Bob Weir And Wolf Bros To Tour In Early 2020

Scott Dudelson / Getty Images – Wolf Bros
Bob Weir and Wolf Bros perform at BeachLife Festival, in Redondo Beach, Calif., on May 3.

Bob Weir and Wolf Bros announced an early 2020 return to the road on Tuesday.

The trio, comprised of Grateful Dead founding member Bob Weir along with drummer Jay Lane and bassist Don Was, kicks off its 2020 jaunt at Miami’s Fillmore Miami at Jackie Gleason Theater on Feb. 28 and concludes the jaunt with two nights at the State Theatre in Portland, Maine, March 27-28.

Along the way, the group will hit several southern and Midwestern venues, including Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium (March 7) and Chicago’s Chicago Theatre (March 11-12). The trio played both venues on its first tour, in fall 2018, grossing $153,829 from 2,262 tickets sold in one night at the Ryman and $412,536 from 5,901 tickets sold over two nights at the Chicago Theatre.

Other markets on the Bob Weir and Wolf Bros docket include Minneapolis, St. Louis and Pittsburgh.

The trio, which has toured consistently since its late 2018 debut, playing both theaters and festivals including Lockn’, has provided Weir another creative outlet.

“It’s tremendous for him because he’s the only guitar player, and it’s made him relearn his own songs in a different way,” Weir’s manager Matt Busch told Pollstar in August, ahead of Bob Weir and Wolf Bros’ Lockn’ debut. “It’s a lot of fun to watch. You wouldn’t think he’d have to spend a lot of time backstage woodshedding, say, ‘Sugar Magnolia,’ or any one of his normal, classic songs – but he now has to play both melody and rhythm. In a way, he’s relearning his own songs, and I think that’s exciting and fun for him.”

Meanwhile, Weir has toured regularly with Dead & Company, the group comprised of fellow Dead founders Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart, along with John Mayer, Oteil Burbridge and Jeff Chimenti, since the six-piece launched in fall 2015.

Dead & Company has appeared on Pollstar‘s Year End Top 100 Worldwide Tours chart every year since its formation, grossing a total of $148.1 million through the end of 2018. Its 2019 summer tour raked in $40.8 million, and the band just concluded a six-date tour that stopped for two nights a piece at arenas in New York City; Uniondale, N.Y.; and Hampton, Va.

The band has two-night stands on the books for Los Angeles’ Forum (Dec. 27-28) and San Francisco’s Chase Center (Dec. 30-31), and will stage its third annual “Playing In The Sand” Mexican destination event in January.

For more about Weir and the Dead’s modern legacy, revisit Pollstar’s recent Lockn’ cover story. And for Weir’s spring 2020 itinerary and verified fan presale, visit the musician’s website.