NEED TO KNOW
Bob Weir is being mourned by bandmates, friends and fans alike after his team shared the news of his death on his official Instagram account on Saturday, Jan. 10.
The Grateful Dead founding member died at the age of 78 from “underlying lung issues” after being diagnosed with cancer in July 2025, per the statement.
“Bobby will forever be a guiding force whose unique artistry reshaped American music,” the statement read. “His work did more than fill rooms with music; it was warm sunlight that filled the soul, building a community, a language, and a feeling of family that generations of fans carry with them.”
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Following the news of his death, friends and musicians who worked closely with Weir paid tribute to the guitarist.
John Mayer, who joined Dead & Company in 2015 after becoming a Deadhead (and also shared a birthday with Weir), paid tribute to his bandmate via an Instagram post shared on Sunday, Jan. 11. Dead & Company was formed by the original members of the Grateful Dead and created to carry on the band’s legacy, with Mayer and Weir swapping song leads.
“Okay Bob. I’ll do it your way. Fkn’ A…” Mayer, 48, wrote — a nod to the guitarist’s uncharacteristically brief message, more Weir’s style than his own. “Thanks for letting me ride alongside you. It sure was a pleasure. If you say it’s not the end, then I’ll believe you. I’ll meet you in the music. Come find me anytime.” He signed his tribute with Weir’s nickname for him — JohnBo.
Fellow bandmate Mickey Hart, who joined the Grateful Dead in 1967 as its drummer and formed Dead & Company with Weir and Bill Kreutzmann, shared photos from the band’s early days in a tribute shared to Instagram on Sunday, Jan. 11.
“Bob Weir was a little brother to me for almost sixty years,” Hart, 82, began. “He was my first friend in the Grateful Dead. We lived together, played together, and made music together that ended up changing the world.”
“Bob had the ability to play unique chords that few others could… When all of us were entrained, rhythm section, guitars, and voices… it was transcendent,” he continued. “What was a lifetime of adventure boils down to something simple – we were family and true to the music through it all.”
He concluded with, “These photos show the bookends of our lived together. Still cannot believe he’s gone. I miss you so much already, dear friend.”
Dead & Company bassist Oteil Burbridge shared an emotional tribute thanking Weir for the last 10 years together on the road.
“I can’t think of anyone that needed to play live music any more than Bob. It went past devotion, past dedication, past obsession. It seemed to me more like self identification. I think he felt it is what and who he was. I also cannot think of anyone who played more live shows. We could depend on it like the sun coming up,” he wrote.
“He was so unique as a human and a musician. His mannerisms when he spoke were just as singular as the way he played guitar, sang, composed and lived day to day.”
Burbridge, 61, continued, “Thank you Bob for pulling me into your orbit. There are no words that could ever encompass the last ten years we shared together. I’m so blessed to have been a part of it all. And thank you for being so generous with your time and sharing yourself with so many of us younger musicians. It does my heart good to see so many pictures of you with so many musicians that weren’t in the Grateful Dead. Thank you for including us. There is no higher form of musical grace.”
“Lastly, a friend of mine noted that it was sad that Bob died at just 78 years old. I told him I thought Bob packed at least 146 years into it.”
Trey Anastasio remembered Weir as a “sweet, kind, gentle friend” and praised him for his “unique and beautiful perspective on life” in a statement shared to Instagram on Saturday, Jan. 10. The Phish guitarist joined the Grateful Dead for their 50th anniversary Fare Thee Well shows in 2015 and recently played with Dead & Company in 2025 for their 60th anniversary.
Anastasio, 61, recalled the time he spent three nights with Weir at his beach house “just the two of us: playing guitar, cooking scrambled eggs, listening to records, working out, talking, and walking on the beach.” He remembered Weir telling him stories from high school and the Grateful Dead’s early days. “I found all of that endlessly fascinating,” Anastasio wrote.
“The more I got to know Bobby, the more I liked him. I learned so much from him,” he continued.
“The last time I saw Bobby was at Dead 60 [in August]. We had a nice laugh backstage, then I went and hung out with him and his beautiful family on his bus. I could tell his health was not what it used to be.”
