Gratefulfest at Nelson Ledges – Festival Preview: Paradise Waits
by Bill Kurzenberger
This coming weekend Gratefulfest, Ohio’s iconic and longest-running festival dedicated to the memory of the Grateful Dead, returns to the idyllic Nelson Ledges Quarry Park in Garrettsville. This year, some of the foremost Dead-family and Dead-adjacent musicians of this era from coast to coast will converge at the Ledges for the occasion.
Headlining the weekend’s festivities is convivial bassist extraordinaire Oteil Burbridge from the top echelon of jam-band legendary lore (Dead & Company, the Allman Brothers Band, etc.) in the form of Oteil & Friends, featuring Steve Kimock and Melvin Seals. Jerry Garcia’s appointed “keeper of the flame” Seals himself will headline Friday with Melvin Seals & JGB, and noted guitarist/singer John Kadlecik will appear both with Melvin’s JGB and as a solo act. The Word reunites Robert Randolph and John Medeski with the North Mississippi All Stars’ Dickinson brothers for their praiseworthy sacred steel band, while Connecticut-based Eggy continues their ascent as a must-see act on the jam scene and festival circuit.
The Englishtown Project brings New Riders/Hot Tuna guitarist Michael Falzarano together with members of the Zen Tricksters for a musical trifecta recalling the eponymous 1977 GD, N.R.P.S. & Marshall Tucker Band concert (this author also serves as their designated keyboardist for their Ohio performances). Pamela Parker’s Fantastic Machine and Zion Godchaux’s Boombox round out the lineup of national acts with high-octane celebrations of their psychedelic forebearers. Local bands from Ohio and surrounding states also feature prominently in the lineup, including Into the Blue, ekoostik Hookah, Hypnotic Clambake, Indiana’s Hyryder, Derek Woods Band and Cheryl Ann Hawk both hailing from Pittsburgh.
The host venue, Nelson Ledges Quarry Park near Garrettsville Ohio, is a bucket-list destination for fervent fans of zestful fests, swimming, and rustic camping that every intrepid traveler within driving distance should experience at least once… once a year, that is. Described in more detail in this recent article Grassfire at Nelson Ledges – Festival Preview: Something Old, New, Borrowed and Blue, “the Ledges” experience recalls this quote by ‘Q’ in Star Trek: The Next Generation: “It’s wondrous…with treasures to satiate desires both subtle and gross; but it’s not for the timid.”
Nelson Ledges crowd from the main stage, 2025
Throughout the years Gratefulfest has featured prominent musicians from the Dead family’s highest tiers, from actual Grateful Dead members Hart and Donna Jean Godchaux to Dark Star Orchestra to New Riders of the Purple Sage, performing alongside top-shelf jammers from Ohio to every corner of the country. This year is certainly no exception as it spotlights a plethora of nationally recognized players – several of whom are established bandleaders in their own rights – as well as several of northeast Ohio’s better-known jam-band mainstays. The Gratefulfest 2026 schedule posted on Nelson Ledges’ Facebook page is provided below, with a chronological description of each performing act.
GRATEFULFEST 2026
THURSDAY July 23rd
CHERYLANN HAWK 6:30PM – 8:00PM
Singer/songstress/guitarist CherylAnn Hawk hails from Pittsburgh with sultry and sassy sides. A Ledges darling for decades usually backed here by “the Tims” Lane and Askin, Hawk is also often found onstage with Into the Blue in Donna Jean’s role during 1970s-era renditions of Dead tunes.
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INTO THE BLUE 8:30PM – 11:00PM Main Stage
Into The Blue is a tried-and-true Grateful Dead cover/tribute band from the Cleveland area, known for Tim Askin’s possessed guitar theatrics on late-era rarities such as “Victim or the Crime.” The band’s core members are long-time denizens of Nelson Ledges, performing there since the 1990s with original jam-band sensation The Sultans of Bing before transitioning to the Dead’s repertoire with this formation.
