Deadhead doc Summer Tour gets hazy reception in Variety review
Variety critic Owen Gleiberman says Mischa Richter’s 82-minute film follows young Deadheads on Dead & Company’s 2023 tour but lacks a wider view.
By Poppy Nakagawa · Culture Writer
3 min read
Mischa Richter’s new documentary Summer Tour follows two young Deadheads chasing Dead & Company across the country in 2023, and Variety’s Owen Gleiberman says the film drifts about as much as its subjects.
In a review published July 21, Gleiberman describes the Utopia release as an 82-minute look at the latest wave of Grateful Dead followers, centered on Jeremiah Pierce and Annabelle Dunne, known in the film as Jerry and Annie. The couple, described by the critic as being in their early-to-mid-20s, travel in a van decorated with macramé and potted plants while following what was billed as Dead & Company’s final tour.
The film counts Chloë Sevigny among its producers. Richter directed and also produced, alongside Mickey Liddell, Pete Shilaimon, Evelina Kirgan, Sevigny and Lizzie Nastro. The production is from Liddell Entertainment and Easy Wind, in association with King Bee Productions, with Utopia releasing.
A third generation on the road
Gleiberman frames Summer Tour as a portrait of what he calls a third generation of Deadheads. He identifies the first as the original followers of the Grateful Dead, the second as fans from the 1980s and 1990s through Jerry Garcia’s death in 1995, and the third as the younger fans captured in Richter’s film.
According to the review, Dead & Company’s lineup included major remaining figures from the Grateful Dead. Gleiberman also notes that Bob Weir has since died, making the 2023 tour’s final-tour billing feel even more conclusive in his view.
The documentary includes Jerry and Annie on the road, concert dancing, and scenes around Shakedown Street, the fan marketplace outside shows. Gleiberman says the film shows Deadheads selling vegan grilled-cheese sandwiches, handmade clothing, arts and crafts while talking often about freedom and community.
The critic wanted more than good vibes
Gleiberman’s main complaint is that Summer Tour does not step far enough back from its traveling scene. He writes that the film gives viewers time with Jerry, Annie and other fans, then repeatedly cuts to dancing at concerts, largely built around swaying and twirling.
The review says the movie uses many songs by the Grateful Dead and Dead & Company, both recorded and live, but argues that the documentary does not build a strong dramatic shape. Gleiberman says it offers little sense of who the fans are away from the tour or how Deadhead culture fits into the wider moment.
The film also visits Jerry’s family in upstate New York, according to the review. Gleiberman writes that Jerry’s father is a police officer and that the family has a military history going back to the Civil War. In the film, Jerry says, “People around here are very traditional.”
Variety’s notice is ultimately mixed-to-negative: Gleiberman credits the Deadheads with a real desire for an alternative life and a strong communal pull, while saying Richter’s film stays too close to its subjects’ wandering mood to make a sharper documentary.
This story draws on original reporting from Variety.