Bob Weir helped invent the "wall of sound" — a massive PA system with 600+ speakers. Photo: Bryan Bedder via Getty Images for The Michael J. Fox Foundation.
Driving the news: San Francisco will celebrate the legendary Grateful Dead guitarist's life and legacy with a memorial at Civic Center Plaza on Saturday at 12:45pm.
The event will follow a procession along Market Street from Seventh and Ninth streets (slated to start around 12:30pm) in his honor.
The gathering is free and open to the public. Attendees should enter through Fulton Plaza. RSVP here.
The big picture: Weir, who was born and raised in the Bay Area, co-founded the Grateful Dead in the mid-1960s with Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann and Ron "Pigpen" McKernan.
The psychedelic rock band was a pioneer in the counterculture movement and built a devoted following, especially in San Francisco.
Weir was particularly well known for his rhythm guitar riffs and songwriting. With Dead & Company, he helped keep the Grateful Dead's cultural footprint alive long after the group disbanded in 1995.
He died Jan. 10 at age 78 after battling cancer and underlying lung issues.
