The Grateful Dead have always been able to draw a crowd, and MusiCares' 2025 Persons of the Year Charity gala on Jan. 31 was no exception. Guided by a "colorful black tie" dress code that, in the days leading up to the event, was updated to include "Grateful dead attire is welcome," attendees flocked to the Los Angeles Convention Center to celebrate 60 years of the iconic rock band — and come together to support a critical cause.
In the wake of Southern California's devastating wildfires, MusiCares and the Recording Academy launched the Los Angeles Fire Relief Effort to Support Music Professionals impacted by the crisis and declared the annual Persons of the Year ceremony a charity gala. As one of the few GRAMMY week events scheduled to proceed in the aftermath, the gala powerfully leveraged MusiCares' platform, raising record-breaking funds and championing the sense of community that has been especially strong throughout the greater L.A. area since the tragedy.
One of the most influential bands in American history and the third to be named MusiCares' Persons of the Year (past honorees include Aerosmith in 2020 and Fleetwood Mac in 2018), the Grateful Dead were celebrated not only for their culture-shifting contributions to music and culture but also for their philanthropic work. Over the years, the band's benefit concerts and other humanitarian efforts have raised millions for meaningful causes ranging from AIDS to rainforest relief. Separately, its members — Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Bob Weir, and the late Jerry Garcia and Phil Lesh — have also been outspoken advocates for other movements. This background, many of the evening's speakers acknowledged, made the Dead uniquely suited for the charity gala.
"The Grateful Dead are a lot of things. I'd venture to say they are the great American band," host (and devoted Dead Head) Andy Cohen told the audience. "They are eternal reminders that a sense of community and humanity can still be achieved through music, and that's why we're all here tonight."
Read on for seven highlights from the 2025 Persons of the Year charity gala.
Fundraising For A Vital Cause
One of the gala's most striking moments happened early in the evening, when MusiCares Chair Steve Boom asked those among the audience who knew someone personally affected by the wildfires to raise their hand. Seconds later, nearly every attendee had a hand in the air. The sight poignantly captured the scope of the destruction, which has affected Angelenos from all walks of life.
Not long afterward, Zack Krone took the mic to call for contributions to the Los Angeles Fire Relief Effort to Support Music Professionals, asking if anyone would "start high at $100,000." "That's like three trips to Erewhon," he joked.
Several attendees, including Bob Weir, promptly lifted their bids, culminating in a half a million dollars raised in just one minute. Just as Crowe announced the total, another audience member lifted their bid, adding $100,000 more to the tally.
This was one of many opportunities for guests to donate to the Fire Relief Effort throughout the night. QR codes soliciting contributions appeared not only on screens across the event, but also on the cardstock handout left on each table seat. Attendees also had the unique chance to participate in Julien's Auctions and MusiCares' Charity Relief Auction, through which they could bid on one-of-a-kind music memorabilia, including the suit Jerry Garcia wore on the cover of the Dead's 1980 studio album Go to Heaven (valued between $10,000 and $20,000) and other items from stars like Dua Lipa, Stevie Nicks and Bruce Springsteen.
Strength In Community
Naturally, the importance of community and the camaraderie to be found within it, particularly during tough times, was a through line of the event. Several of the night's performers and celebrity guests espoused the power of community, with some sharing stories about how they were personally affected by the recent tragedy. Four members of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, each of whom lost just about everything in the wildfires, spoke with the Recording Academy on the red carpet.
"I think what makes L.A. special in a lot of ways is that people came here with nothing but their dreams, and they built this town out of nothing, and we've kind of been reduced to nothing [between] the four of us and so many thousands of others," one said. "But what we've seen so far is people already dreaming about the next step and coming together to create something new, and I think that's something that makes the town so special: The power of imagination and dreams and hard work and coming together with all our talents."
Another member of the orchestra expressed her disbelief at the "outpouring of love" she's since experienced. "I lost everything, and strangers just gave me a car. Just gave it to me. For me, it was very special."
"One thing that might say a lot about all of us is that when evacuation orders came, the first thing we thought of was our instruments," a different member added. "That's the one thing that we all thought of that we needed to take." Though she was able to salvage only her violin, she feels encouraged by "everyone stepping in to fill the enormous hole" left in the wake of the destruction.
Tie-Dye & Other Dead-Inspired Accoutrements
The devil is indeed in the details. From start to finish, the gala nodded to the Dead's quintessential tie-dye and other defining imagery, down to the smallest accents. The evening started with a cocktail reception rife with photo opps, including pictures with two neon dancing bears and a rose wall that conjured the red rose crown worn by the Dead's iconic animated skeleton visual. Dinner brought several Dead-themed dishes, a decadent "Friend of the Devil's Food Cake" among them.
Perhaps the most on-brand of all these touches, though, was the tie-dyed grilled cheeses offered to guests later that evening. A staple of Shakedown Street (or "the lot") fetes both before and after Dead shows, the grilled cheeses were a symbol of tradition fittingly carried forth into the Los Angeles Convention Center.
