See Bob Weir’s Tender ‘Lay My Lily Down’ Performance on ‘Colbert’
Bob Weir‘s Campfire Tour made a pit stop on national television Monday night, with the Grateful Dead founder playing “Lay My Lily Down” on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. The song appears on Blue Mountain, Weir’s recently released first studio album since 2000.
Weir composed “Lay My Lily Down” with Josh Kaufman and Josh Ritter. He performed the tune with a six-piece band split into two sections. Weir stood front and center with a cohort of amiable strummers – four players spread across three guitars (two acoustic, one electric) and a banjo. The bassist and drummer were set back, anchoring the groove from the rear of the stage. Towards the end of the song, Weir’s vocals moved from gentle to gravelly, adding extra gravity to his dark, funereal tale.
Weir has been staying busy in the past 18 months. Following 2015’s shows in Chicago celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Grateful Dead, he hit the road with Dead & Company. This year, he accepted a Lifetime Achievement award at the 2016 Americana Honors & Awards, released Blue Mountain and set out on a short jaunt in support of the new record. The Campfire Tour wraps up October 20th in Chicago.