Timeline: Much has happened during the Grateful Dead's long, strange trip

The surviving members of the original Grateful Dead will celebrate their 50th anniversary with shows June 27-28 in Santa Clara and July 3-5 in Chicago. The band has announced the concerts will be their last. David Browne's fine new book So Many Roads: The Life and Times of the Grateful Dead commemorates the anniversary by spotlighting sixteen key dates (plus a prologue) in the life of the Dead. The band starts its Fare Thee Well mini-tour this weekend in Santa Clara. -- Chris Vognar

The concert draw of the year will unfold over only five nights in two cities this summer. At this point you'll have to fork over thousands of dollars on the resale market for a ticket to see a band whose leader died 20 years ago. Fare thee well. To your checking account. (You can also catch them for free on YouTube.)