Biography

Mickey Hart is best known as a drummer in the Grateful Dead, which for three decades channeled the voices and visions of rock’s psychedelic counterculture and blended them with folk, blues, country, jazz, and other American music streams. On the strength of that work, Hart was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and named to Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Drummers of All Time. In 2015, Hart joined the other surviving Grateful Dead members to create the Fare Thee Well tour, a 50th anniversary celebration that was among the most successful events in the history of live entertainment. Today, Hart continues to perform with Bob Weir and Bill Kreutzmann—as well as John Mayer, Oteil Burbridge, and Jeff Chimenti—in Dead & Company, which launched a nationwide tour in October 2015, played sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden and elsewhere, and garnered praise from critics, Deadheads, and new fans alike. In addition to his Dead-related work, Hart has a longstanding musical mission: to break the rhythm code of the universe and probe its deepest vibrations. That effort, which began in earnest in the 1970s with the Diga Rhythm Band, produced Planet Drum (1991) and Global Drum Project (2008), both of which received Grammys in the World Music category. Hart’s latest album, RAMU, reflects that conviction and may be his boldest adventure yet. It fuses Hart’s massive digital database with cutting-edge urban rhythms, social commentary, and contributions from contemporary masters.