Dead and Company Might Be Back in 2016

Dead and Company, the Grateful Dead offshoot band, will apparently continue into 2016.

John Mayer seemed to confirm that during what was to be a tour-ending performance. "At the risk of rocking any boats, known and unknown, we'll see you next year," said Mayer, who's taken over for the late Jerry Garcia in a band that features all of the living members of the Grateful Dead save for Phil Lesh.

Dead and Company grew out of last summer's hugely successful Grateful Dead farewell concerts, dubbed Fare Thee Well, held in Santa Clara, Calif., and then at Soldier Field in Chicago. Those shows featured Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzman, Lesh and Bob Weir, along with guests Trey Anastasio of Phish, Jeff Chimenti and Bruce Hornsby.

Just weeks later, Dead and Company announced a fall tour, with a rejiggered Lesh-less lineup now featuring Mayer, Chimenti and Otiel Burbridge, formerly of the Allman Brothers Band. “Those songs weren’t done with us,” Weir said at the time; he explained Lesh's absence by saying “it was a matter of who wanted to get back out on the road and keep doing it."

Dead and Company played 19 shows through New Year's Eve, offering a set laden with Grateful Dead standards and a few choice covers. Mayer made his comments on stage at the Los Angeles Forum, in a set that included an update of John Lennon's Beatles-era classic "Dear Prudence."

Grateful Dead Albums Ranked Worst to Best

Criminally Underrated Rock Albums