ACE & Friends

ACE & Friends is a southern Connecticut Grateful Dead band working out of Fairfield County, with a six-to-seven piece lineup built around Larry Siebert on lead guitar, Mike Kaufman on rhythm guitar and vocals, Mark Mattson on keys, Todd Cummings on drums, Brian Zito on bass and Megan Tyre and Larry Young sharing lead vocals. Several members came out of other long-running Dead bands: Kaufman co-founded the New York-area Stella Blues Band, while Zito and Young have played together in Laughin' Bones since the late 1980s; local press has noted that Mark Mattson is the brother of Dark Star Orchestra guitarist Jeff Mattson. They work the Connecticut bar, brewery and outdoor-series circuit rather than touring - Nod Hill Brewery in Ridgefield, Sugar Hollow Tap Room in Danbury, BRYAC in Bridgeport's Black Rock, OG Social Club in Old Greenwich, and daytime farm shows like March Farm in Bethlehem. No founding year is stated on their site or in any press found.