Peter Shapiro, the concert promoter who organized the Grateful Dead‘s 50th anniversary Fare Thee Well shows, spoke to Rolling Stone following the death of the band’s bassist, Phil Lesh.
In recent years, Lesh staged annual birthday concerts for himself at the Shapiro-owned Capitol Theatre venue in Port Chester, New York. Lesh’s five shows at the venue this March, marking his 84th birthday, were among his final live performances before his death on Oct. 25.
In a tribute given to Rolling Stone, Shapiro reminisced about meeting Lesh more than 20 years ago, the storied Fare Thee Well gigs, the bassist’s annual visits to the Capitol, and more.
I loved him. He was like a dad to me. He actually showed us all, in a lot of ways, how to live a life. In March of this year, he was turning 84, and he had health issues, but he still came and did five nights at the Capitol…
