DSO to Perform at Bonnaroo
Posted on: February 06, 2008
Dark Star Orchestra has been confirmed as part of the initial lineup for the 2008 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. The 7th annual four-day camping and music festival will be held on June 12-15 on the same 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee, 60 miles south of Nashville. The final Bonnaroo 2008 lineup will total over 100 bands and over 20 comedians performing on 13 stages over four days.
Tickets go on sale exclusively through bonnaroo.com Saturday, February 16 at 12:00 PM EDT.
Some Bonnaroo 2008 Confirmed Artists:
Pearl Jam, Metallica, Jack Johnson, Kanye West, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss Featuring T Bone Burnett, Phil Lesh & Friends, My Morning Jacket, The Allman Brothers Band, The Raconteurs, Willie Nelson, Death Cab for Cutie, B.B. King, Sigur Ros, Levon Helm and the Ramble on the Road, Ben Folds, O.A.R., The Bluegrass Allstars Feat. Luke Bulla, Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Bela Fleck, Edgar Meyer and Bryan Sutton, M.I.A., Umphrey's McGee, Iron & Wine, Yonder Mountain String Band, Phil Lesh / Larry Campbell / Jackie Greene, Little Feat & over sixty additional bands. View the entire Bonnaroo lineup.
The "1500 and Counting Tour" Begins Jan. 31
Posted on: January 12, 2008
Hot on the heels of the '10th Anniversary Tour', Dark Star Orchestra will perform their 1,500th show on this tour, in their hometown of Chicago on February 2. Tickets are now available for the spring tour through DSO Ticketing- it's the online home of our fan club ticketing where you get DSO tickets with lower service fees and each ticket you purchase actually plants a tree! So be sure to secure your chance to see the band as they celebrate another milestone of their career!
2007 - A Banner Year for Dark Star Orchestra
Posted on: December 31, 2007
With 2007 fading away and now behind us, DSO looks back on 10 highlights from our 10th year on the road:
- -Adding Rob Barraco to DSO full-time on keyboards and vocals
- -Raising over $22,000 for the Rex Foundation during the DSO Rex Caravan Tour of the West Coast
- -Celebrating our 10-year anniversary since forming on a cold November 1997 night in Chicago: what a long strange trip it's been!
- -Performing with Bob Weir at the Fillmore during the Black Tie Dye Ball to benefit the Rex Foundation
- -Playing the 30th anniversary of 5/8/77, releasing the recordings as the 3-CD Ithaca: 30 Years Later
- -Performing our first European dates at Amsterdam's Jam in the Dam festival alongside Yonder Mountain, Keller Williams and Galactic
- -Finishing the year by selling out all four mid-Atlantic shows leading up to and including New Year's Eve
- -Raising nearly $3000 for Rett Syndrome research at the 5th Annual GratefulFest Benefit Song Raffle, bringing the 5 year total to nearly $15,000 raised for Rett research!
- -Launching the all new DarkStarOrchestra.net website
- -Having the privilege of performing the Grateful Dead's timeless music to over 125,000 of the best fans nationwide
'Unbroken Chain' Grateful Dead Symposium Wrap Up
Posted on: November 22, 2007
Unbroken Chain was off the hook! Last week’s Grateful Dead symposium, Unbroken Chain: The Grateful Dead & American Culture saw thoughtful presentations from a number of the nation’s leading Grateful Dead scholars. Some highlights included Dan Healy’s conversations and witty remarks about the Wall of Sound and the birth of the “Taper Section”, Dennis McNally’s ever insightful interpretation of life on the road, and Bill Walton’s incredibly entertaining story about the time that he introduced the rest of the Boston Celtics to the Grateful Dead experience at The Boston Garden. The weekend closed appropriately with an unforgettable performance from DSO as they recreated the epic show from January 22, 1978 which featured Mountain Girl’s spoken word, Uncle Sam and various dancers and a fascinating video show put on by Peak Experience which allowed the audience to see the music.
DSO Added to Langerado Music Festival
Posted on: November 14, 2007
Dark Star Orchestra is thrilled to be a part of the 6th annual Langerado Music Festival held March 6 - 9 at the Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation in South Florida. DSO will perform Thursday, March 6 at this festival which features dozens of bands over the course of the weekend. Tickets and more Langerado information are available at www.langerado.com.
Canned Food Drive at Select DSO Shows in Northeast
Posted on: October 30, 2007
DSO is partnering with Strangers Helping Strangers to collect canned goods at upcoming shows to help those in need. SHS will be collecting non-perishable foods, toiletries, baby food/formula & diapers and feminine hygiene products. SHS will be giving away live and studio CD's to everyone who donates as well as prizes for the largest donations each night. Anyone who donates 25 or more items will receive a special limited edition poster by the artist Chach while they last.
Strangers Helping Strangers will be collecting food at this last remaining show:
12/06 New Haven, CT
DSO Raises Over $22,000 for The Rex Foundation
Posted on: October 28, 2007
Tallying the donation from funds raised on the recent 'DSO Rex Caravan Tour' with $1 from each ticket sold on the tour combined with the funds raised at the 'Black Tie Dye Ball' benefit at The Fillmore in San Francisco on October 4, DSO raised over $22,000 to the Rex Foundation! More information on the Rex Foundation's Conscious Caravan can be found at www.rexfoundation.org.
U Mass Amherst Hosts Grateful Dead Symposium Weekend
Posted on: October 20, 2007
Scholars, fans, artists, performers and members of the extended Grateful Dead family will gather at the University of Massachusetts Amherst November 16 - 18 for the first major university conference on the enduring legacy of the Dead experience. Secure your tickets now to DSO's show at this rare event!
This symposium brings together more than 50 presenters for 20 panel sessions ranging from music composition and improvisation to an examination of the band's business model as well as a musical performances, gallery exhibits, and presentations.
Among the Unbroken Chain panelists are "Mountain Girl" Carolyn Garcia, 2nd wife of guitarist Jerry Garcia and a central figure among the Merry Pranksters who populated the early Grateful Dead scene; David Gans, host of the Grateful Dead Radio Hour for the past 22 years; Grateful Dead midi wizard Bob Bralove; and Dan Healy, who designed and built the Wall of Sound, famed enabler of the Dead's improvisational style.
DSO East Coast New Year's Run, Keswick for NYE
Posted on: October 03, 2007
Come celebrate with Dark Star Orchestra for the New Year's Run. The four shows, all within a four hour radius of each other, lead up to NYE at the Keswick outside of Philly:
12/28: Weinberg Center - Frederick, MD
12/29: Ram's Head Live - Baltimore, MD
12/30: Count Basie Theater - Red Bank, NJ
12/31: Keswick Theatre - Glenside, PA
All New Year's Run show tickets are on sale now via DSO Tickets & each venue's website so be sure to make your travel arrangements early for yet another great ringing in of the New Year. See you there!
5/8/77 Recreation Available on 3 CDs
Posted on: September 21, 2007
On what was officially proclaimed "Grateful Dead Day" by the Mayor of Ithaca, DSO had the honor of recreating the infamous Cornell 5/8/77 show in Ithaca, NY on its 30th Anniversary. The entire show - recorded to three CDs - are now available exclusively at DSO's live shows at the merch booth. The CDs are high quality soundboard recordings taken from the master two track tapes, mixed by monitor engineer Sco, and mastered by Rob Eaton.
CBS newsman (and Deadhead) Frank Kracher featured DSO's historic 5/8/77 recreation for "Grateful Dead Day" during the 5 PM and 11 PM news broadcasts on WTVH in Syracuse which can be seen here. Thank you Frank!