Grateful Dead guitarist and founder Bob Weir passes away at 78

  • January 11, 2026
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Grateful Dead founder, guitarist and mythical figure to Deadheads and the music community, Bob Weir passed away peacfully on Saturday, January 10 surrounded by loved ones, according to a social media post from his daughter Chloe Weir.

The Grateful Dead was the heart of the counter-culture movement in the 1960s San Francisco, and KRCL listeners and DJs have always found joy, kinship and community in the music of the Dead and all off-shoot projects of the band and its members.

Many KRCL DJs will be curating specials around this huge musical loss.

Tune in John Florence's show Saturday Sagebrush Serenade, Saturday, January 17 from 10am-1pm for a special tribute to Bob Weir. And listen to Saturday Sagebrush Serenade and The Music Never Stopped On Demand anytime at krcl.org and the KRCL App.

Here is the message from Chloe Weir posted to Bobby Weir's Facebook page:

"It is with profound sadness that we share the passing of Bobby Weir. He transitioned peacefully, surrounded by loved ones, after courageously beating cancer as only Bobby could. Unfortunately, he succumbed to underlying lung issues.

For over sixty years, Bobby took to the road. A guitarist, vocalist, storyteller, and founding member of the Grateful Dead. Bobby will forever be a guiding force whose unique artistry reshaped American music. His work did more than fill rooms with music; it was warm sunlight that filled the soul, building a community, a language, and a feeling of family that generations of fans carry with them. Every chord he played, every word he sang was an integral part of the stories he wove. There was an invitation: to feel, to question, to wander, and to belong.

Bobby’s final months reflected the same spirit that defined his life. Diagnosed in July, he began treatment only weeks before returning to his hometown stage for a three-night celebration of 60 years of music at Golden Gate Park. Those performances, emotional, soulful, and full of light, were not farewells, but gifts. Another act of resilience. An artist choosing, even then, to keep going by his own design. As we remember Bobby, it’s hard not to feel the echo of the way he lived. A man driftin’ and dreamin’, never worrying if the road would lead him home. A child of countless trees. A child of boundless seas.

There is no final curtain here, not really. Only the sense of someone setting off again. He often spoke of a three-hundred-year legacy, determined to ensure the songbook would endure long after him. May that dream live on through future generations of Dead Heads. And so we send him off the way he sent so many of us on our way: with a farewell that isn’t an ending, but a blessing. A reward for a life worth livin’.

His loving family, Natascha, Monet, and Chloe, request privacy during this difficult time and offer their gratitude for the outpouring of love, support, and remembrance. May we honor him not only in sorrow, but in how bravely we continue with open hearts, steady steps, and the music leading us home. Hang it up and see what tomorrow brings."

Photos by Sam Crump from Park City Song Summit, August 3, 2023, Park City, Utah

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