Deadheads in Lansdale will not need a miracle this week. Two bands devoted to the music and spirit of the Grateful Dead are bringing the jams — one under a sunset sky, the other under the lights of a hometown brewery.
On Tuesday, New York City’s Shakedown Citi will headline the next-to-last free White’s Road Park concert of the summer, hosted by Lansdale Borough Parks and Recreation. The show, rescheduled from July due to weather, runs from 7 to 8:30 p.m. and is free to attend.
Shakedown Citi is built of seasoned, professional musicians and singer-storytellers with a deep reverence for the Dead’s catalogue — plus side projects, spinoffs and psychedelic tributaries. Fans call them one of the best Grateful Dead tributes around. As one reviewer put it, the band is “a mega party every time they play, tight band, great set list, jaw-dropping psychedelic music with a touch of blues, jams and jazz fusion.”
Bring a blanket, lawn chair, tapestry or just your best boogie shoes, and let the evening turn into a swirling sea of sound beneath the early September sky. Food and beer from local vendors will be available for purchase. Outside food is welcome, though outside alcohol is not permitted.
Saturday night at Well Crafted
The groove continues Saturday, when Zendog returns to Well Crafted Beer Co. on Madison Street for a ticketed indoor performance. Doors open at 7 p.m., with the music starting at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 on Eventbrite.
Based in Philadelphia, Zendog covers the full spectrum of Grateful Dead classics, from "Truckin’" and "Sugar Magnolia" to "One More Saturday Night." The band has played Well Crafted before, turning the brewery into a neighborhood jam den where the beer flows as easily as the guitar solos.
Well Crafted will be serving up more than 18 rotating craft beers, cocktails, wine, mocktails and a seasonal food menu with smashburgers, flatbreads and more. Parking is available at the SEPTA Lansdale Garage at 101 W. Main St. with access to the skybridge, or in nearby municipal lots or street parking.
A week to let your soul shine
Between Tuesday’s free park show and Saturday’s brewery blowout, Lansdale has a rare chance to immerse itself in the long, strange trip of the Grateful Dead’s enduring music. Whether you are grooving barefoot in the grass or raising a pint inside the taproom, the week promises to keep spirits high and the jam alive.
