"Quite possibly the most talented and accomplished tribute band out there...they've definitely mastered their inspiration's vagabond nature."
RollingStone.com

"...recreates the Dead concert experience with uncanny verisimilitude. In fact, Dark Star Orchestra often sounds more like the Dead than the Dead sometimes did..."
Andy Argyrakis/Chicago Tribune

"An incredible simulation of the [Dead's] post-1972 incarnation(s)."
Relix

"Channelling the Dead!"
USA Today

"This is a great band, and I had a great time."
Bob Weir/Grateful Dead's rhythm guitarist

Giving homage in a continually evolving artistic outlet, the Dark Star Orchestra recreates historic Grateful Dead set lists with compelling accuracy. Each night, the Chicago-based band decides on performing one show from the over 2,500 that the Grateful Dead originally performed during their 30 year tenure as fathers of improvisational rock.

Dark Star Orchestra presents the complete original set list, song by song, and in order, with uncanny faithful interpretation. To date, DSO has covered more than 1,000 different Grateful Dead shows

The group has their craft so well-refined that even members of the Dead themselves, rhythm guitarist/singer Bob Weir, drummer Bill Kreutzmann, and keyboardist Vince Welnick, have appeared on stage and performed with these live music interpreters.

Precision is king with this group, who position the stage plot based on the year of Grateful Dead show they are performing. Dark Star Orchestra adapts their phrasing, voice arrangements, and even arranges specific musical equipment for the various eras in which they perform.

At the end of every performance, the band announces the date and venue where the original show just covered took place. Dark Star Orchestra dips into every incarnation of the Dead, so most fans can “see” shows that happened long before they were born.

“We’re given a canvas with a boundary, whatever the stage set up is the framework and all of the painting that we do within that framework is unique to us,” says rhythm guitarist/vocalist Rob Eaton. “So we offer the sound and the structure, but all the stroking and painting is all us. So it’s fresh at the same time and also very historically correct.”

DSO recreates the Grateful Dead experience performing shows from the 70’s 80’s and 90’s. DSO also presents original sets of Dead music as well as Jerry Garcia Band concerts.