Tribute Concerts for Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay

The Tribute Concerts for Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay are scheduled for August 22 and 23, 2026, at the Mystic Theatre in Petaluma, California. These events will celebrate the extensive seven-decade career and musical legacy of Godchaux-MacKay, who was widely recognized as "the first lady of the Grateful Dead" and the only woman to be a member of the iconic band. She passed away from cancer in November at the age of 78, and the first night of the tribute, August 22, would have been her 79th birthday.

The concerts will feature performances by her husband, bassist David MacKay, and her sons, Zion and Kinsman, who are part of the band BoomBox. The house band for the tribute shows will be led by guitarist Steve Kimock and drummer Greg Anton, both founding members of the Heart of Gold Band, which Godchaux-MacKay co-founded with her late husband, Keith Godchaux. Jennifer Kimock, Steve Kimock's wife, is producing the memorial concerts.

Godchaux-MacKay's career began in the 1960s and 1970s as a backup singer for legendary artists such as Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, and Elvis Presley, contributing vocals to hits like "Suspicious Minds" and "In the Ghetto." She was also featured on Percy Sledge's "When a Man Loves a Woman." During her time with the Grateful Dead in the 1970s, she wrote and sang lead vocals on "Sunrise" from their 1977 album "Terrapin Station." Post-Dead, she continued to perform with other bands including the Jerry Garcia Band, Dark Star Orchestra, Bob Weir’s RatDog, Phil and Friends, and Dead & Company, and fronted her own band, Donna Jean and the Tricksters.