MUSIC

Grateful Dead’s Phil Lesh dies; band had long Arizona history

Dead’s long, strange trip with the Valley spanned decades

Phil Lesh of Furthur performs during the All Good Music Festival at Legend Valley on July 20, 2013, in Thornville, Ohio.

(Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)

This undated file photo shows members of the Grateful Dead band, from left, Mickey Hart, Phil Lesh, Jerry Garcia, Brent Mydland, Bill Kreutzmann, and Bob Weir.

(AP Photo/File)

A Jerry Garcia Fan Club in 1996 adopted a two-mile stretch of Interstate 8, about 20 miles east of the Arizona-California border, between mile markers 20 and 21, according to ADOT.

(Photo from Dead.net, the official website of The Grateful Dead)

Grateful Dead founding member and bassist Phil Lesh has died, his family announced Friday.

Lesh, 84, died peacefully “surrounded by his family and full of love.”

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band has a long history of performing in Arizona.

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