The 44th President of The United States of America Barrack Obama has honoured legendary American band The Grateful Dead by acknowledging their cultural contribution.
The band played their penultimate show as a group and enjoyed salutes from the President and the Empire State Building.
The President is already very familiar with the band. They performed for his 2008 presidential campaign and were invited as guests to the White House the following year. Obama issued a special message to honour the band coming to an end: ‘Here’s to fifty years of the Grateful Dead, an iconic American band that embodies the creativity, passion, and ability to bring people together that makes American music so great. Enjoy this weekend’s celebration of your fans and legacy. And as Jerry would say, ‘Let there be songs to fill the air.’
Empire State Building lighting designer Marc Brickman teamed up with the band to create a visual display in sync with their performance of ‘U.S. Blues’ at their Chicago concert. The visual experience featured the building being lit up in red, white and blue (as well as every colour of the rainbow) and included an assortment of Grateful Dead imagery projected onto the building’s mast.
