Oteil & Friends Close Out the Year with Allman Brothers and Grateful Dead–Associated Covers in Fort Lauderdale

Photo: Marc Millman

Oteil & Friends rang in the New Year on Wednesday evening at The Parker in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. During the two-set performance, the ensemble, led by bassist Oteil Burbridge and featuring Tom Guarna, Lamar Williams Jr., Jason Crosby, Johnny Kimock, and Jaden Lehman, leaned into an array of covers that sparked a connection with the namesake’s career accolades and setlist arrivals which touched on material associated with the Allman Brothers Band and the good ol’ Grateful Dead. 

Opener “Sisters and Brothers” struck a chord between this group of players and the Jerry Garcia Band’s approach. Next, they focused on originals: the 2024-released single “Love & War,” followed by “Everyday is a Blessing” and “Lucky Strike.” Garcia’s “Rubin and Cherise” landed ahead of a deep cut from the Dead archive, “Mason’s Children,” which, according to Setlist.FM, represented a debut. 

Burbridge’s own “Hush” broke the pattern of Dead material, although it resumed during follow-up “New Potato Caboose.” For their final move during set one, Oteil & Friends fixed their passion to “Way We Rise.” The second frame fizzled with a return to the Grateful Dead’s songbook on “Bertha.” They positioned “Estimated Prophet” with Pink Floyd’s “Money,” reprising Crosby’s mashup tendencies, which resurfaced as “Friend of the Devil” with Nirvana’s “Lithium” before the New Year countdown–aligning with “Cats Under the Stars.”

After welcoming 2026, the band spun “Help on the Way” into sister songs, “Slipnot!” and “Franklin’s Tower.”  “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” trailed, with “Scarlet Begonias” and “Fire on the Mountain” not far behind. For the band’s last move, they used their encore to cover Mighty Clouds of Joy’s “Mighty High.” 

At this time, Oteil & Friends’ next live appearance will be a two-fold event, March 13-14 at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, N.Y. Tickets are on sale now; for more information, visit www.oteilburbridge.com. 

Oteil & Friends 

The Parker – Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 

Dec. 31, 2025 

Set I: My Sisters and Brothers (In Christ), Love and War, Everyday Is a Blessing, Lucky Strike, Rubin and Cherise, Mason’s Children, Hush, New Potato Caboose >, Way We Rise

Set II: Bertha, Estimated Prophet, Lips Moving, Friend of the Devil, Cats Under the Stars > Help on the Way > Slipknot! > Franklin’s Tower, In Memory of Elizabeth Reed > Scarlet Begonias > Fire on the Mountain

Enc.: Mighty High