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FRIDAY July 24th
WILLY MAC 3:30PM – 4:20PM Main Stage
Another familiar face to Quarry dwellers for decades, Willy Mac is an old-school hippie channeling beatnik troubadours Woody and Arlo Guthrie. Willy also often hosts the acoustic “Sunday church” musical services on festival weekends on Sundays around noon at the corner of vending row and ‘Shakedown’ near the beach and main stage.
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DEREK WOODS BAND 4:30PM – 6:00PM Main Stage
Pittsburgh-based Derek Woods Band celebrates their 14th year with the “Feel Good Again” summer tour of the northeastern United States, with cross-country stops in Las Vegas and their origin point in Los Angeles. Riding the wave of their well-credentialed album The Light and 2025 Josie Awards nomination for Americana Band of the Year, the Derek Woods Band is known for their heartfelt songwriting and genre-hopping musicianship with saxophone figuring prominently in their live lineup.
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THE ENGLISHTOWN PROJECT 6:00PM – 6:45PM and 8:15PM – 9:00PM Pavilion Stage
The original impetus for The Englishtown Project nearly a decade ago was a song-for-song recreation of the remarkable 1977 Englishtown, New Jersey concert by the New Riders of the Purple Sage, Marshall Tucker Band, and the Grateful Dead. As N.R.P.S. (and Hot Tuna) alumnus Michael Falzarano puts it: “Everywhere I toured with The New Riders of the Purple Sage for the past 20 years someone would come up to me at almost every show and say ‘I saw you guys at Englishtown.’ Long story short, it seemed like a good idea to put a band together and pay tribute to that legendary September 3, 1977 show.”
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EGGY 6:45PM – 8:15PM Main Stage
Eggy is increasingly making a name for themselves as Connecticut’s most organic jam-band to arise in the past decade, with extensive touring and featured festival performances at Bonnaroo 2024, Summerdance 2025 and most recently, this summer’s Electric Forest and High Sierra Music Festival. Highlighted by harmonious vocals and hooky jams within radio-friendly accessible originals, Eggy displays impressive musical maturity for their relative youth after transforming a high school dream into a viable group just a decade ago.
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MELVIN SEALS’ JGB 9:00PM – 11:00PM Main Stage
Melvin Seals’ JGB remains Captain Trips’ designated “Keepers of the Flame” to carry on the legacy of his eponymous Jerry Garcia Band; specified in Garcia’s last will & testament as Seals had long performed alongside Jerry in the original unit. Prominently featuring R&B selections from Garcia’s vast repertoire complete with duo gospel singers, Melvin’s current lineup is highlighted by guitarist/vocalist John Kadlecik, no stranger to the “Jerry” role from his past tenures in Dark Star Orchestra and Furthur.
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HYRYDER (acoustic) 11:00PM – 1:00AM Pavilion Stage
Indiana’s Hyryder has made a name for themselves this decade as one of the area’s top Dead tribute bands by livestreaming most of their shows, even during the pandemic when most bands were on hiatus. Hyryder digs deep into the Dead’s repertoire, nailing fan favorites with gusto along with songs rarely heard live – such as “Promontory Rider” which the band takes its name from.
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SATURDAY July 25th
BOB NIEDERRITER TRIO 11:00AM – 12:05PM Pavilion Stage
Jazzbo guitarist Bob Niederriter from nearby Kent has been a frequent performer over the years at Nelson Ledges, particularly at Gratefulfests. With his quartet – actually a trio this time around with Linda Dachtyl on Hammond organ and Roy King on drums – Niederriter brings elements of Garcia’s free-form jazz collaborations with Howard Wales in the early 1970s.
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HYPNOTIC CLAMBAKE 12:05PM – 1:25PM Main Stage
A blast from the past, the name Hypnotic Clambake evokes the late 1990s at the Quarry when the band could be commonly found performing alongside legacy acts Sultans of Bing and Hookah. With an exotic Eastern European flair featuring lively accordion, Hypnotic Clambake recongregated for last year’s Gratefulfest and again this year at the Ledges, where time has no meaning and the psychedelic polkas just hit differently.