Anastasio ended his tribute with, “Rest in peace, Bobby. Thank you for all the gifts you brought into the world, and for all the love you gave so many of us. Your spirit lived on forever. My heart is with Tascha and your beautiful daughters.”
Longtime Deadhead Andy Cohen posted a tribute honoring Weir on Instagram on Saturday, Jan. 10. Cohen remembered his first-ever Grateful Dead concert in 1986 Alpine Valley, Wisconsin and recalled what it was like to hear Weir’s “fierce and smooth” voice, saying, “it felt like rays of sunshine were coming out of his mouth.”
“Bob Weir wasn’t The Other One, he was That Guy,” Cohen, 57, wrote. “He was impossibly beautiful and wildly fiery, intense and passionate.”
“I feel SO BLESSED to have gotten to know Bob and the equally wondrous Weir family through my friendship with John [Mayer],” he continued. “He came on WWHL a few times and when he talked about Jerry’s passing he referred to it as ‘checkin’ out.’ That felt so graceful a way to put it, and a testament to the fluidity of all of us in this world.”
“Bob checked out but his music is going to live gloriously forever, and so will he. One of the absolute coolest and best to ever do it. ⚡”
Singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile honored Weir in an Instagram post shared on Sunday, Jan. 11. She posted photos of them performing together and remembered Weir as a “nurturing way-paving soul.”
“Deep bow to your sir. You left every part of the world you touched better than you found it,” Carlile, 44, wrote. “The moments I got to spend with you are true treasures to me now 💔.”
“Tonight I’m thinking about all our friends in music young and old and how @bobweir had time for all of us… he came to our shows, helped us write songs and got so many of us out on stage to jam and just stand in his light.”
“It was so wonderful to be in the world at the same time as Bobby Weir,” she concluded.
Bluegrass musician Billy Strings, whose real name is William Apostol, paid tribute to Weir with a series of photos and a statement shared to Instagram on Sunday, Jan. 11.
“We are all completely devastated but I also can’t help but feel like he is at total peace and more magical now than he ever was,” Strings, 33, wrote. “I’ve never knew a person so in tune with the cosmos. Who was so mystical and smart and mysterious, alluring and radiant. He was a star wrangler .. a celestial skysage who traded fear for wonder. Now he is riding the northern lights and skipping barefoot between the constellations…”
Strings remembered Weir for his kindness, writing, “He always had boundless time and knowledge to share with everyone and was truly one of the kindest people I’ve ever known. The world is a better place because of him. I’m extremely grateful to have crossed paths with him in his life.”
“Heavens choir just gained a beautiful new voice. There is joy in knowing he is with some of his old friends again.. singing and laughing and playing beautiful songs,” he continued. “Thank you Bob. ❤️”
Maggie Rogers, singer-songwriter and a longtime fan of the Grateful Dead who paid tribute to them with a performance of “Friend of the Devil” at the Kennedy Center Honors in 2024, honored “this beautiful human” and thanked him for “the path he blazed of creativity and curiosity that always always always served the people” in her tribute shared via Instagram on Saturday, Jan. 10.
“💔 oh this hurts,” she began. “This man showed me so much kindness so early in my career and welcomed me into a spirit of making music that has everything to do with community and connection and soul, and always with a twinkling of perfect mischief at the edges.”
Rogers, 31, concluded, “Sending so much love to his family and band and to the great many folks that treasured @bobweir 🕊️”
Country artist Brittney Spencer shared a video of her and Weir singing “Looks Like Rain” in his dressing room after the soundcheck for their Radio City Music Hall performance via Instagram on Saturday, Jan. 10. Spencer revealed that it was the day they first met.
“It was the best. bob & the guys really love playing. It felt like a musical arcade in that nearly empty hall. we all gelled together so nicely & had so much fun,” Spencer, 37, wrote. “Bobby was so chill that it was easy to just vibe & no think too hard. The feeling was right.”
Spencer continued, saying, “I’ll miss our harmonies, our talks, the many things I learned just being around him… what a beautiful, fragile gift it is to exist in this dimension with someone who let me see that the journey is worth taking on with an open heart the whole way through.”
“rest easy, bobby. thank you for the time & music we got to share together 🫶🏾love you forever.”
