Watch Sturgill Simpson Sing for the Grateful Dead

Sturgill Simpson paid tribute to the Grateful Dead for the band’s Kennedy Center Honors, playing a hard-hitting country cover of the band’s classic “Ripple.”

Simpson performed the song in front of Bob Weir, Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann, the three surviving members of the Dead. He was joined on stage by Don Was as well as the late Phil Lesh’s grandson Grahame to interpret the 1970s track American beautyy.

Simpsons has become more familiar with The Dead’s music in recent years, most notably when he joined some of the band for the Dead Ahead Festival in Mexico in early 2024. He told Uncut magazine learning Jerry Garcia’s guitar playing gave him renewed inspiration. “After I got home from those shows, all I could think about was playing guitar for 10 hours a day again,” he said. “Jerry Garcia, I hate to say it, could have saved my life.”

The Grateful Dead is one of four artists honored at the 47th annual Kennedy Center Honors earlier this month, along with Bonnie Raitt, Francis Ford Coppola and Arturo Sandoval. Queen Latifah hosted the broadcast, which aired Sunday, December 22 on CBS and is now streaming on Paramount+. Other performers include Maggie Rogers, Sheryl Crow, Brandi Carlile and Dave Matthews.

The Dead also have more honors coming in the coming months; they will be recognized as MusiCares’ 2025 People of the Year during Grammy Week in Los Angeles in February.