When Bob Weir of Grateful Dead and Trey Anastasio of Phish get together for a jam session, fans probably feel like they know what to expect. When Anastastio stepped out to play with Weir at Florida’s jam-band-centric Wanee festival, attendees probably geared up for some extensive noodling and more Dead cuts than Phish songs. What they probably weren’t looking for was a fairly straightforward cover of Lady Gaga’s torch song “Million Reasons.”
But that’s exactly what Weir and Anastasio did. Though the two jammy icons had some trouble locking in on the verses, when they finally found each other, they managed to knock out some excellent choruses. Check out the full performance up top.
This team-up at Wanee is far from the first time that the two pickers have crossed paths. Anastasio played with the Dead during their massive Fare The Well tour and Weir played an entire set with Phish in Nashville in October. During this particular mini-set, the duo also played Grateful Dead’s “Deep Elem Blues,” “Friend of the Devil” and “Bird Song” and Phish’s “Miss You.”
Presumably, they haven’t figured out how to run “The Cure” through their own brand of mellow strummery. But given Lady Gaga’s openness to teaming up with all kinds of stars, the pair might be able to get Mother Monster herself for Wanee ’18.
