What if on August 10, 1995, you opened up your morning newspaper and read the following: “Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia was rushed to a Marin County, California, hospital late last night and underwent successful quadruple bypass surgery. Garcia, 53, was said to be resting comfortably and joking with doctors and nurses.
For more than three decades, Sonoma County’s Harmony Festival has attracted folks from all over the West to the city of Santa Rosa, about an hour north of San Francisco, for an event that brings together a wide variety of musical attractions from different genres in conjunction with various booths, exhibits and workshops dealing with, as their logo states: “Music, Art, Ecology, Healthy Living, Spirituality.” It’s a good-vibes event that draws a great cross-section of people young and old to the Sonoma County Fairgrounds.
SIRIUS XM’s Grateful Dead Channel continues the tradition of its annual “Jerry Week,” a series of special programming honoring legendary Grateful Dead front man Jerry Garcia with music, archival interviews and rarely heard concerts. “Jerry Week” will launch on the anniversary of Garcia’s birthday, August 1, and will end on the anniversary of his death, August 9. During “Jerry Week,” listeners will hear seven Jerry Garcia solo concerts, both electric and acoustic, as well as recorded songs from his various side projects.
