Playing Dead

Marlborough, MA · formed 2004

Playing Dead has performed across New England for more than twenty years, built around former members of Dark Star Orchestra, Slipknot!, and Uncle John's Band. The shows are marathon two-setters with a different setlist every night, deep improvisation, and a concert-experience feel, drawing on the whole songbook from rock and blues to jazz, folk, and bluegrass. Their Grateful Wednesday residency at Soundcheck Studios in Pembroke runs all year, and the fall takes them to Sanctuary in Maynard, Blue Ocean Music Hall, The Met in Pawtucket, and Neptunes in Hyannis. In June 2026 they played the complete second set of the Dead's 1976 Boston Music Hall show at the Boch Center Wang Theatre for the band's fiftieth anniversary.