Concert Description
Saturday Feb. 18 2023
Doors at 7 PM, music 7:30 onwards
Free admission; suggested $20 donation
Dead to the Core is a collective of singer-songwriters and acoustic musicians, led by musician/author Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers, that celebrates the music of the Grateful Dead — not through note-for-note re-creations but by playing the songs their own way, letting them grow and evolve collaboratively in the true spirit of the Dead.
Interspersed with the music are clips from Rodgers’ own interviews with Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir, in which they reflect on the roots and evolution of the music.
This Chromatic Studios concert features the duo of Rodgers and Wendy Sassafras Ramsay, aka Pepper and Sassafras. Rodgers is a grand prize winner of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest, founding editor of Acoustic Guitar magazine, and author of a best-selling video series teaching his acoustic arrangements of classic Grateful Dead songs. Ramsay is a singer-songwriter and versatile multi-instrumentalist on clarinet, flute, accordion, and guitar.
A Dead to the Core show is an experience unlike any other Grateful Dead tribute: a night of deeply personal performances that illuminate the masterful song craft of one of America’s most original bands. Grateful Dead music right down to the core.
“Rodgers doesn’t tap the legion of dedicated Grateful Dead tribute artists for these concerts…Instead, he seeks out songwriters and musicians who have developed their own voices and styles, though they are very much inspired by — and fans of — Garcia and the Dead.”
— Arts Fuse
Learn more and listen to songs:
deadtothecore.com
Videos:
Introducing Dead to the Core
Uncle John’s Band
Workshop Description
Grateful Dead for Acoustic Guitar
Taught by Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers
4:00 — 5:30 PM
$25 registration (Eventbrite link)
Bring the music of the Grateful Dead to life on your guitar in this workshop based on the best-selling Homespun video series on classic Dead songs for acoustic guitar. Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers shows you not only how to play the chords and create powerful grooves behind your singing on songs like “Friend of the Devil,” “New Speedway Boogie,” “Althea,” and “Casey Jones,” but also how to add cool embellishments and lead breaks inspired by the Dead’s live and studio performances.
Jeffrey interviewed both Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir in depth about their guitar and songwriting styles, and draws on insights from those conversations to capture the soul of their timeless songs. The workshop is designed for intermediate players but is also accessible for beginners with knowledge of basic chords.
The songs covered will vary according to the group’s interests. Vote for your favorites here.
“Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers sure can play the music—listen to his ‘Stella Blue’ and you’ll know what I mean. Better still, he can teach it.”
—Dennis McNally, author, A Long Strange Trip: The Inside History of the Grateful Dead
Watch a Boston Globe feature on JPR’s Grateful Dead workshops.