[Originally published 2/11/26; Updated 3/26/26]: Oteil Burbridge will take a decorated group of Friends on a spring/summer 2026 headlining tour. The band will include guitarist Steve Kimock, multi-instrumentalist Jason Crosby, and select dates with organist Melvin Seals.
The Oteil & Friends 2026 tour will kick off with a two-night run at the Ardmore Music Hall outside Philadelphia (5/9–5/10) during the venue’s annual Unlimited Devotion showcase. From there, Burbridge, Seals, Crosby, drummer Johnny Kimock, guitarist Tom Guarna, and vocalist Lamar Williams Jr. will travel to Baltimore (5/12), Brooklyn (5/13–5/14), Port Chester, NY (5/15), Uncasville, CT (5/16), and Boston (5/17).
Following the Northeast leg, Seals will depart the touring party as the band visits the Midwest for shows in Louisville, KY (5/28), St. Louis’ Atomic Block Party (5/29), Chicago (5/30), and Milwaukee (5/31). After nearly two months off, Oteil & Friends will resurface with Seals but without Crosby at Nelson Ledges Quarry Park’s Gratefulfest outside Cleveland (7/25), followed by a show on Jerry Garcia’s birthday (8/1) at Richmond, VA’s Jampacked, where Crosby will sub back in for Seals.
[Updated 3/26/26]: After announcing the initial dates back in March, Oteil & Friends have extended their 2026 summer tour further into August. The new dates will feature the same roster of Oteil, Steve and Johnny Kimock, Crosby, Tom Guarna, and Lamar Williams Jr., with Melvin Seals on select dates.
Following Jampacked, the tour will continue with another Melvin-less show on Sunday, August 2nd, at Asheville, NC’s French Broad River Brewery. From there, the band will reconvene with Seals for a run through the Northeast, stopping in Nantucket, MA (8/5), Deerfield, MA (8/6), Nashua, NH (8/7), Jay, VT (8/8), and finally Canandaigua, NY (8/9).
Tickets for the newly announced Oteil & Friends summer 2026 tour dates will go on sale to the general public Friday, March 27th, at 10 a.m. ET. Find tickets here and see below for a full list of dates.
This will mark the first non-pandemic year since 2014 that Burbridge will not play with Dead & Company, the Grateful Dead offshoot led by Mickey Hart and the late Bob Weir. The band wrapped a two-year Sphere residency in May 2025 after amassing a historic 42 shows at the immersive Las Vegas venue, before ultimately saying goodbye with a three-night sendoff at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park in August.
In Dead & Co’s absence, Burbridge has already had a busy 2025. Last month, he joined Marcus King and Blackberry Smoke’s Charlie Starr for a run of shows by Toy Factory Project, their tribute to fellow Southern rock giant the Marshall Tucker Band, featuring original MTB drummer Paul T. Riddle. Burbridge also performed in Grahame Lesh‘s Unbroken Chain tributes to his dad Phil Lesh in both Port Chester, NY, and San Francisco.
Prior to the & Friends tour, Oteil will visit New Orleans during Jazz Fest for guest spots with Lesh, The Daze Between Band, and Eric Krasno, Cory Henry, and Robert “Sput” Searight‘s new supergroup, The Heavyweights. Find tickets and a full list of dates on Burbridge’s website.
Oteil Burbridge & Friends — “In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed” (Allman Brothers Band) — Milwaukee, WI — 9/9/22
[Video: Rockin Rick Belanger]
