Dead to the Core is a collective of singer-songwriters and acoustic musicians, led by musician/author Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers. The musicians celebrate the band’s music not through note-for-note re-creations but by playing the songs their own way—with creative arrangements featuring unexpected instrumental colors (clarinet, flute, Strumstick, mandolin, accordion) and lush vocal harmonies. Interspersed with the music are clips from Rodgers’ own interviews with Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir, in which they reflect on the roots and evolution of the music. A Dead to the Core show is an experience unlike any other Grateful Dead tribute: a night of deeply personal performances that illuminate the masterful song craft of one of America’s most original bands: Grateful Dead music right down to the core.