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Three decades after the loss of Jerry Garcia, a close-knit band of musicians are carrying the torch for his distinctive blend of soul, guitar, and eclectic American music. Jerry’s Middle Finger do more than celebrate the Jerry Garcia Band’s catalog; they also broadcast it to a new generation, upholding Garcia’s dedication to camaraderie and community-building by creating their own family-like experience onstage. How sweet it is, to experience the joy of JGB’s music in a live setting. A concert by Jerry’s Middle Finger is a connective, cathartic event: a fusion of artist and audience, where everyone’s a fan of the same catalog and experience. Those concerts began in 2015, when bandmates Garrett Deloian, Rodney Newman, Son Vo, Jon Gold, Halina Janusz, and Lisa Malsberger were drawn together by a love of the Grateful Dead and its iconic lead guitarist. As the years progressed, the band’s audience grew. Dive bar gigs in JMF’s hometown of Los Angeles gave way to performances at bucket-list venues across the country, including jamband destinations like the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, the Troubadour in Los Angeles, The Ardmore in Philadelphia, and Garcia’s at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY. “This isn’t just a cover band — it’s a band that genuinely honors the music Jerry made and the community he built,” says Newman, the group’s drummer and co-founder. “We’ve studied these songs: the guitar tones, the vocal arrangements, the keyboard sounds. We play them the way Jerry did, and we connect with the audience in an interactive, open-hearted way. It’s an approach that transcends the perfection of a performance or the spectacle of a light show, because we’re not really about that. We’re about the music, the feeling, and the communal experience.” Double albums like Live at the Chapel San Francisco, May 30th, 2025 capture that experience, shining a light on JMF’s striking ability to play Jerry Garcia Band’s music — a blend of blues, reggae, Motown, gospel, and psychedelic rock, performed from the early 1970s up until his passing in 1995 — with sincere reverence for the original material. Deloian’s vocals and guitar fretwork are steeped in Garcia’s influence, evoking the same balance of composition and improvisation that made his music so special. Gold’s keyboard solos channel the timeless sounds of Melvin Seals while at times incorporating the delicate touch of Keith Godchaux and the e-piano explorations of Nicky Hopkins. Janusz and Malsberger (affectionately known as “The Ladyfingers”) take the audience to church with their striking, gospel-inspired vocal harmonies. For all six members of JMF, performing such timeless music feels like a full-circle return to their days as young Deadheads, attending Grateful Dead shows whenever possible, watching in awe as Jerry Garcia’s music flooded the venue with emotion. Now, they’re the ones occupying the stage, communicating the same melodies and messages to those in the crowd. It’s a shared celebration of everything that Garcia stood for. “Bob Weir has talked about the cyclical energy of playing for an audience that truly cherishes the experience, and we’re lucky to be part of that,” Newman notes. “When we perform this music, there’s a transference of energy between the band and the audience. It requires everybody.” Focusing on the music Jerry Garcia made outside of the Grateful Dead, JMF perform a wideranging mix of rarities and audience favorites. The setlist changes with every show, including everything from JGB classics like “Deal” and “Cats Under The Stars” to deep cuts from side projects like Legions of Mary and Garcia’s collaborations with Merl Saunders. “We like to dig in and keep things fresh,” Newman explains. That mentality also applies to songs that appeared throughout Garcia’s career in different arrangements, like “Midnight Moonlight.” “We’ll default to an early ’80s style of that song,” adds Newman, “but occasionally we’ll shift gears and play it the way he did in 1978 or 1989. We just let Jerry be our guide. He’s our musical director.” Outside of Jerry’s Middle Finger, the bandmates have chased down their own horizons, too. Deloian, a versatile guitarist capable of replicating other players’ tone, has toured heavily with GRAMMY-winning blues artists. Newman has released indie-folk music as a solo artist. Gold has collaborated with musicians like Danny Elfman as a member of The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, the surrealist group that became Oingo Boingo. Janusz and Vo have been bandmates for years in a number of groups, most notably Mother Jones. Malsberger has been a lead vocal fixture in the SoCal jam band scene for decades in multiple beloved ensembles. Working together as JMF, these musicians pursue a more collaborative mission, breathing fresh life into a catalog that sounds as vital today as it did decades ago. Modern-day audiences haven’t had the opportunity to experience this music in a live setting for years. Now, Jerry’s Middle Finger are bringing it back to the stage, paying tribute to Garcia — and the community he built — with every note.
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