founder

THE founding member of the legendary rock band Grateful Dead, Bob Weir, has died.

Weir was diagnosed with cancer in July 2025 which he overcame, however he sadly “succumbed to underlying lung issues”.

The veteran rocker was 78.

“He transitioned peacefully, surrounded by loved ones, after courageously beating cancer as only Bobby could,” a heartfelt statement on his Instagram account read.

“Bobby will forever be a guiding force whose unique artistry reshaped American music.

“His work did more than fill rooms with music; it was warm sunlight that filled the soul, building a community, a language, and a feeling of family that generations of fans carry with them.

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“Every chord he played, every word he sang was an integral part of the stories he wove. There was an invitation: to feel, to question, to wander, and to belong.”

Across more than six decades, Weir was one of music’s true road warriors, performing thousands of shows with almost a dozen bands.

Weir received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, while his rhythm guitar skills helped guide legendary jam band through the decades.

Weir was born in 1947 in San Francisco and was adopted shortly after his birth by Frederic and Eleanor Weir.

Growing up in a comfortable and prominent Bay Area household, Weir discovered folk music in his youth after a nanny introduced him to jazz.

He started piano and trumpet before finding his calling with guitar at age 13.

He had a tough time in school – surviving spinal meningitis and dealing with severe dyslexia.

A chance encounter with Jerry Garcia at the age of 16 in a music store in Palo Alto would start one of the most important partnerships in music history.

Garcia was a bluegrass banjo player when Weir stumbled upon him at Dana Morgan’s Music Store.

The two formed Mother McCree’s Uptown Jug Champions, which later became the Warlocks and eventually the Grateful Dead. 

The Grateful Dead quickly became a huge part of the counterculture movement, aligned with the rise of the hippie movement.

Weir penned some of the Dead’s most enduring songs, including “Jack Straw,” “Sugar Magnolia” and “Playing in the Band.”

The pair went on to become the faces of the Grateful Dead – Weir younger and more boyish than his hairier and older bandmates.

The youthful, ponytailed “Bobby” grew into an eclectic songwriter whose handsome appearance and diverse musical influences helped broaden the band’s appeal.

British newspaper The Independent called Weir “arguably rock’s greatest, if most eccentric, rhythm guitarist.”

Weir considered Garcia as a big brother.

“They say that blood is thicker than water, and what we had was way thicker than blood,” Weir said of Garcia and the Dead in an interview with journalist Dan Rather.

Sadly, Garcia passed away in 1995.

After Garcia’s death at age 53 in 1995, Weir carved out an interesting if somewhat neglected solo career – much of it with his band, RatDog – and participated in reunions of surviving Dead members in different configurations.

Weir released his first solo album, Ace, in 1972, followed by 1978’s Heaven Help the Fool. His last LP was the 2016 album Blue Mountain.

The legendary rocker married Natascha Münter in 1999. They share two daughters, Shala Monet and Chloe Kaelia.

Weir was a staunch vegetarian and an animal-rights advocate.

He was a board member of the Rex Foundation, an organisation founded by members of the Grateful Dead to “proactively provide extensive community support to creative endeavours in the arts, sciences, and education.”

Weir began treatment for cancer only weeks before returning to his hometown stage for a three-night celebration of 60 years of music at Golden Gate Park.

PHOENIX — Turning Point USA, the conservative youth organization that Charlie Kirk turned into a political juggernaut, will convene its flagship conference on Thursday for the first time since the assassination of its charismatic founder, testing the durability of a fractious movement that helped return President Donald Trump to the White House.

Kirk served as a unifying figure on the American right, marshaling college students, online influencers and Republican politicians. But now the party’s populist wing is skirmishing over the meaning of “America First” and the future of a decade-old movement defined more by the force of Trump’s personality than loyalty to a particular ideological project.

Thousands of people are expected to gather for the four-day meeting in Phoenix. Vice President JD Vance, media personalities and a handful of Trump administration officials are slated to appear, plus Christian rock bands and pastors. Attendees will have the chance to take selfies with popular figures and participate in discussions about political organizing, religion and conservative critiques of American culture.

Charlie Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, will have a prominent role as the organization’s new leader. The conference promises to be an extended tribute to her husband, who many on the right see as a martyr for conservatism and Christianity after he was slain at only 31 years old.

Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old charged with shooting and killing Kirk while he spoke at Utah Valley University in September, appeared in court last week. Robinson has not entered a plea. Authorities say he told his romantic partner that he killed Kirk because he “had enough of his hatred.”

The last time Turning Point held its AmericaFest conference, weeks after Trump’s comeback victory one year ago, the MAGA movement was ebullient as Republicans prepared for a new era of total control in Washington.

Now the party faces challenging midterm elections, with Trump constitutionally prohibited from running again and his more ideologically motivated acolytes positioning to steer the movement after he leaves office. Meanwhile, conservatives have been roiled by conflicts over antisemitism in its ranks, which Trump has declined to mediate.

A lineup of MAGA influencers

Turning Point is known for highly produced events that feel more like rock concerts or megachurch services than political rallies, complete with pyrotechnics and floor-shaking bass.

The speaker lineup is a who’s who of conservative influencers and pastors, including some who have openly feuded with each other in recent weeks. It includes some of the biggest names in MAGA media, including Donald Trump Jr., Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Jesse Watters, Steve Bannon, Ben Shapiro and Jack Posobiec.

The jockeying for influence has accelerated since Kirk’s death, which left a void in the organization he founded and in the broader conservative movement.

“Charlie was the unifying figure for the movement,” conservative commentator Michael Knowles said at a Turning Point event just weeks after Kirk’s death.

“The biggest threat right now is that without that single figure that we were all friends with, who could really hold it together, things could spin off in different directions,” Knowles said. “We have to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

Among the fissures that has deepened since Kirk’s death is whether Republicans should continue its unflinching support for Israel and the war in Gaza. There are also concerns about whether the movement should accommodate people with anti-Jewish views.

The schism burst into the open when the head of the influential Heritage Foundation, Kevin Roberts, defended Carlson for conducting a friendly interview with podcaster Nick Fuentes, whose followers, known as “groypers,” see themselves as working to preserve a white, Christian identity in America. Roberts’ comments sparked outrage from some Heritage staffers, senators and conservative activists.

Fuentes had long feuded with Kirk, who worked to marginalize Fuentes within the conservative movement. Groypers enjoyed crashing Turning Point events to spar with Kirk.

Carlson and Shapiro, who has sharply criticized Fuentes and Carlson, are both scheduled to speak on Thursday, the first day of the conference.

Turning Point has also faced turmoil over conspiracy theories spread by Candace Owens, a former employee who hosts a top-rated podcast. Owens has alleged without evidence that Israeli spies were involved in Kirk’s death and that he was betrayed by people close to him. Authorities say Robinson acted alone.

Asked about Owens and others spreading conspiracy theories during a CBS News town hall, Erika Kirk responded with one word: “Stop.” She said Owens is making money off her family’s tragedy, adding that conspiracy peddlers risk tainting the jury pool and allowing her husband’s killer to get away with it.

Last weekend, with the Turning Point conference looming, Kirk and Owens agreed to a temporary detente until a private meeting. It didn’t last long.

After the meeting on Monday, Owens said on her show that she and Kirk spoke for 4 ½ hours but she still doubted that Robinson acted alone. Kirk wrote on X that they had “a very productive conversation” and it was “time to get back to work.”

While grieving her husband, Erika Kirk has slowly stepped up her public appearances. She spoke at the funeral, memorably forgiving her husband’s alleged killer, and at a Turning Point event in Mississippi in October.

An entrepreneur and podcaster, she often appeared with her husband at Turning Point events. The former 2012 Miss Arizona USA has also worked as a model, actress and casting director, and she founded a Christian clothing line, Proclaim, and a ministry that teaches about the Bible.

Before her husband’s death, she talked openly about prioritizing her family ahead of her career and described a marriage with traditional gender roles. Now she’s taking on the demanding job leading Turning Point, an organization that resonated in particular with young men.

At a memorial for her husband, Erika said “Charlie and I were united in purpose.”

“His passion was my passion, and now his mission is my mission,” she said. “Everything that Turning Point USA built through Charlie’s vision and hard work, we will make 10 times greater through the power of his memory.”

Cooper writes for the Associated Press.