Media Meditation # 5

The Dark Star Orchestra

Due to death and old age the Grateful Dead have a small fraction of the attraction they once had. That is why devout Dead fans have to settle for what they can get; but it’s still pretty good. The Dark Star Orchestra is a Grateful Dead cover band, but at times, the difference is negligible. Not only do they cover Grateful Dead songs, they cover entire set lists from the vast vault of live Dead. Each show tries to replicate the same energy and sound of the original.

The concept of a cover band is mainly targeted those who feel nostalgic for the original thing. People that remember what the Grateful Dead was and what their live shows meant. It also gives a chance to a whole new generation of fans to experience the closest thing they can.



The existence of DSO is a testament to the Grateful Dead’s timelessness. Since the many decades when the Dead first started “rock and roll music and other popular styles went through cultural reformations that significantly changed the industry…” (Campbell, 88). Throughout all this the Grateful Dead were still playing their music with legendary live performances to their devout fans; the dead heads.

That is exactly what makes DSO so great, they are plain folk who liked a band so much they decided to base their lives around it. They have almost more appeal than the original (not just because they’re not on drugs) but because they are fans themselves. It makes their shows very personable because everyone shares the same connection; they love the Grateful Dead.