Holographic rock heroes from the vaults - Jerry Garcia & The Grateful Dead

... awesome new boundaries, folks...

Stemming from the success of Tupac's hologrammed performance at Coachella in 2012, the living members of The Grateful Dead have announced two exclusive performances with a hologram version of the late-guitarist, Jerry Garcia.

The performances will be held this July, in two of the Dead's most storied cities, New York and San Francisco, at Madison Square Garden and the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium respectively. 

The Jerry hologram was created by HoloJams, a company devoted to capturing beloved dead rock musicians in hologram form. About the use of hologram-Jerry, CEO Sam Watts said, "We're very excited that The Grateful Dead have decided to use our holographic Jerry. Once we ensure that these performances are well-received, there's no telling what we'll do. We could even be looking at a nationwide tour." Watts went on to talk about some of his other holograms, including a Freddie Mercury, Jimi Hendrix, and even Paul McCartney. "The McCartney one is mainly for us at HoloJams... we can never get enough Beatles music."

While some may find this decision controversial, the move is aimed at younger Dead fans who never had the opportunity to see Jerry Garcia perform. This particularly appealed to one fan, Jenny Sunshine, 19, said, "This is awesome! Now I'll finally be able to rock out with Jerry!"

The Hologram-Jerry has been programmed from over hundreds of hours of Grateful Dead performances, predominantly from the late-60s and early-70s. "We wanted to capture Jerry at his finest," says Watts. "And really, what could be more heady than 1972 Jerry?"

Good question, Mr. Watts. Be sure to let us know how you feel about this performance in the comments!

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