New Riders of the Purple Sage at PIsgah Brewing on Oct. 26

Psychedelic cowboy band New Riders of the Purple Sage formed in 1969 with The Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia on pedal steel guitar, Phil Lesh on bass and Mickey Hart on drums. Added to that lineup were John Dawson on guitar and vocals and David Nelson on guitar. later members included David Torbert and Spencer Dryden of Jefferson Airplane. Between ’71 and ’82, the band recorded a dozen albums.

According to a press release, “The long-awaited return of The New Riders of the Purple Sage has fans in a psychedelic/country head spin. Guitarist David Nelson and pedal steel wizard Buddy Cage will represent the group catalog along with Michael Falzarano (guitar, mandolin and vocals), Johnny Markowski (drums and vocals) and Ron Penque (bass and vocals). You may recognize Falzarano from Hot Tuna, Markowski from Stir Fried and Penque from Melvin Seals and JGB. Original bass player Dave Torbert, drummer Spencer Dryden and co-founder John Dawson have passed away but their songs and musical legacy will live on. The new lineup vows to keep the New Riders of the Purple Sage spirit and tunes alive by taking them to fans everywhere.”

The revived band makes its way to Pisgah Brewing Company’s indoor stage for a night of psychedelic county and jam rock on Saturday, Oct. 26. 9 p.m., $15.

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About Alli Marshall
Alli Marshall has lived in Asheville for more than 20 years and loves live music, visual art, fiction and friendly dogs. She is the winner of the 2016 Thomas Wolfe Fiction Prize and the author of the novel "How to Talk to Rockstars," published by Logosophia Books. Follow me @alli_marshall

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