We love a good “then and now” photo series, but when you add in the Grateful Dead, it takes on a whole new meaning. Photographer Bill Lemke attended his first Grateful Dead concert in 1980 and was immediately captivated by the band’s superfans, known as Deadheads. However, rather than documenting them through candid photography, he opted for formal portraits. And now, he’s revisited some of the 150 Deadheads he initially photographed between 1985 and 1990. The results, 30 years apart, are as sweet as you’d imagine.
Lemke was able to connect with his former subjects thanks to a small contact card he had everyone fill out so that he could send them a copy of their photography. In 2015, he got a call from a man who had been photographed with his daughter. She was now moving out of state and the photo meant so much to him, he asked Lemke if he could receive another copy.
“Then, he went on to ask if I would consider photographing them again before she left, and promised me lunch,” Lemke tells My Modern Met. “They only lived a couple hours away from me so I agreed to do it, and the reunion with him led to the search for others.”
The project was born, and after Lemke’s wife put the original photographs on his website, she scoured Deadhead Facebook groups for the original sitters. As people slowly began to identify themselves in the images, they started to reach out about being rephotographed.
Lemke’s photographs, taken in black and white on a large-format camera, are a love letter to this community. Brought together by their love of music, they have formed a bond that has endured Jerry Garcia’s death in 1995.
“It’s easy to write off this population of people as ‘just a bunch of hippies, living on the fringe of life,’” shares Lemke. “But I have found them to be resourceful, resilient, and generous. The touring Deadheads found creative ways to support themselves while going from show to show wherever the Grateful Dead were playing; selling homemade donuts, black African soap, tie-dye wear, bean burritos, or whatever they had to offer.”
Now, 42 of the Deadheads Lemke has rephotographed will see their portraits, and stories, published in his forthcoming book Aging Gratefully. The book, which will be released in October 2025 after a successful Kickstarter campaign, is enhanced by the work of David Gans, who is interviewing all of the participants virtually in order to include their firsthand stories.
Of course, the project doesn’t end here. As momentum for the project builds, Lemke still hears from original Deadheads who wish to participate in this moving series across space and time.
Photographer Bill Lemke took formal portraits of 150 Deadheads at Grateful Dead concerts in the 1980s.
Thirty years later, he revisited some of the same sitters, who recreated their magical portraits.
The work is now being compiled into a book, Aging Gratefully, and enhanced with their personal stories.
Bill Lemke: Website | Instagram
My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Bill Lemke.
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