The attention to detail, however, was not limited to the gala's bells and whistles. Some guests also paid tribute by donning Dead attire ranging from small but noteworthy accessories, such as tie-dye bowties, to a full-on tie-dye tuxedo.
Photo: Courtesy of Rachel Narozniak
Heartwarming Stories Of The Band's Influence
Throughout the evening, one thing was clear: Everyone had a story of how the Dead's music had touched their lives. Performers and presenters shared stories of the band's personal influence — some lighthearted, others more poignant.
"When I was 18, I asked my parents to let me and my friend JJ drive my 1972 yellow Buick Skylark convertible from St. Louis to Alpine Valley, Wisconsin," Andy Cohen told the crowd. "'Where would you sleep?' they asked. 'In the car in the parking lot,' I said. 'What would you eat?' They wondered. 'They sell grilled cheese sandwiches in the lot,' I said. 'Where will you source your mushrooms?'" he joked before conceding, "They didn't ask that. But to my great astonishment, they said yes… I felt connected to life and to the people around me in a way that I had not ever before. I felt like I belonged, and I felt free. I was on the bus, and I never got off."
Wynonna Judd, by contrast, stepped onto the stage and proclaimed, "I love you, Robert Weir. You are my family of choice." The country legend shared a touching anecdote about how the founding member sang at her mother's funeral before launching into a stirring rendition of "Ramble On Rose."
A Litany Of Impassioned Tributes
There was no short supply of talent in the room, where a star-studded, multigenre assembly of artists performed covers of some of the Dead's most-beloved songs. Fittingly, Weir (on guitar) set the show in motion alongside the MusiCares orchestra with a stunning rendition of "The Other One." From there, The War and Treaty, joined by Fleetwood Mac's Mick Fleetwood and Police's Stewart Copeland, took over for their take on "Samson and Delilah."
This compelling start set the stage for ensuing appearances from My Morning Jacket and Maggie Rose ("One More Saturday Night"); Norah Jones, who delivered "Ripple" from a rotating stage placed at the center of the room; Zac Brown and Marcus King ("Bertha"); Noah Kahan and Béla Fleck ("Friend of the Devil"); and Dwight Yoakam ("Truckin"), among others.
Dead & Company bandmate John Mayer closed out the tributeswith a pristine and well-practiced performance of "Terrapin Station" in tandem with keyboardist Jeff Chimenti and Don Was, the latter of whom served as the gala's music director. (Mayer would later take the stage with his fellow Dead & Company members for the final performance of the gala, a performance with the guests of honor, Weir and Hart — more on that later.)
Love To Late Friends & Enduring Values
Among the gala's many heartfelt tributes, one of the most inspiring honored the band's late founding members, Jerry Garcia and Phil Lesh, showing several short documentary-style clips characterizing their influence and contributions. Weir and Hart, who accepted the award, followed suit in their respective speeches, as did Bill Kreutzmann, who could not be present but recorded a special video message for attendees. Garcia's daughter Trixie and Lesh's son Grahame joined Weir and Hart on stage, bringing the ceremony full circle.
"My old pal Jerry used to say, 'You get some, you give some back,' and so we did," Weir reflected in his acceptance remarks, recalling the band's conviction to pour into the communities that so ardently embraced them throughout their career — footsteps to follow in as L.A. continues to process, heal and, eventually, renew. He emphasized the importance of collaboration, urging the music community to work together and look out for each other during this time.
"What we have here in Southern California these days is a rebuild that's gonna take some time and effort, and an immense amount of teamwork," Weir told the audience. "My guess is it's gonna take a few years, but SoCal will be back, stronger and shinier."
His words carry extra weight, given the Grateful Dead's California roots. Formed in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1965, the band has been a point of pride for California music culture and history, making their optimism and support for SoCal's recovery all the more resonant.
A Finale That Underscored The Dead's Everlasting Legacy
While the gala's opening and core segments celebrated what the Dead have done across six decades of music, philanthropy and community spirit, its conclusion underscored their multi-generational appeal — a defining aspect of their artistry that will further deepen and extend their legacy for years to come. Bathed in the glow of their kaleidoscopic visuals, Dead & Company convened on stage to draw the ceremony to a close with "Althea," "Sugar Magnolia" and "Touch of Grey."
From March through May, the Grateful Dead offshoot will meet again for an 18-show residency at the Sphere. Their anticipated return to the Las Vegas venue — commemorating a decade of Dead & Company — recalls what Hart had stated several minutes before they took the stage: "Music needs a community to play to and in turn, a community needs its music. We know the power of community because we've lived it and Dead Heads have kept the dream alive for 60 years now and continue to take this music into the next century."
As "Touch of Grey" timed out, it was clear that the song, buoyed by a chorus full of resolve ("I will get by/ I will get by/ I will get by/ I will survive") resonated as more than just an uplifting note on which to end. It was also a powerful emblem of L.A.'s enduring heart and resiliency — qualities that will carry the city forward, as they always have.