Phil Lesh

Famed for his three-decade stint as the bassist with the Grateful Dead, Phil Lesh studied avant-garde composition and electronic music before joining his friend Jerry Garcia's band the Warlocks, soon rechristened the Grateful Dead, in 1965. He remained with the group for the remainder of its existence, becoming a fan favorite as much for his distinctive bass playing as for his single-minded devotion to the Dead's music and custodianship of their recorded archives, overseeing the quality of each legitimate live release. Lesh hit the road in 1999 as headliner, issuing his solo debut, Love Will See You Through, and later touring as Phil Lesh & Friends. In 2012, he opened a venue in San Raphael, California, called Terrapin Crossroads, and it would be the hub of his creative activities until it closed in 2021, though Lesh continued to book concerts periodically until his death in 2024.