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.
Before you comment
The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.