Looking Back: The Grateful Dead and Bob Dylan’s Historic 1995 RFK Run—Final Notes with Hornsby and Garcia

Looking Back: The Grateful Dead and Bob Dylan’s Historic 1995 RFK Run—Final Notes with Hornsby and Garcia

June 24–25, 1995 | RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.

On this day in 1995, the Grateful Dead kicked off a powerful two-night stand at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C.—a bittersweet moment in rock history that would become one of the band’s most meaningful and emotionally charged runs. With Bob Dylan opening both nights, these shows didn’t just feature two of America’s most iconic musical voices sharing a stage—they also marked a series of “lasts” that still echo through Deadhead memory.

Dylan and the Dead, One Last Time

Bob Dylan’s relationship with the Dead was deep and storied. From their 1987 co-headlining tour to scattered collaborations over the years, Dylan’s haunting, poetic presence was always a natural complement to the Dead’s improvisational soul.

But June 25, 1995, would mark the final time Jerry Garcia joined Dylan on stage. During Dylan’s set, Garcia sat in for a few songs—an unannounced, transcendent moment that drew wild cheers from those lucky enough to witness it. Garcia’s guitar, gentle but full of spirit, curled around Dylan’s gravel-and-gold voice one last time, marking the end of an era.

Hornsby’s Farewell

This run also marked the final full performances with Bruce Hornsby, the beloved pianist who had been a part of the Dead’s ever-evolving sound since the early ‘90s. Hornsby, known for his fiery improvisations and emotional depth, brought a unique energy to the band during his tenure. His playing added cinematic scope to the Dead’s sound, and fans at RFK knew they were witnessing something special—and final.

The Final Summer

Unbeknownst to many at the time, these RFK shows were some of the last before Jerry Garcia’s death just weeks later, on August 9, 1995. The summer tour that year would be the band’s last. Garcia looked tired but soulful—his playing still reaching for the divine, even as his body seemed weighed down by the years.

The atmosphere at RFK was celebratory, nostalgic, and unknowingly somber. With setlists that balanced joy and introspection, the Dead gave fans moments of magic and melancholy. “Unbroken Chain,” “Box of Rain,” and “So Many Roads” carried extra emotional weight that summer, and those two nights in Washington felt like a deep breath before the curtain quietly fell.