No stranger to the music of the Dead, keyboardist Jeff Chimenti - of Dead and Company, and formerly of Furthur, RatDog, The Dead, and The Other Ones - joins Dark Star Orchestra November 18 at College Street Music Hall in New Haven, CT and November 19 at The Palace Theatre in Albany, NY. DSO bassist Skip Vangelis is unavailable for these dates, so keyboardist Rob Barraco will pivot to fill in on bass while Chimenti, who joined DSO in 2012 and 2014 for similarly brief sit-in runs, takes over keyboard duties for both nights.
On November 11, DSO celebrates their 19th birthday, having formed 11/11/97 at Martyrs’ in Chicago, for what began as a four-week trial run. The experiment proved successful, now Dark Star Orchestra boasts having performed 2612 shows in 19 years, nearly 300 more shows than the Grateful Dead did in 30 years. Additional DSO year-ending highlights include multiple two-night stands at The Paramount in Huntington, NY November 25 & 26, the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. December 2 & 3, and The Electric Factory in Philadelphia, PA to ring in the new year on Dec. 30 & 31. Early in 2017, DSO heads for Jamaica January 19-23 for their fifth annual for their annual Jam in The Sand Festival, featuring special guests Los Lobos and Donna the Buffalo.
