Dead and Company Founding Drummer Bill Kreutzmann Won’t Join Band on Final Tour

• Dead and Company announced that founding Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann will not be joining them on their final summer tour.
• The band cited a shift in creative direction as the reason for the change, but it doesn’t appear to be health-related.
• Kreutzmann has been a part of the Dead since the band’s early days as the Warlocks and has also played with post-Grateful Dead offshoots like The Dead and The Other Ones before joining Dead & Company in 2015.

Dead and Company Founding Drummer Bill Kreutzmann Won’t Join Band on Final Tour

Dead and Company announced on social media that their founding drummer, Bill Kreutzmann, will not be joining them on their final summer tour. The band cited a shift in creative direction as the reason for the change. Dead and Company’s final tour is set to begin on May 6 at New Orleans Jazz Fest and end with a three-night stand at their hometown San Francisco’s Oracle Park.

Kreutzmann has been a part of the Dead since the band’s early days as the Warlocks and has also played with post-Grateful Dead offshoots like The Dead and The Other Ones before joining Dead & Company in 2015.

In recent years, Kreutzmann has been forced to miss some shows due to COVID-19 and, in January 2022, an unspecified “heart condition” that forced him to pull out prior to the band’s abruptly canceled Playing in the Sand shows in Mexico.

Despite Kreutzmann’s recent health issues, his departure from the final tour doesn’t appear to be health-related. According to Jambase, Kreutzmann’s other project, Billy & The Kids, is scheduled to perform shows next week. Kreutzmann’s own website was promoting Dead and Company’s 2023 tour, so it’s unclear what sparked the “shift in creative direction.”

Dead and Company’s Bob Weir, John Mayer, Mickey Hart, and Kreutzmann wrote in a joint statement, “The final tour will go on as planned with Bill’s full endorsement and support.”