A defining moment in the life of Brent Zeller ’76 involved seeing the Grateful Dead perform at William & Mary Hall – better known now as Kaplan Arena – in September 1976.
Considered by Deadheads to be a magical evening, the four-hour concert left a permanent impression on many, including Zeller, who had graduated with a geology degree in May but returned to campus for the event.
Now, nearly 50 years to the day after that concert, Zeller has been instrumental in spearheading something close to recreating the Dead’s magic at William & Mary. He has worked to bring the Dark Star Orchestra, a Dead tribute band with a huge following, to campus on Sept. 26.
“If you never got to see Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead, this is as close as you’re ever going to get,” Zeller said.
Dark Star Orchestra will perform one (four-hour) show at The Martha Wren Briggs Amphitheatre at Lake Matoaka. Tickets go on sale July 24.
The concert is a highlight of this year’s William & Mary Presents! season, which features a full slate of world-class musicians, dancers and storytellers throughout the year. A list of shows and a link to buy tickets directly are available here.
“At William & Mary, we believe great performances connect our past with our future. Presenting Dark Star Orchestra allows us to celebrate an iconic moment in our university’s cultural history while welcoming new audiences to experience the music, community and spirit that made those original concerts legendary,” said Eric Despard, executive director of the arts at W&M.
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The Grateful Dead performed its last show ever on July 9, 1995. The band’s legendary frontman, Jerry Garcia, died a month later.
Dark Star Orchestra formed in 1997 and has been touring since, celebrating what they call “the Grateful Dead concert experience.” The band’s speciality is performing complete Grateful Dead shows, following the unique set lists the band played during its long concert history.
Since forming, DSO has performed more than 3,300 shows.
The Grateful Dead played four highly regarded concerts at William & Mary Hall in the 1970s. A recent W&M Alumni Magazine story highlighted those and other legendary performances hosted on campus.
The Dead’s 1973 show turned into two consecutive nights of music. Zeller was there on night one. Dave Hinder ’72, M.B.A. ’75 remembers that show, too. “The Dead played for four hours and, at the end of the show, announced that they would return the next night for just $3 per ticket.”
The band’s 1976 and 1978 concerts here were recorded and are part of a collection called “Dave’s Picks,” named for the band’s archivist, David Lemieux. The 1978 recording features an illustration of a William & Mary residence hall room on the cover.
Zeller, who became a tennis pro, moved to California in 1985 but continued to follow the Dead. A friend he made at a Dead concert told him about Dark Star Orchestra. “The Dead were phenomenal, but occasionally they could be inconsistent. These guys (DSO) seemed to bring it every night.”
When Zeller visited Williamsburg in 2024 to mark his 50th anniversary as a tennis pro at the place where that career started – the Williamsburg Inn – he launched a campaign to bring DSO to William & Mary. Somebody connected him with Despard. It took two years, but it’s happening.
“From my first conversation with Brent, it was clear this was an opportunity to honor an important chapter in William & Mary’s performing arts history while introducing a new generation of students, alumni, and community members to a musical experience,” Despard said. “The Martha Wren Briggs Amphitheatre with the backdrop of Lake Matoka offers an extraordinary setting. There is something uniquely fitting about experiencing music rooted in improvisation and community in an outdoor venue where audiences can gather together under the stars.”
Susan Corbett, Communications Specialist