Los Angeles Grateful Dead tribute Cubensis has been performing since 1987, delivering complete shows built from all eras of the Dead and the Jerry Garcia Band. With spontaneous set lists, audience requests, and improvisation at the center, no two nights are the same.

Cubensis is a Los Angeles Grateful Dead tribute band that has been active since 1987. The band builds its shows around the live Dead experience, covering all eras of the Grateful Dead and drawing from the hundreds of songs performed across the Dead’s 35-year run. All eras of the Dead and the Jerry Garcia Band are represented.

Set lists are decided night by night, and improvisation is central to the format. The band performs complete shows with spontaneous song selection rather than fixed, note-for-note repetition, and audience members often call out requests. No two nights are the same.

Cubensis approaches the material as a live interpretation rooted in the spirit of Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, and the rest of the Grateful Dead. The band stays close to the original music while leaving room for exploration, reflecting the rock, country, and jazz influences that shaped the Dead’s catalog.

The group has performed Grateful Dead show recreations for audiences and venues across the western United States. They performed their 3000th show during their 2013 summer tour, and currently tour at roughly 100 dates per year across the southwest, including San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, San Diego, Phoenix, and Las Vegas.

Members of the Grateful Dead have appeared on stage with Cubensis, including keyboardists Vince Welnick and Tom Constanten. Bob Weir also encouraged the band, saying, Just love what you do...and of course, you do!

Press coverage cited in the band’s history includes LA Weekly, which wrote that Cubensis plays with the same laid-back mastery as the real McCoy. Big Brother skateboard magazine called them the nation’s premiere Dead tribute, OC Weekly called them the hottest Grateful Dead tribute act going, the OC Register called them the best place to channel Jerry Garcia, and AOL Citybeat wrote that Cubensis is renown for whipping its faithful crowd into a swirling, psychedelic mass for three hours straight.

The band’s live history also includes appearances with guests from the jamband scene such as Vince Welnick, Chris Robinson, Marc Ford, Warren Haynes, David Nelson, Martin Fierro, and Barney Doyle. They have been invited back to the House of Blues in Hollywood, Anaheim, and San Diego for over 50 engagements.

Cubensis also maintains a long-running community benefit connection through an annual fall show in partnership with the Rex Foundation, the charitable organization established in 1983 by friends and members of the Grateful Dead. Funds raised at that event are contributed directly to the Rex Foundation to support grants for community groups and non-profits.