Stella Blue's Band returns to its home base, Garcia's at The Capitol Theatre

New York's six-piece Grateful Dead tribute, two drummers and all, plays the Port Chester room where its residencies began on Nov. 7.

Every Deadhead in the New York area has a version of the drive up to Port Chester. Next Saturday, it's worth making again: Stella Blue's Band plays Garcia's at The Capitol Theatre on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 8 p.m., at 149 Westchester Ave.

It's about as close to a home game as this band gets. Stella's first residency was at Garcia's, and the bar off the side of the Cap has been its base ever since, the place where it runs its Stella Weekends and DeadCenter residencies. Gratefulweb marked the band's fifth anniversary there. Garcia's is a small room, about 250 people, so this is the Dead in a bar, not in a shed. Tickets are on Ticketmaster.

The band formed in 2009 and plays as a six-piece with two drummers, which is the detail that tells you how seriously it takes the assignment. The lineup is Bill Bonacci, Steve Liesman, Greg Solomon, Ken Aigen, Ron Cohen and Amy Stahlin. The stated goal, per the Capitol Theatre's own billing, is to recreate the experience of being at a Grateful Dead show by playing the music with a deep commitment to authenticity: not costume, but feel.

That approach has carried it a long way past the bar. Stella has opened for Santana at the Greenwich Town Party, had a headline slot at the 50th anniversary of Woodstock, and shared the Capitol Theatre's main stage with Melvin Seals and Phil Lesh. In the city it turns up at Brooklyn Bowl and The Cutting Room.

Two drummers, a 250-person room, and a band that's been doing this in Port Chester for years.

The New York calendar marker, though, is in Central Park. Since 2018 the band has played the bandshell every spring in an annual benefit for Riverkeeper, now known as Free Dead in the Park, a nod to the Grateful Dead's 1968 Central Park show. This year's was the seventh, on May 12 at the Naumburg Bandshell, as NYS Music reported.

So why go to a bar in Westchester on a November Saturday when you could catch them in the park next spring? Because the park is a celebration and Garcia's is the workshop. The room is named for Jerry and sits a few steps from one of the Dead's own historic stages. The crowd is regulars and the jams are allowed to go where they go. A band that has been doing this weekend after weekend for years, in the space it calls home, plays a different show than it does for a festival lawn.

Metro-North's New Haven Line stops at Port Chester, a short walk from the theater, so nobody needs to drive. Get there at 8, find a spot near the front and let the two drummers do the rest.

Sources: The Capitol Theatre — Stella Blue's Band at Garcia's (Nov 7, 2026) (thecapitoltheatre.com); The Capitol Theatre — Stella Blue's Band (thecapitoltheatre.com); Ticketmaster — Stella Blue's Band, Port Chester, Nov 07, 2026 (ticketmaster.com); Gratefulweb — Stella Blue's Band celebrates fifth anniversary at Garcia's (gratefulweb.com); Gratefulweb — Free Dead in the Park returns to Central Park May 12 with Stella Blue's Band (gratefulweb.com); NYS Music — Stella Blue's Band returns for Free Dead in the Park 2026 (nysmusic.com); Westchester County — Stella Blue's Band benefit for Riverkeeper (events.westchestergov.com); Contact Us - The Capitol Theatre (thecapitoltheatre.com); Capitol Theatre (Port Chester, New York) - Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org); Stella Blue's Band - Levitt Pavilion (levittpavilion.com)