Grateful Dead’s Bob Weir dead at 78

Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir has died at the age of 78.

A family statement posted to the Instagram account of the band’s founding member on Saturday said he died “surrounded by loved ones.”

“It is with profound sadness that we share the passing of Bobby Weir,” the statement read, accompanied by a photo of the musician onstage.

“He transitioned peacefully, surrounded by loved ones, after courageously beating cancer as only Bobby could. Unfortunately, he succumbed to underlying lung issues.”

The lengthy statement labeled Weir a “guitarist, vocalist, storyteller, and founding member of the Grateful Dead and said he will “forever be a guiding force whose unique artistry reshaped American music.”

“His work did more than fill rooms with music; it was warm sunlight that filled the soul, building a community, a language, and a feeling of family that generations of fans carry with them,” it continued.

The statement noted that Weir was diagnosed with cancer in July, beginning treatment “only weeks before returning to his hometown stage for a three-night celebration of 60 years of music at Golden Gate Park.”

“An artist choosing, even then, to keep going by his own design,” the statement read.

The statement closed with the hope that Weir’s legacy will “live on through future generations of Dead Heads.

“And so we send him off the way he sent so many of us on our way: with a farewell that isn’t an ending, but a blessing. A reward for a life worth livin.’”

“His loving family, Natascha, Monet, and Chloe, request privacy during this difficult time and offer their gratitude for the outpouring of love, support, and remembrance,” the family wrote.

“May we honor him not only in sorrow, but in how bravely we continue with open hearts, steady steps, and the music leading us home. Hang it up and see what tomorrow brings.”

A rep for the band did not immediately return Page Six’s request for comment.

Weir’s death follows the deaths of founding members Phil Lesh in 2024, Jerry Garcia in 1995, and Ron “Pigpen” McKernan in 1973 — Weir leaves behind percussionist Mickey Hart, 82, and original drummer Bill Kreutzmann, 79.

The animal rights activist and vegetarian was 16 years old when he hooked up with Garcia in a Palo Alto, Calif., music store to play together, with the duo eventually forming a group that would ultimately include Hart, Kreutzmann and Lesh, and McKernan.

He received the 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2016 Americana Honors & Awards in Nashville, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.

Weir married Natasha Münter in 1999, and the duo shared two grown daughters.