terrace on the riverfront,” says Hinson. “And honestly, it’s one of those things that if you don’t give the Deadheads a place to make a Shakedown Street, they’re gonna find a place to make a Shakedown Street. And so we wanted to embrace it 100 percent and give them a place to congregate.”
It was jam-packed with vendors and concert-goers, and curious people walking by wondering what was happening and joining in, recalls Hinson.
“We even had a band of local artists in their 20s that showed up with guitars and batteries to power their amps, and they plugged in and played really good Grateful Dead music free of charge. They just wanted to be part of the experience and they showed up all three nights.”
The Dead Lives
While the same old Grateful Dead vibe surrounded last year’s shows, sonically they were kind of a different story. Bobby Weir and Wolf Bros may be playing Grateful Dead songs, but it sure doesn’t sound like Grateful Dead music.
Though fronted by one of the Dead’s three surviving original members, the Wolf Bros primarily deliver expansive interpretations of the vast Dead catalog that are fuller, bolder and more contemporary than the originals — the colors more saturated than tie-dyed. Boosted by the Wolfpack string and brass quintet, the instrumentation is more dynamic and the arrangements are more orchestrated — as highlighted by the band’s recent concerts with symphony orchestras.
It’s the Grateful Dead on steroids.
When the Dead was born 60 years ago, Bob Weir was the kid of the group, the rhythm guitarist/vocalist standing between lead guitarist/vocalist Jerry Garcia and the recently deceased bassist Phil Lesh. Now at age 77 and billed as Bobby instead of Bob, Weir stands alone in the spotlight. He formed the Wolf Bros in 2018 with rock renaissance man Don Was and longtime Dead-spinoff drummer Jay Lane, who were later joined by keyboardist Jeff Chimenti and pedal-steel player Barry Sless. With the addition of the Wolfpack, the original trio surges to a 10-piece band that, powered by the horn section, can drive the familiar Dead sound to cacophonous new heights.
“For the New Year’s Eve show,” says Hinson, “Weir plays right up into countdown, segues out of the song, they count down, boom, it’s midnight. And then he falls right back into, I think it was ‘Sugar Magnolia.’ There was confetti. There were live performers that joined him on stage — Father Time and all the wives from the band members, throwing flowers out into the audience. It was a beautiful moment.”
He promises more of the same.
“And we have something in store for this year as well.”
IF YOU GO
WHAT :
Bobby Weir and Wolf Bros
WHERE:
Au-Rene Theater, Broward Center, 201 SW Fifth Ave., Fort Lauderdale
WHEN:
7:30 p.m., Friday, Dec. 27, Saturday, Dec. 28, and Monday, Dec. 30; 8 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 31.
A sensory-inclusive performance with a post-show meet and greet is at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 28 at and an open captioned performance is at 2 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 29.
COST:
$79.50-$499.50
INFORMATION:
(954) 462-0222;
browardcenter.org
IF YOU GO
WHAT :
Bobby Weir and Wolf Bros
WHERE:
The Parker, 707 NE Eighth St., Fort Lauderdale
WHEN:
7:30 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 2, and Friday, Jan. 3.
A sensory-inclusive performance with a post-show meet and greet is at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 28 at and an open captioned performance is at 2 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 29.
COST:
$149-$257
INFORMATION:
(954) 462-0222;
parkerplayhouse.com
