Watch: Bill Kreutzmann Taps Kanika Moore to Join Mahalo Dead Kauai Concerts

Photo Credit: Michael Weintrob

Writer of fortunes Bill Kreutzmann is at it again. After initiating a social media campaign in mid-October, which eventually conveyed the lineup, location, and date of the Grateful Dead backbeat’s subsequent concerts, Nov. 22 through 24 at Kauai’s Porter Pavilion, he has added another guest to fill out the already expansive roster of players, tapping Doom Flamingo’s vocal powerhouse Kanika Moore. 

Previously, the timekeeper enrolled Eggy’s Jake Brownstein, Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey’s Reed Mathis, Circle Around the Sun’s Adam MacDougall, Daniel Donato, and The String Cheese Incident’s Jason Hann in the lineup. Like Moore’s announcement video, the initial lineup added their creative spin to the invitation. 

The initial announcement video arrived on Saturday, Oct. 12, as a spontaneous garage jam clip, positioned alongside the suggestive caption:  “Went to the garage to go grab something and couldn’t help myself. Last week, a fortune cookie told me I was going to start doing what I love again. How’d it know?” Kreutzmann had an ace up his sleeve and a definitive method for disrupting follow-up information, using the informal idiom; that’s the way the cookie crumbles. 

With good fortune on the drummer’s side, the cast of musicians who will make up the impending lineup added their acting chops to the mix. They cracked open the sweet treat and revealed various details and connect-the-dots. For Brownstein’s part, he went light, simply relying upon “The Music Never Stopped” and, of course, the recurring arrival of the fortune cookie to start up the ramp for more information. 

From the guitarist’s role in the video series, Mathis comes next, cracking the cookie and reading: “Woah, guess we’re going,” with “Bertha” playing gently in the background. Establishing location at a more distinct rate, MacDougall seemingly embraces the essence of episodes of Twilight Zone, with the vintage zing and unplanned arrival of his own fortune cookie. A trail of “Wells…” giveaway to “At least I got the right shirt,” about his floral and palms button up. 

Adding further context, Donato’s mention of the lucky number 11 as a fortune cookie feature suggests the month of the concerts. The cosmic country artist mentioned Hawaii’s state fish, another clue that alluded to the location, further emphasized through Hann’s reference to Hanalei. 

In the latest move to build upon good-spirited fun, Moore’s video starts with Doom Flamingo bandmate Sean Bing hand-delivering a package from Hawaii while smoking a joint. Passing the doobie to Moore, she takes a puff before retreating to open the contents of the gift, which picks up on the already-established theme. The contents of Moore’s package remain the same as the previously announced musical guest for the Mahalo Dead shows: fortune cookies. 

With “Box of Rain” playing in the background, Moore cracks open the cookie to reveal the message: “To be hopeful with the Dead is to believe in a brighter tomorrow… Guess it’s not a ‘Box of Rain’ after all.” Finding another cookie in the box, Moore questions, “Better luck this time?” Only to reveal, “Mahalo Dead, Hawaii!” 

Looking directly at the camera, Moore promises, “Billy, I’m coming.” 

Kreutzmann’s Mahalo Dead shows begin on Friday, Nov. 22. Tickets are sold out.