DARK STAR ORCHESTRA

The Grateful Dead performed at more benefits than they can count, to the point where they (amazingly!) got organized and created the Rex Foundation 40 years ago in 1984. Each year thereafter they would play shows for Rex, rendering unto the common good – small nonprofits that benefited society in the realms of the environment, arts, Native American issues, and education. This year they will celebrate grants that now total over ten million dollars given to over 1,400 grantees, a proud benchmark.

To honor this landmark anniversary, Dark Star Orchestra along with Melvin Seals and JGB will perform at the band’s favorite single venue, the Greek Theatre at U.C. Berkeley, on July 13, 2024. It’s a particularly resonant date in the Dead’s history: not only did the Rex Foundation host its first benefit in 1984, but the band played the Greek on July 13, 1984, and something special happened that night.

The Grateful Dead experienced a number of extraordinary, almost unearthly synchronous moments connected to the planet, from performing “Fire on the Mountain” in Portland, Oregon, just as Mt. St. Helens exploded a few miles up the road to playing through a magnificent lunar eclipse on an outdoor stage at the Great Pyramid in Gizeh, Egypt.

But perhaps one of the sweetest of these phenomena took place at the Greek the night of July 13, 1984, when they brought out their legendary musical exploration of space, “Dark Star,” and the ecstatic audience observed a brilliant shooting star as it streaked across the horizon. Yet another Grateful Dead mystical occurrence that has never ceased to ignite the imaginations of Dead Heads everywhere!