Sturgill Simpson, Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi and Rick Mitarotonda join Bob Weir and Wolf Bros at Dead Ahead

Photo by Jay Blakesberg via Dead Ahead’s Facebook page

A number of collaborations took place at the opening day of Riviera Maya, Mexico’s Dead Ahead event last night. The Grateful Dead-associated weekend, held at the Moon Palace, kicked off with a Biscoe performance by the pool, and Orebolo officially opened the main Beach Stage.

The Goose offshoot, which features Rick Mitarotonda, Peter Anspach and Jeff Arevalo in a stripped-down format, welcomed several guests to the stage during their set. After running through a mix of originals and takes on Father John Misty’s “I’m Writing a Novel” and Bruce Springsteen’s “Atlantic City”–which was inspired by The Band’s famed cover–the trio welcomed Sturgill Simpson for his own “Breakers Roar.” Then, at the end of the night, Bob Weir emerged for a version of the Dead classic “Brokedown Palace.” (Simpson is slated to join Weir and Mitarotonda for a special Dead Ahead performance, and photos of their rehearsals have circulated on the internet.)

Later, Weir took the stage for a full two-set show with his Wolf Bros. In addition to the Wolf Pack, which augmented the combo, Simpson emerged during their first set for a take on Johnny Cash’s “Big River”–an appropriate choice given the musicians’ shared country roots. Two songs into the second set, Mitarotonda also returned for a version of the Dead’s Altamont reflection “New Speedway Boogie,” one of the Dead songs he has made his own in recent years. Immediately after, Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi, who are among the weekend’s special guests, sat in for a run from “Playing in the Band” into “He’s Gone.”

Finally, at 11pm, Mickey Hart debuted his newest collective, Noche De Ondas. The cross-cultural, multi-genre band, which boasts Trucks, Jay Lane, Karl Perazzo, Giovanni Hidalgo, and Isaac Eady, offered an improvisation that meditated on the waves.

Dead Ahead will continue today.