The Dead Returning To The Road In '09

Spurred on by two reunions at benefits for President-elect Barack Obama, the surviving members of the Grateful Dead will embark on their first tour in five years this spring.

The Dead will hit the road beginning April 12 in Greensboro, N.C., and will play 16 "evening with" shows in 19 cities through May 10 in San Francisco. Tickets begin going on sale Jan. 13.

Original Dead members Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart will be augmented by keyboardist Jeff Chimenti and Allman Brothers Band/Gov't Mule guitarist Warren Haynes.

"For me, it's the question mark that's really pulling me in ... what's gonna happen?," says Lesh. "When you walk out on the stage the possibilities are infinite every time."

Here are the Dead's tour dates:

April 12: Greensboro, N.C. (Coliseum)
April 14: Washington, D.C. (Verizon Center)
April 15: Charlottesville, Va. (John Paul Jones Arena)
April 17: Albany, N.Y. (Times Union Center)
April 18-19: Worcester, Mass. (DCU Center)
April 21: Buffalo, N.Y. (HSBC Arena)
April 22: Wilkes-Barre, Pa. (Wachovia Arena)
April 24: Uniondale, N.Y. (Nassau Coliseum)
April 25: New York (Madison Square Garden)
April 26: Hartford, Conn. (XL Center)
April 28-29: East Rutherford, N.J. (Izod Center)
May 1-2: Philadelphia (Wachovia Spectrum)
May 5: Chicago (Allstate Arena)
May 7: Denver (Pepsi Center)
May 9: Los Angeles (Forum)
May 10: Mountain View, Calif. (Shoreline Amphitheatre)