CHICAGO — The Grateful Dead is closing the lid on its storied half-century of concerts this weekend in Chicago.
Soldier Field, the last place legendary guitarist Jerry Garcia played with the band before his death in 1995, is hosting the final three shows of the short “Fare Thee Well” tour in what the remaining core members — rhythm guitarist Bob Weir, bassist Phil Lesh, and percussionists Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann — say will be the last.
The lakefront stadium will be a sea of tie-dyed shirts, and the sounds of bootleg concert tapes will fill the air in the parking lots.
Deadheads are shelling out for one more Saturday night — from $100 Dead-themed dinosaur posters at the nearby Field Museum created and signed by longtime Dead artist Stanley Mouse to pricey hotels. Hotel bookings are up more than 120 percent from last year’s Fourth of July weekend.
