Gathering of the Vibes, the largest and most-respected Music, Arts and Camping Festival in the Northeast, is thrilled to return to Seaside Park, on the shores of Long Island Sound in Bridgeport, CT, July 29 through August 1.

It’s been 7 years and 8 sold-out cruises since Jam Cruise first set sail as the “floating music festival“ that has become a fan favorite for thousands.

It was another jam-packed night outside the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco. You would have thought you were seeing Furthur on New Year’s Eve 2009 all over again. It was just about impossible to get into line outside the arena as there were so many people walking up and down the cordons with their pointer fingers in the air hoping for some miracle ticket to gain entry into DeadHeads kingdom; a Furthur show.

Furthur, featuring Phil Lesh & Bob Weir played the brand new 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colorado on March 5th & March 6th, 2010.  The Grateful Web was on hand to check out the show, take some photos, shoot some videos and soak in seeing the band a mere 1

The anticipation outside San Francisco’s Bill Graham Civic Center was at an all time peak! Dead Heads everywhere with their long hair, dread locks, beards, hemp necklaces and tie-dyed clothing were lined up outside the venue either in line or holding up their pointer finger praying for a miracle ticket. This was the kind of atmosphere I had dreamt about for years! It was beyond a rock n’ roll concert! It was the indescribable coming together of thousands of Dead Heads, who are a tribe, who become joined into one strong force once they step a foot through those auditorium doors.

One of the most anticipated shows of the Fall was Bob Weir and Phil Lesh’s new side project together called Furthur. The lineup also consists Dead keyboardist Jeff Chimenti and Dark Star Orchestra lead guitarist and vocalist John Kadlecik. Dark Star Orchestra is considered the best Grateful Dead cover band in the country because of Kadlecik’s ability to sing in a very similar mellifluous voice like Jerry Garcia is part of his attraction to longtime Dead Heads.

The demographics of a show that contains any member of The Grateful Dead is not as easily predicted as you may think. Wednesday night’s show at Innsbrook Pavilion, near Richmond was peppered with the usual suspects, to be sure.

Seaside Park is abuzz as stages, mobile office trailers, fence-lines, restrooms and shower trucks settle into place for the 14th annual Gathering of the Vibes festival, which runs from Thursday, July 23rd through Sunday, July 26th.

The wait is over! ROTHBURY has unveiled 2009’s complete Festival Schedule and Map, presented this year by the Michigan State Lottery. Visit www.rothburyfestival.com to view both.

You might still think this was 1973.  I did for a second, as I watched the tie-dye clad Deadheads trekking through wheat-colored fields, on a pilgrimage to Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View on Sunday evening to catch the band now known as The Dead.