The Echo Project is a three day Atlanta music festival dedicating to raising awareness about global concerns, particularly concerning new, innovative programs for both energy creation and consumption. Among the bands slated to perform at this event: The Killers, The Flaming Lips, Cypress Hill, The Bravery, Phil Lesh and Friends, and many more.
Phil Lesh and Friends is a band that has seen many, many changes to both name and lineup since its formation in 1994. The band was founded by Phil Lesh, bassist of the Grateful Dead. Several different musician lineups have performed under the Phil Lesh and Friends name, including members of Phish, Little Feat, and the Zen Tricksters, the most permanent of these being the Phil Lesh Quintet.
The Phil Lesh and Friends takes the music of the Grateful Dead and mixes it with the styles of many other musical influences, including Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles and others, meanwhile exploring it and interpreting it in new ways. All of the band’s incarnations have attempted to update the work of the Grateful Dead, including the long, exploratory pieces that were a band trademark. During the so called Quintet years, the band focused on harder, faster, rock, particularly Southern, and Dixie rock styles of music, but the most recent incarnations have focused almost solely on updating. Phil & Friends has received acclaim for giving new life to the Grateful Dead's material, bringing in new styles and innovations, while at the same time remaining loyal to the original music and the original fans. Many Dead fans, old and new, as well as fans of bands like Phish and Little Feat, have come to enjoy the Phil and Friends style of music.
The most current members of Phil Lesh and Friends are: Phil Lesh, Steve Molitz, Jackie Greene, Larry Cambell, and John Molo.
Former members have included: Warren Haynes, Ryan Adams Chris Robinson, Jimmy Herring, John Scofield, Trey Anastasio, Page McConnel, Jeff Mattson, Mookie Siegel, Steve kimockm Jeff Chiminei, Michael Keng, Bill Nershilm, Kyle Holingsworth, Jeff Pevar, Rooben Ford, Paul Barrerre, Bill Payne, Al Shier, Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Vince Welnick, Jorma Kaukonen, and Derek Trucks.
The Echo Project, with its emphasis on global concerns and because of its outdoor location, is the perfect venue for Phil Lesh and Friends, and tickets will undoubtedly sell quickly.