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PAMELA PARKER’S FANTASTIC MACHINE 1:25PM – 2:10PM and 3:30PM – 4:15PM Pavilion Stage
Pamela Parker is living every musician’s dream after working hard to earn it: Moving to California, recording and releasing her debut album with a cast of all-star players, and experiencing success touring around the U.S. Parker endeavors to capture and represent the San Francisco sound and the vibrant music scene that sprang from the Haight Ashbury district in the 60s, blending soulful vocals with anthemic rockers reminiscent of the Golden Age of psychedelia.
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HYRYDER 2:10PM – 3:30PM Main Stage (see Friday above)
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EKOOSTIK HOOKAH 4:15PM – 5:35PM Main Stage
Ever since the term “jam-band” was coined in the 1990s, ekoostik Hookah has been known as one of Ohio’s top jam-bands. Fronted over time by John Mullins (v1.0), Ed McGee (v2.0), Mullins a second time (R.I.P. John) and Eric Sargent (v3.0) while anchored by keyboardist/architect Dave Katz and premier lead guitarist Steve Sweney, Hookah has been a mainstay around the area for decades extolling their brand of Ohio-grown roots rock.
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JOHN KADLECIK 5:35PM – 6:20PM and 7:40PM – 8:25PM Pavilion Stage
John Kadlecik has made a name for himself by impeccably reproducing Jerry Garcia’s tender vocal fragility and unique guitar wizardry, perhaps moreso than any singer/guitarist alive. From his tenures in Dark Star Orchestra to Furthur with Bob Weir & Phil Lesh to Melvin Seals’ JGB… close your eyes, and you’re hearing Jerry. Performing solo, John K. showcases his own voice and originality as well.
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THE ENGLISHTOWN PROJECT 6:20PM – 7:40PM Main Stage (see Friday above)
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THE WORD
The Word is a sacred steel band exulting Robert Randolph’s roots of gospel music on pedal steel guitar in Pentecostal churches and conventions, leading all denominations to sing their praises. Joined by top-shelf jazz organist John Medeski (Medeski, Martin & Wood) as well as the North Mississippi All-Stars’ Dickinson brothers Luther & Cody and Chris Crew, The Word is an all-star band by its own right whose celebratory jams are good for the soul.
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BOOMBOX
The brainchild of Zion Godchaux (son of the Grateful Dead’s Keith and Donna), Boombox is a Dead family group for the next generation. Supplanted by 1970s funk-influenced electronica, Zion’s groovy guitar riffs and vocals owe as much to early Prince as to the GD’s “disco Dead” Shakedown Street era.
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OTEIL AND FRIENDS
Headlining Gratefulfest this year for the first time is the ostentatious Oteil Burbridge. A beloved veteran of the jam-band world for decades as bassist of Dead & Company, The Allman Brothers Band, and Col. Bruce Hampton’s Aquarium Rescue Unit (in reverse order), Oteil is a force to be reckoned with. With an infectious smile and swagger, Burbridge’s soulful voice and twisty bass lines will be supported by noted The Other Ones’ guitarist Steve Kimock, his brother Johnny, Tom Guarna, Lamar Williams Jr., and the esteemed Melvin Seals.
This weekend will mark the 25th installment of this quintessential Gratefully Dead-icated festival at Nelson Ledges. While this places the first Gratefulfest around 2000 (with 2020 as the exception), I fondly and firmly recall an early Gratefulfest at the Ledges in the late 1990s as well; possibly the initial appearance by Mickey Hart and Planet Drum in late July 1999. As much as any past Gratefulfest, this year’s roster is jam-packed Dead family and luminary musicians in rare Ohio appearances and formations. With colorful variations on a theme rather than the Dead on repeat all weekend, the performance lineup showcases the vast breadth and depth of the Grateful Dead’s kaleidoscopic styles and musical influences, to the delight of all Deadheads.
More details about this weekend’s Gratefulfest including ticketing and camping information are available at the venue’s website at https://nlqp.com/events/gratefulfest-2026 .
“Paradise waits, on the crest of a wave, her angels in flames.
She has no pain, like a child she is pure, she is not to blame.
Poised for flight, wings spread bright, Spring from night into the sun.” – Robert Hunter
(muting is suggested, accompanied by the playlist below)
Oteil and Friends Live at Ardmore Music Hall on 2026-05-09
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