Lee Ranaldo pays tribute to Bob Weir, talks Geese, Sonic Youth’s 2026 teaser & more

This week brought the sad news that we lost Grateful Dead co-leader Bob Weir at 78, and to help us pay tribute to him, we were joined by Sonic Youth member and lifelong Grateful Dead fan Lee Ranaldo on the new episode of BV Weekly. Lee’s been following the Dead since the early ’70s, he was at the legendary Cornell ’77 show, he’s publicly sung their praises for years, and back in 2016 he contributed to Day of the Dead, Aaron & Bryce Dessner’s all-star indie rock tribute to the Grateful Dead.

During our conversation, Lee had a lot to say about the impact left by the Grateful Dead and Bob Weir specifically. He named a handful of his favorite Bob Weir songs, he talked about how important Bobby was to the Grateful Dead, and he drew a lot of parallels between the Dead and Sonic Youth. He gave multiple touching tributes to Bob, and his passion for the band is infectious.

While Lee was on the show, he also told us why Geese are “the new band [he’s] most interested in right now,” he chatted with us about the just-announced Kim Gordon album, and he shed some light on Sonic Youth’s recent 2026 teaser and upcoming plans for his own solo career. Stay tuned for a new solo record from Lee soon.

This week’s episode of BV Weekly also touches on new music from Mitski, Zach Bryan, Poison The Well, and more. Stream it wherever you listen to podcasts.

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