Robert Hall Weir, passed into the depths of the cosmic, non-terrestrial worlds on January 10,2026. Described as a star wrangler ... a celestial skysage who traded fear for wonder. Now he is riding the northern lights and skipping barefoot between the constellations…” That description by Billy Strings. Bob Weir was one of the founding members of the Warlocks which on the random turn of a dictionary became the American phenomenon The Grateful Dead. Bob toured with the Dead from the age of 17, and played live shows right up almost to his death with a 60th anniversary show in Golden Gate park in August of 2025.
Known for his rhythm guitar work, in collaboration with the genius lead guitar of Jerry Garcia, Bob Dylan described him as an unorthdox rhythm player with his own style, not unlike Joni Mitchell but from a different place. He plays strange augmented chords and half chords at unpredicatble intervals that somehow match up with Jerry Garcia – who plays like Charlie Christian and Doc Watson at the same time.
In the Mad River Valley, the music of Bob Weir, the Grateful Dead and all offshoots and side projects reverberate through the mountains where locals spend a little time on the hills. The music sounds like the Mad River that sings sweet songs to rock our souls. He began playing guitar at age 13 after less successful experimentation with the piano and the trumpet. He experienced difficulties in school due to undiagnosed dyslexia, and he was expelled from nearly every school he attended. On New Year’s Eve, 1963, an underaged 16-year-old Weir and his friend were wandering the back alleys of Palo Alto, looking for a club that would admit them, when they heard banjo music. They followed the music to its source, Dana Morgan's Music Store. They encountered a 21-year-old Jerry Garcia, oblivious to the date, waiting for his students to arrive.
In May 2016, Weir was a guest speaker and performer for the second annual Einstein Gala, an event honoring the legacy of Albert Einstein and new visionaries in the arts and sciences. Weir spoke about what science and innovation had meant to him.
He was also on the honorary board of directors of Little Kids Rock, a nonprofit organization that provides free musical instruments and instruction to children in under-served public schools throughout the U.S.
On July 15, 1999, Weir, and Natascha Münter married. Together, they had two daughters. Weir was a vegetarian and advocate for animal rights and was influential in the founding of Farm Sanctuary.
