Photo © Thomas Hawk

Relix is confirming a Spring 2009 tour by all of the surviving members of The Dead:

Sources confirm that the surviving members of the Grateful Dead — guitarist Bob Weir, bassist Phil Lesh,and drummers Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann — are planning to tour in April and May of 2009. There’s no word yet on the band’s configuration — previous configurations of “The Dead” and The Other Ones have included singer-guitar hero Warren Haynes, guitar ace Jimmy Herring, singer-guitarist Susan Tedeschi, singer Joan Osborne, keyboardists Jeff Chimenti and Rob Baracco, as well as guitarists Mark Karan and Steve Kimock.

While Ratdog and Phil & Friends seem to have found their niche in the post-GD touring world, nothing really compares to getting all the surviving members together on a stage. The big question is who will fill in on guitar duties. Jimmy Herring seemed pretty busy with Widespread Panic until they announced that they’d be taking some time off during 2009. So he’s a possibility. As much as I would love to see it happen, it’s hard to imagine Steve Kimock ever re-joining with The Dead. So, Herring seems like the obvious bet. But Mark Karan maybe? Warren Haynes? Larry Campbell? I’m sure we’ll find out more specifics soon enough.

Also, it looks like the band is planning another “Deadheads for Obama” show. Relix has now confirmed the show will take place on October 13 at the Bryce Jordan Center in State College, PA, and it will also feature the Allman Brothers Band and an undetermined opening act. Warren Haynes and Jeff Chimenti will respectively fill in on guitar and keyboard duties for the band.