The second day of the 2022 Skull and Roses Festival dawned bright and sunny. By mid-afternoon, the festival grounds swelled with a much larger crowd than the first day, with many day-trippers arriving for the first time. The temperature soared into the mid-'80s, a near-record for the day, but luckily a stiff breeze from the ocean cooled things off in the late afternoon. Kitesurfers began to replace the small army of surfers who had dominated surfers' point earlier in the day.

It has been a long strange trip for the fourth annual Skull & Roses Festival. The biggest and best iteration of the festival finally took place this spring after a nearly three-year-long pandemic delay. The much-anticipated event drew the biggest crowd to date, attracting Deadheads from all over California, to the Ventura Fairgrounds, for four days of music inspired by The Grateful Dead.

If you’ve been on the fence about attending this year's SKULL & ROSES April 7-10th in Ventura, CA, here are just a few reasons why this is a NOT to be missed festival!

PHIL & FRIENDS

This year, and for the first time, an original member of the Grateful Dead, bass player Phil Lesh, joins SKULL & ROSES. The line up will feature: Phil Lesh, Stu Allen, Grahame Lesh, Jason Crosby & John Molo.

OTEIL & FRIENDS

The live experience is ultimate in the world of The Grateful Dead which lead the band to recording its shows from its legendary 1972 European tour. It was unknown at the time that the album would go on to become the band’s landmark live statement, a 3 LP live album, known worldwide as Europe ‘72.

Today, the torch-bearing Grateful Dead tribute act Dark Star Orchestra announces the lineup for their ninth annual Dark Star Jubilee music festival. Produced by All Good Presents, the event was created as a band-curated continuation of the ongoing celebration of the music of the Grateful Dead, the Dark Star Jubilee has become a Midwest tradition for kicking off the summer season with three-nights of music, camping and community.

The Rail Rider Jamboree has announced their lineup for the inaugural event, March 19th, 2022 at Holiday Valley Resort in Ellicottville, New York. Dark Star Orchestra will headline the event with Keller Williams Also performing will be the up-and-coming bluegrass band from Binghamton, NY; Driftwood. Local bands, A Girl Named Genny from Rochester and the New Orleans style marching band, Brass Machine from Buffalo, NY will also perform at the Jamboree. More local bands are expected to be added. 

Performing to critical acclaim for over 20 years and over 3000 shows, Dark Star Orchestra continues the Grateful Dead live concert experience. Their shows are built off the Dead's extensive catalog and the talent of these seven fine musicians. On any given night, the band will perform a show based on a set list from the Grateful Dead's 30 years of extensive touring or use their catalog to program a unique set list for the show. This allows fans both young and old to share in the experience.

SKULL & ROSES is a four-day festival exploring unique Interpretations of Grateful Dead music & the community that surrounds it. The festival was postponed in 2020 and is looking forward to its grand return for the 4th - and what is sure to be the best - installment so far at the holy grail of the West Coast Grateful Dead scene, the Ventura County Fairgrounds (California), from April 7-10, 2022.