"There is no final curtain here, not really": Bob Weir, Grateful Dead co-founder, dies aged 78

Bob Weir, founding member and rhythm guitarist of San Francisco counterculture giants Grateful Dead, has died aged 78.

His death was confirmed in a post on his official Instagram account, accompanied by a photo credited to his daughter Chloe.

The statement says, "He transitioned peacefully, surrounded by loved ones, after courageously beating cancer as only Bobby could. Unfortunately, he succumbed to underlying lung issues.

"As we remember Bobby, it’s hard not to feel the echo of the way he lived. A man driftin’ and dreamin’, never worrying if the road would lead him home. A child of countless trees. A child of boundless seas.

"There is no final curtain here, not really," the post continues. "Only the sense of someone setting off again. He often spoke of a three-hundred-year legacy, determined to ensure the songbook would endure long after him. May that dream live on through future generations of Dead Heads."

Concluding, the statement requests privacy for his family, and asks that "May we honor him not only in sorrow, but in how bravely we continue with open hearts, steady steps, and the music leading us home.

"Hang it up and see what tomorrow brings."

Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir met for the first time on New Year’s Eve in 1963. The pair jammed, hit it off and went on to form an ensemble called Mother McCree’s Uptown Jug Champions – an old-time-flavoured predecessor to the Dead in which Garcia played guitar, banjo and kazoo, and Weir handled secondary guitar duties as well as washtub bass, and – yep, you guessed it – a jug.

Then, seduced by The Beatles and other British Invasion bands who were touting electric instruments, Mother McCree’s morphed into a much harder rocking outfit called The Warlocks – also featuring Phil Lesh on bass and Bill Kreutzman on drums – which then evolved once more to become the Grateful Dead.

Together they traversed far-flung corners of the musical universe, picking and choosing traits from bluegrass, blues, rock, folk, country, jazz, funk and even a hint of reggae to infuse their sound along the way. Garcia’s lead guitar playing may have been most thoroughly championed, but Weir was no ordinary rhythm player. Jerry Garcia passed away in 1995, ending the official career of the Grateful Dead.

Intermittent reunion line-ups made subsequent appearances over the years, culminating in Dead and Company's two residencies at Las Vegas hyper-venue The Sphere. From 2018, Weir also led Wolf Bros, formed as a trio with Don Was and Jay Lane.

Tributes are pouring in, including from former Eagles guitarist Don Felder, who recalled seeing Bob and the Grateful Dead at Woodstock.

Don Was, esteemed bassist and producer, who played in Wolf Bros with Weir, wrote, "I can’t believe that Bobby’s gone - it seemed like he’d outlast all of us.

"Night after night, he taught us how to approach music with fearlessness and unbridled soul - pushing us beyond what we thought was musically possible.

"It was an honor to play in his band and to be his friend."