Phil Lesh Becomes NY Mayor, Pardons Trey Anastasio

Posted on Oct 22nd 2007 11:00AM by Benjy Eisen
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The long strange trip just keeps going for Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh. The veteran rocker continues to tour and perform songs from the Dead canon with help from a rotating cast of "friends." At a tour stop in Glens Falls, NY, this past Saturday, Lesh became the town's honorary mayor for the day in a ceremony performed by the actual mayor, Roy Akins. According to a news report on PostStar.com, Lesh said, "As my first act as honorary mayor, it is my intention to pardon Trey Anastasio."

The former Phish guitarist and bandleader, Anastasio, was convicted of a felony drug charge in New York earlier this year. While Lesh's pardon doesn't actually count, he did invite Anastasio to join him onstage for the entire show that night. The setlist included two songs from Anastasio's solo career ('Shine' and 'Plasma') in addition to Grateful Dead classics and, obviously, lots and lots of jams.

Anastasio's only other high-profile performance since his conviction was in August, when he sat in with the Dave Matthews Band in Saratoga Springs, NY.