Dark Star Orchestra

The oft-observed irony of the Dark Star Orchestra is that the group pays homage to the Grateful Dead, a group renowned for their improvisational spirit, recreating the Dead’s classic shows song for song, sometimes even solo for solo, therein stripping the music of any real improvisation. Judging from the Dark Star Orchestra’s huge online following and continued ability to sell out concerts, though, deadheads don’t have a particular problem with this, but in recent years Dark Star Orchestra has begun taking more liberties with their source material, sometimes inventing original setlists using the Dead’s song book.