tributes

Phil Lesh, As Remembered by His Grateful Dead Bandmates

Phil Lesh
Photo: Astrida Valigorsky/Getty Images

The surviving bandmates of the Grateful Dead have joined others across the industry in honoring founding member Phil Lesh after the bassist died at 84 on Friday morning. Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, and Bob Weir said in a joint statement that they had “lost a brother.†The trio went on to praise Lesh’s abilities as a performer and “profound†impact on the band’s development. “In one note from the Phil Zone, you could hear and feel the world being born,†the statement said. “His bass flowed like a river would flow. It went where the muse took it. He was an explorer of inner and outer space who just happened to play bass. He was a circumnavigator of formerly unknown musical worlds. And more.†Hart, Kreutzmann, and Weir each also shared tributes to Lesh on their individual social-media accounts. Other musicians, including some who performed alongside Lesh as part of his rotating Phil and Friends lineup, also remembered him online. And Lesh was even physically honored from coast to coast; both the Empire State Building and San Francisco City Hall lit up to mourn his death. Below, find more remembrances.

Phil Lesh, As Remembered by His Grateful Dead Bandmates