Grateful Dead co-founder Phil Lesh has died

Grateful Dead founding bassist Phil Lesh has died. He was 84.

A cause of death was not initially given. “He was surrounded by his family and full of love,” an official statement said. “Phil brought great joy to everyone around him and leaves a legacy full of music and love. We ask that you respect the Lesh family’s privacy during this time.”

The Grateful Dead were named the 2025 MusiCares Persons of the Year earlier this week. Lesh and his surviving founding members Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann and Bobby Weir were scheduled to be honored at the organization’s fundraising gala during Grammy week.

A classically trained trumpeter, Lesh switched to bass as a member of the Grateful Dead, whose original lineup was completed by the late Jerry Garcia and Ron “Pigpen” McKernan. Lesh met Garcia, then an aspiring bluegrass banjoist, while volunteering as a sound engineer for public radio station KPFA in Berkeley, California.

The Grateful Dead toured and recorded from 1965 until Garcia’s death in 1995, but Lesh continued to perform long after his time with the band ended. The Berkeley native fronted Phil Lesh and Friends, performed with former bandmates in Further and the Other Ones, and continued to perform with his family band through 2024.

“I have to say that music and performing are just as important to me as food and drink, but even more important the older I get,” he said Mercury News Earlier this year. “Although it can sometimes be more physically challenging than when I was younger, I have found that age brings wisdom and with it musical experience and knowledge that I did not have when I was younger.”

Lesh missed an August headlining performance at Sunday Daydream Vol. 4 in San Rafael, California after testing positive for COVID.

This is a developing story and will be updated.