THE STRAUSS BLACK BOX THEATRE | Tickets available at MetroTix.com

John Covelli, a 38-year veteran of the St. Louis music scene, leads his Messengers into new territory at this special KPAC engagement.

The group recently shared a preview of this new creative endeavor with audiences at their “Live at The Last Hotel” performances in St. Louis and Chicago. A medley of “New Speedway Boogie” with an improvised segue into “Cumberland Blues” was a big hit with listeners and left the crowd asking for more.

Noting the Dead’s 1970 release, Workingman’s Dead, those two songs appear back-to-back on the album but had rarely or never been combined into an extended jam.

For this performance, expect some re-imagined arrangements of classic Grateful Dead songs delivered by top notch St. Louis musicians with a hard bop flare. This show will be sure to delight Dead fans as well as jazz aficionados.