Rocker will appear at Wentworth Galleries in DC and NJ
As the Dead & Company prepare for their final Farewell Tour this summer, the band’s legendary percussionist, Mickey Hart, will present his newest art collection, the Art of Mickey Hart during two of the groups tour stops. Hart is scheduled to appear at the Wentworth Gallery at Tysons Galleria in McLean, VA on Sunday, June 4th at 2 pm and on Friday, June 23rd at 6:30 pm at the Wentworth Gallery at Short Hills Mall in Short Hill, NJ. These two exclusive art showings will be private and intimate for patrons. Those interested in attending should contact the gallery directly for more information.
In his new collection the three-time Grammy-award winning artist and celebrated musician of the Grateful Dead paints a picture of his creative journey combining art, music, and science. The artworks contained in these presentations were also exhibited as a one-man exhibition at the Coral Springs Museum of Art which opened in early 2020.
“These visual representations from my sonic-driven world are snapshots into the music I am making,” Hart shares. “The basis of all life is vibratory, from the cosmos to human organism to the rhythms of nature and the music that come from what we make, from what we call culture. These are the worlds of rhythm that envelop us on a daily basis. Understanding these rhythms is essential in our daily lives. These works have been drummed, vibrated into existence. This technique is essential in the creation of my art.”
Hart was influential in recording global musical traditions on the verge of possible extinction, working with archivists and ethnomusicologists at both the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress and the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage at the Smithsonian Institution. He is on the Board of Trustees of the American Folklife Center and has been a spokesperson for the “Save Our Sounds” audio preservation initiative. He also serves on the Library of Congress National Recorded Sound Preservation Board and is known for reissues and other recordings with historical and cultural value.
Joining the Grateful Dead in 1967 marked the beginning of a musical legacy spanning over 50 years. Alongside his work with the Grateful Dead, Hart flourished as a solo artist, producer, and author of several highly acclaimed books. In these endeavors he’s pursued a lifelong interest in ethnomusicology and in the world’s music. His travels and his interest in all things percussion-related led him to collect percussion instruments, and to collaborate with percussion masters the world over.
In 1991, Hart produced the album Planet Drum, which remained at No. 1 on the Billboard World Music chart for 26 weeks, and received the first ever Grammy Award for Best World Music Album. In 1994, Mickey Hart was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Grateful Dead.
Mickey Hart, John Mayer, Bob Weir, Oteil Burbridge and Jeff Chimenti will launch Dead & Company’s The Final Tour with back-to-back nights in Los Angeles on May 19th and 20th. Drummer Bill Kreutzmann will not be participating in the trek for undisclosed reasons. Highlights include doubleheaders at Chicago’s Wrigley Field; Saratoga Performaing Arts Center in Saratoga Springs, NY; Citi Field in New York City; and The Gorge in George, WA. The group also makes an epic return to Fenway Park in Boston, and will also perform their first-ever three-night stand at Boulder’s Folsome Field, among other stops. The trek runs through Friday, July 14th and Saturday, July 15th when the tour ends with a two-night debut at San Francisco’s Oracle Park. The group will perform two sets of music drawing from the Grateful Dead’s historic catalog of songs.
Dead & Company was formed in 2015 when the Grateful Dead’s Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann and Bob Weir joined forces with artist and musician John Mayer, Allman Brothers’ bassist Oteil Burbridge, and Fare Thee Well and RatDog keyboardist Jeff Chimenti. The result was one of the most successful touring bands of the decade. Since its formation, the band has completed six tours, playing to 3.4 million fans, and has become a record-breaking stadium act. Having toured consistently since its 2015 debut, the band has grossed $255.5 million and sold 2.8 million tickets across 149 reported shows.
