For years, Terrapin Crossroads was less a venue than a clubhouse for the Bay Area’s extended Grateful Dead family—a San Rafael gathering place where touring luminaries, local musicians and wandering fans could share a stage, a meal and the sense that the music never really stopped.
Though the restaurant and music hall founded by the late bassist Phil Lesh and his wife, Jill, closed in late 2021, its communal spirit has proved more portable than the building itself.
This summer, Grahame Lesh and the Lesh family are taking that spirit back on the road with the 2026 Terrapin Roadshow, a touring concert series built around intimate outdoor amphitheaters and a rotating company of musicians steeped in improvisation. The Roadshow returns to Marin for three nights at Forest Meadows Amphitheatre in San Rafael, Friday through Sunday, July 24–26.
“Last year’s Terrapin Roadshows felt like pure magic,” says Grahame Lesh, the event’s co-producer and son of the Grateful Dead bassist. “Every show was filled with great music and beautiful energy that reminded us how strong this community still is. It’s a powerful way to honor the legacy of the Grateful Dead while watching that spirit continue to grow and evolve. We’re so excited to bring those vibes back on the road and gather with Terrapin Nation again in 2026.”
The San Rafael engagement will feature the Terrapin Family Band with Lesh, Alex Koford, Ross James and Jason Crosby, joined by singer-songwriter Nicki Bluhm. Promising a different musical chemistry each night, the guest list includes Tim Bluhm, Barry Sless, Stu Allen, Reed Mathis and Greg Loiacono among the artists scheduled to rotate through the weekend.
That variability is central to the Roadshow’s appeal. Rather than reproducing a fixed set or polished tribute, the series treats the Grateful Dead songbook as living material—music meant to be stretched, rearranged and passed among players. The larger summer roster includes Holly Bowling, Jackie Greene, Amy Helm, Jennifer Hartswick, Kanika Moore, Bill Nershi, Elliott Peck and Dan “Lebo” Lebowitz, among many others. No two stops, and likely no two nights, will sound quite the same.
Grahame Lesh has become one of the most visible stewards of his family’s musical legacy without confining himself to nostalgia. A singer and guitarist, he co-founded the Americana-rock band Midnight North with Elliott Peck and regularly leads Grahame Lesh & Friends, using the open-ended language of jam music to connect inherited repertoire with new collaborators. Alongside his brother Brian and mother Jill, he has also maintained the Lesh family’s close relationship with the Bay Area music community.
Forest Meadows offers an apt setting for the homecoming. Tucked into the Dominican University campus, the outdoor amphitheater has the scale of a destination show but the intimacy of a neighborhood gathering—a fitting temporary address for a musical community accustomed to finding home wherever the band plugs in.
Doors open at 5pm for the 6pm show, Friday, July 24; 4pm for the 5pm show, Saturday, July 25; and 1pm for the 2pm show, Sunday, July 26. Forest Meadows Amphitheatre, 890 Belle Ave., San Rafael. General admission is $81, tickets for ages 6–16 are $45, and VIP admission is $151. Tickets and lineup updates are available at terrapincrossroads.net.
