Updated August 09, 2026 at 07:34 AM ET
The Grateful Dead played its last show in 1995, but in the three decades since, the cosmic trail of music and folklore blazed by the band has found its way to new generations of musicians and fans. This summer marks a moment of transition in the Dead’s long, strange trip: It’s the first in many years where there is no clear center of the band’s universe.
Where does the Deadhead community go from here? Earlier this year, NPR Music’s Isabella Gomez Sarmiento and Felix Contreras went out on the road in search of answers. During this year’s ‘Days Between’ — August 1 (the date of Jerry Garcia’s birth) through August 9 (the anniversary of his death) — we are publishing a series of stories, interviews, podcasts and more about what keeps drawing people to the Grateful Dead, and how fans and musicians who cherish the band’s legacy plan to carry it forward.
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