VELA: It's a little bit farmers market, a little bit county fair, a little bit 'One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.' It's where a fan can buy a Grateful Dead hoodie, a grilled cheese sandwich and, yes, even LSD. VELA: Named after the Grateful Dead song 'Shakedown Street,' the epic traveling emporium of merchandise, music and madness is simply known as the Shakedown lot. GRATEFUL DEAD: (Singing) Nothing shaking on Shakedown Street.

Now that the band is calling it quits, a lot of folks whose livelihoods literally depend on Dead shows are wondering what's going to happen to a place called Shakedown. VELA: Dead and Company has been the most successful Grateful Dead spinoff since Jerry Garcia died almost three decades ago. TONY SEIGH: It almost was like for, like, two years, when you're thinking, like, oh my gosh it's the end of the world we're all going to die - like, we better go on tour with the Grateful Dead before it's over, you know?ĭEAD AND COMPANY: (Singing) Well, the first days are the hardest days. But if you're a Deadhead, you totally get it. He left a career at Tesla to sell Grateful Dead bumper stickers in parking lots. VIC VELA, BYLINE: When the pandemic shutdowns were lifted and live concerts returned, Tony Seigh did something downright crazy. It's also a big change for vendors and merchants who travel with the band and thrived on a scene called Shakedown.

It's the end of an era for fans like Colorado Public Radio's Vic Vela, who have been following the Dead's music for decades. The Grateful Dead's offshoot band, Dead and Company, played its final shows in San Francisco over the weekend.

Listening to music while reading