Grateful Dead to reunite for farewell shows in Chicago

The Long, Strange Trip is about to end for the Grateful Dead.

The four surviving members of the jam band -- percussionists Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, bassist Phil Lesh and guitarist Bob Weir -- are celebrating their 50th anniversary with three gigs in Chicago. It will mark their final Dead shows ever.

The "Fare Thee Well: Celebrating 50 Years of Grateful Dead" concerts will take place at Chicago's Soldier Field July 3 - 5 Joining them is Phish's Trey Anastasio, pianist Bruce Hornsby (who toured with the Dead in the '90s) and keyboardist Jeff Chimenti.

"It is with respect and gratitude that we reconvene the Dead one last time to celebrate - not merely the band's legacy, but also the community that we've been playing to, and with, for fifty years," Lesh said in a statement. "Wave that flag, wave it wide and high..."

The original Grateful Dead Ticketing Service will be the first to offer tickets, with general public availability through Ticketmaster starting Feb. 14. Check out Dead50.net for ticketing info.

"Lookin' forward to this one, oh boy, you bet," commented Bob Weir. "Let's see just how much fun we can have this 4th of July."