Chloë Sevigny Produced Dead & Company Final Summer Tour Documentary Debuts at Telluride Film Festival 

A new documentary produced by Chloë Sevigny, Summer Tour, debuted at the 52nd annual Telluride Film Festival this past weekend in Telluride, Colo. The film follows two characters, Jerry and Annie, as they embark on Dead & Company’s 2023 Final Tour, and aims to capture the timeless and enduring influence of the Grateful Dead’s music on the next generation of “hipsters, tripsters, real cool chicks, sir,” through the band’s modern offshoot, Dead & Company.  

The film, Summer Tour, was directed by photographer and filmmaker Misha Richter and produced by Sevigny, who notably attended the 47th annual Kennedy Center Honors in Washington, D.C., while wearing a patchwork floor-length number in homage to the band and their hippie spirits. She also danced on stage alongside fellow Deadhead Miles Teller, during one of the night’s musical moments, emphasizing her fandom. 

According to Telluride Film Festival’s program, the synopsis of Summer Tour says: 

Few American demographics are more easily caricatured than Deadheads, those swirling, dosing, hippy-dressed vagabonds. But in his infinitely sweet and wise documentary, director Mischa Richter offers us the Deadheads as complex, self-aware and resourceful members of a wandering commune, one that’s admirable for its kindness and care. Our central subjects, Jerry and Annie, set off in their van to follow Dead and Co.—the most recent successor to the original band—on its final tour. They make just enough money busking (Jerry, of course, is a gifted guitarist) to get by. With editing by Jay Rabinowitz, SUMMER TOUR flows along like a Dead song, riffing and jamming and offering tiny sparks of delight along the way. As it progresses, the film presents a certain irresistible logic to the Deadhead way of life. At a moment when the modern world is spinning into uncertain social, political, environmental and technological terrain, perhaps we should all get on the bus.

In recognition of this past weekend’s official screening, Sevigny shared the previous description and comment: “I’m thrilled to have produced this alongside @mischarichter @lizzienastro @satelliterepairs and others. Mischa and I started going to Dead shows around 1990 and we fell for the scene as much as the music. This love letter is not to be missed. So proud of you kind brother.”

Director Richter shared via Instagram: “I am so excited and honored to announce that my second film Summer Tour will have its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival this coming Saturday! It really does take a village to make a film so thank you to everyone that supported, worked on and appeared in the film. NFA.” 

Cinematographer Hayden Mason shared a series of film stills on social media. See below.