Bob Weir, the guitarist who co-founded The Grateful Dead, has died at the age of 78.
Weir, a cornerstone of the California psychedelic rock group and many of its offshoots, died after a battle with cancer and lung problems, according to a post on his Instagram.
“There’s no final curtain here, not really. Just the feeling of someone hitting the road again,” the post says, noting his hope that his legacy and long catalog will live on.
The post states that he “passed peacefully, surrounded by loved ones.”
“He often spoke of a three-hundred-year legacy, determined to ensure that the songbook would survive long after him,” the post continues. “May that dream live on in future generations of Dead Heads.”
With a career spanning more than 60 years, Weir’s big break came in 1965 with the formation of the Grateful Dead. Within a few years, they became a force within San Francisco’s distinctive counterculture.
Their style soon began to shape rock music, mixing psychedelia and 1960s drug culture with musical tones that fused folk and Americana. They are considered one of the pioneers of jam bands.
The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Grammys in 2007.
The group officially folded in 1995 with the death of co-founder Jerry Garcia.
But Weir was involved in several spinoffs, including Dead & Company, which had a residency at the Las Vegas Sphere in 2024 and 2025.
Weir was diagnosed with cancer in July and continued to perform even during treatment, according to the post on his page.
“Those performances, emotional, soulful and full of light, were not farewells, but gifts,” the post says. “Another act of resilience. An artist who even then chose to continue with his own design.”
He beat cancer before his death, the reports stated. It is unclear what form of cancer he had.
His family, including wife Natascha and children Shala and Chloe, asked for privacy but said they appreciated the “outpouring of love, support and memories.”
Tributes started pouring in late Saturday from fellow musicians. Even the Empire State Building in New York City honored the rock legend by dazzling with tie-dye colors to commemorate him.
Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash posted a photo of Weir playing on stage. He wrote “RIP” with a broken heart emoji.
Former Eagles guitarist Don Felder posted a lengthy tribute.
“I first saw Bob at Woodstock with the Grateful Dead and was blown away by that whole band and the musicianship,” Felder posted on Instagram with a photo of himself with Weir.
“I feel so blessed to have him sing on American Rock and Roll’s ‘Rock You’. Until we meet again, amigo.”
His former publicist, Dennis McNally, spoke to BBC News about his music and the fond memories they shared.
“He had a very strange, unusual sense of humor that was dry and funny,” he said. “The road was his life, and music was his life.”
He said playing and serving the music was what he was put on earth to do and he did it until the end.
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