The Grateful Dead first played Long Island way back in June,1967 when the two-year-old group performed in Stony Brook, NY. Since then the members of the group have played Long Island annually, so it makes sense that the Mickey Hart Band headlined Patchogue, NYs Great South Bay Music Festival this weekend. The festival featured an eclectic mix of bands, including Blue Oyster Cult, Savoy Brown, Odetta, Kenny Neal, Popa Chubby and Donna Jean & The Tricksters. As many expected, during Harts performance, Donna Jean Godchaux MacKay took the stage with her former bandmate for such classics like Scarlet Begonias, Going Down the Road Feeling Bad, Fiyo on the Bayou and Not Fade Away. Donna Jean & The Tricksters also ran through a number of familiar tracks, including a set opening run through Till the Morning Comes, a song the Grateful Dead only played a handful of times, but which DJ & T recently released as a single.
The Mickey Hart Band will perform at New Yorks Fillmore at Irving Plaza tomorrow, while Donna Jean & The Tricksters will appear at McCall, IDs Brundage Mountain Jam Brundage Mt. Resort on July 26.