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“A Very Grateful Thanksgiving”runs November 27-29 at Kauai’s Porter Pavilion and features Gillian Welch, David Rawlings, Holly Bowling, Reed Mathis and others.
By Andy Kahn Oct 20, 2026 • 1:43 pm PDT
Bill Kreutzmann announced “A Very Grateful Thanksgiving,” three concerts over Thanksgiving weekend (November 27 – 29), at Porter Pavilion in Kilauea, Hawaii. Kreutzmann, drummer and co-founder of the Grateful Dead, curated the weekend at Anaina Hou Community Park on Kauai’s North Shore.
Kreutzmann told Rolling Stone the following regarding “A Very Grateful Thanksgiving”:
“I still love seeing music, almost as much as I love playing it, and I miss my fallen brothers, and I miss being around all the Deadheads. It’s a feeling that has left me overwhelmed with gratitude and thanks.
“So for Thanksgiving this year, I wanted to throw a party and hear some of the musicians I’ve been digging lately take their turn. But the part of Kauai that I live on really took a blow with the hurricane. The island is still recovering. So I decided to move my Thanksgiving party a couple miles over, to the Porter Pavilion, and make it a weekend-long celebration — with everyone invited. It’ll benefit my local venue (which took a hit from the storm) and it’ll be a coming together of the Deadhead community, including all these incredible musicians.”
The musicians who will be part of the festivities include Gillian Welch, David Rawlings, Holly Bowling, Sam Grisman, Stephen Inglis, Alphonso Johnson and Mark Karan. Johnson and Karan were members of The Other Ones with Kreutzmann and other Grateful Dead members.
Additional musicians joining Kreutzmann will be Alex Bailey and Jake Brownstein of Eggy, Aron Magner of The Disco Biscuits, Jason Hann of The String Cheese Incident, Paul Kowert of Punch Brothers and Reed Mathis of Billy & The Kids (which also features Kreutzmann and Magner).
Several of those artists have previously performed with Billy in various capacities, including runs of shows in Hawaii. Kreutzmann’s most recent all-star island event was three “Mahalo Dead” shows held at Porter Pavilion in November 2024.
The concerts will double as a fundraiser for the venue, which was hit by Hurricane Lowell. Anaina Hou capacity is “very limited.” Lodging packages that include three-day general admission tickets are available through The Cliffs at Princeville and OUTRIGGER Kauai Beach Resort & Spa.
Tickets go on sale Wednesday, October 21, at 11 a.m. PT/8 a.m. Hawaii time.
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