Dead & Company lights up Sphere in honor of ‘Deadhead’ Bill Walton — PHOTOS
Rockers Dead & Company took time from their show at the Sphere in Las Vegas on Thursday night to pay tribute to arguably the most famous “Deadhead” — NBA Hall of Famer Bill Walton.
Walton died Monday after a fight with cancer, the league announced on behalf of his family.
Thursday night’s tribute for the basketball star was among many the band has shared regarding Walton, as the group on Monday also shared messages about their famous fan.
There are things you can replace, and others you cannot. Our friend Bill called himself the luckiest man in the world, but in reality, we were the lucky ones to know him and share the adventure with him. He was an awesome individual; unique, generous, loving and his passion for… pic.twitter.com/1d9zkXKi54
— Grateful Dead (@GratefulDead) May 28, 2024
Yo Bill, thanks for the ride. Thanks for the wonderful friendship, the years of color commentary - and the Hall of Fame existence that you wore like headlights.
Bon voyage ol’ buddy. We’re sure gonna miss you - but don’t let that slow you down...
📸: @Bob_Minkin/@jayblakesberg pic.twitter.com/DKkJzmpBDb
— Bobby Weir (@BobWeir) May 28, 2024
Bill Walton lived a life that the rest of us could only hope to achieve on our second (or third) go-round. He had an eye toward the truly important stuff, the stuff we already know better than to lose sight of, but often do. One of Bill’s great talents was to reorient you so as… pic.twitter.com/FotpS6wB6L
— John Mayer (@JohnMayer) May 28, 2024
Walton has long been a known “Deadhead,” even taking his Celtics teammates to see the iconic rockers perform in Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1985 while the team had a night off, according to Boston.com.
Dead & Company — which is made up of Grateful Dead holdovers Bob Weir and Mickey Hart, guitar great John Mayer, bassist Oteil Burbridge, keyboardist Jeff Chimenti and percussionist Jay Lane — showed their appreciation for their longtime friend by lighting up the inside of the world-famous Sphere with images of Walton and his jersey number 32.
The group earlier this week announced extending its “Dead Forever” residency at the Sphere with new dates set for Aug. 1, Aug. 2, Aug. 3, Aug. 8, Aug. 9 and Aug. 10.
