The band released the following statement:
Dear Deadheads,Every day, things change. After many long discussions and some good old-fashioned soul searching, we are letting you know that our brother Bill Kreutzmann will not be joining us on our final summer tour. Bill wants you to know that he is in good spirits, good health and he is not retiring.
This is the culmination of a shift in creative direction as we keep these songs alive and breathing in ways that we each feel is best to continue to honor the legacy of the Grateful Dead. The final tour will go on as planned with Bill’s full endorsement and support.
See you at Jazz Fest!
“Let the Music Play the Band”
Bobby, Billy, Mickey and John
Last summer, Kreutzmann had to sit out a set on Dead & Co's tour after pulling a muscle at a previous show in Boulder, and only intermittently returned. “As most of you know, I had a back issue that suddenly appeared in Boulder, but I nipped it in the bud,” Kreutzmann wrote at the time. “Just as I was ready to come back full-strength, I pulled a positive on an antigen test. Despite all the tour protocols that I took very seriously, it still got me. Darn it.”
He went on to assure fans that "I haven't thrown in the towel and I cannot wait for our joyful reunion. I love you all so much."
And once again, Kreutzmann isn't putting down the sticks just yet. The drummer still has his band Billy & the Kids, which is playing an upcoming New Orleans show with Molly Tuttle that will cover music from the Grateful Dead. That music will always be entwined with Kreutzmann; when Dead & Co's final summer tour was announced, the original Dead member wrote:
“The Grateful Dead always felt timeless from our very beginnings at the Acid Tests where ‘time’ did some funny things so we left it behind altogether. This music will always exist, always evolve, always be the soundtrack of our ever-changing lives. ... I have loved this chapter with Dead & Company, as we got to explore The Music with some new interpreters and different antennas, but we always knew it was just a chapter. The Music never stops.”
While you grab your tissues, reminisce about the Grateful Dead's connections to Colorado and Denver here.
Dead & Co will play Folsom Field, 2400 Colorado Avenue, Boulder, on Saturday, July 1, and Sunday, July 2.
