The three surviving members of the Grateful Dead—Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, and Bill Kreutzmann—address the band’s long history of activism and philanthropy in a new interview published by Billboard.
Although the Grateful Dead have been thought of as largely apolitical, the Billboard article highlights how the group used its influence to support important causes from the very beginning, while doing its best to avoid causing division among its diverse fanbase. As far back as the 1960s, the Dead wielded their growing power with a sense of social responsibility, playing benefit concerts to assist somewhat radical groups in San Francisco.
After starting out with the name “The Warlocks,” the band allegedly made its debut as the Grateful Dead with a show benefitting a satirical theater troupe that had a history of clashing with the police over free speech, and as their popularity continued to balloon, they went on to play gigs for a number of activist causes, spiritual centers, and various organizations, from striking workers to the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra to the Hells Angels. In August 1972, the band famously performed in Veneta, OR to help save the local Springfield Creamery—owned by Ken Kesey‘s brother Chuck—a concert later immortalized in the film Sunshine Daydream.
“We’re part of a community, and so the better the community is doing, the better we’re doing,” said Weir. “Jerry always used to say, ‘You get some, you give some back.’ It just makes sense.”
“That’s been our mode of operation,” added Kreutzmann. “We help people and give them stuff. It’s just a good way to live life. I wish that more people in the world lived life that way, instead of wars and bombings.”
Throughout the decades, the Grateful Dead continued to speak out about important issues, for instance in 1988 when they addressed the United Nations assembly about protecting the rainforests alongside representatives for Greenpeace, Cultural Survival, and Rainforest Action Network.
“Somebody has to do something,” Garcia told the U.N., adding, “In fact, it seems pathetic that it has to be us.” He went on to express hope that the band could “empower our own audience with a sense of being able to do something directly and actually having an effect that’s visible in some way,” however he also famously avoided divisive politicking, saying, “We don’t want to be the leaders, and we don’t want to serve unconscious fascism. Power is a scary thing. When you feel that you’re close to it, you feel like you want to make sure that it isn’t used for misleading. So all this time, we’ve avoided making any statements about politics, about alignments of any sort.”
Shortly after their visit to the U.N., the Dead raised $871,875 with a single show at Madison Square Garden—the last in a run of nine concerts at the venue.
In 1983, following many years of noble work supporting a wide variety of different causes both as a band and as individuals, the Grateful Dead consolidated its philanthropic efforts by forming The Rex Foundation, through which it could channel funds to various organizations and charitable initiatives. Throughout the rest of its touring history, the band made a point of playing Rex benefits, dotting its tours with shows to support the foundation.
“They were just regular gigs, there was no other fanfare, but the money would go to The Rex Foundation,” said band archivist David Lemieux. “We all thought that was pretty darn cool. It wasn’t like the Dead played any less hard because it was a benefit gig. The Rex Foundation mattered to them.”
In the years since Garcia’s death in 1995, the Rex Foundation has remained active and the Dead have continued their charitable efforts and activism. Weir, Lesh, Kreutzmann, and Hart’s first band after Garcia’s death, The Dead, made its debut in 1998 with a benefit that raised more than $200,000 for the Rainforest Action Network, and each musician has taken initiative supporting causes that are important to them.
More recently, Dead & Company have taken on the Dead’s philanthropic ethos, kicking off their final tour at Cornell University’s Barton Hall—precisely 46 years to the day after the Grateful Dead played what many regard as their best show ever at the same venue—with a benefit concert that raised $3.1 million, with half going to the nonprofit MusiCares and half to the Cornell 2030 Project, which is dedicated to sustainability. Having just announced 18 shows at Sphere, the band continues to be co-managed by Activist Artists Management, which has helped focus and invigorate its charitable work.
“There was this mosaic of incredible good works that this band was doing, and there was a feeling that we could help amplify those good works and those dollars by putting a little more structure and support around it and a little bit more intentionality around it, which is what Activist came in and did,” said Activist founding partner Bernie Cahill.
This includes the introduction of Participation Row, where the band’s nonprofit and charitable partners like voter registration organization HeadCount, sustainable-touring group Reverb, and other social justice, environmental, and public health organizations can engage with fans attending Dead & Co concerts. In the ten years since the band debuted, it has raised over $15 million.
Recently, Weir and Hart waded into the fraught waters of the 2024 presidential election by endorsing Kamala Harris—a move that echoed the Dead’s support of Barack Obama in 2008.
“I would like to be able to have people who disagree with me still be fans of the music or the art that I make,” Weir said. “But at the same time, I’ve got to be true to myself, and I expect that they have to be true to themselves as well.”
As the country’s political landscape continues to become ever more bifurcated, the Dead remain a shining example of how artists can use their vast cultural influence and fundraising power to do real good. Their lead has been followed by many others, from Pearl Jam to Phish to Metallica, and the band has started to be recognized for its exemplary work, including being named MusiCare’s 2025 Persons of the Year.
Activism and philanthropy might not be what people think of when they hear “Grateful Dead,” but it is a bigger part of the band’s ongoing work than most realize, and it will be a substantial part of its lasting legacy.
Read the full Billboard article here.
The post Grateful Dead Members Discuss Activism & Philanthropy Efforts In New ‘Billboard’ Interview appeared first on L4LM.