John Mayer is mourning the loss of the Grateful Dead’s Phil Lesh.
“Joining the choir of voices to express my sadness in the passing of the great @phillesh,” Mayer, 47, wrote via Instagram on Saturday, October 26, alongside a photo of the two musicians playing together as part of Lesh’s project, Phil Lesh & Friends, which consisted of many different lineups of musicians besides Mayer, including Phish and the Allman Brothers Band, among others.
“Phil had an open door policy when it came to the music, and gave so openly to so many musicians,” Mayer’s tribute continued. “He played bass in a singular way, climbing up and down the arrangements to give the songs and the players around him the feeling of flight. My heart aches for Bob, Mickey, Billy, everyone’s families, the countless musicians and millions of lovers of @gratefuldead music. ♥️”
Lesh died at the age of 84 on Friday, October 25. He was a cofounding member of the Grateful Dead alongside Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Ron “Pigpen” McKernan and Bill Kreutzmann, as well as the band’s lead bassist.
A statement from Lesh’s team, released via Instagram on Friday, shared that the musician “passed peacefully this morning.”
“He was surrounded by his family and full of love,” the statement read. “Phil brought immense joy to everyone around him and leaves behind a legacy of music and love. We request that you respect the Lesh family’s privacy at this time.”
Lesh’s passing garnered tributes from many musicians, including his former bandmates, which Mayer shared via his Instagram Story.
“We are devastated to learn of Phil’s passage to the next life,” the family of Garcia, who died in 1995 at age 53, wrote in their own tribute on Friday. “We will miss his sharply dry humor, wry smiles and brilliant insights. Our hearts and our love go out to his beloved wife and family. He truly lived for them with all his being.”
The Grateful Dead’s remaining members — Weir, Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart — released a joint statement on Lesh’s death via the band’s official Instagram account.
“There will be a lot of tributes, and they will all say important things,” the band’s statement read. “But for us, we’ve spent a lifetime making music with Phil Lesh and the music has a way of saying it all. So listen to the Grateful Dead and, in that way, we’ll all take a little bit of Phil with us, forever.”
