Indie rockers Vampire Weekend offered a unique take on Grateful Dead staple “Peggy-O” during a recent live performance on SiriusXM‘s indie station, SiriusXMU.
The band stopped by to celebrate the release of their new album, Only God Was Above Us, which they described as their “magnum opus.” Ezra Koenig, Chris Baio, and Chris Tomson were joined by violinist Ray Suen and vocalist Amber Coffman for a short set featuring songs from the record as well as “This Life” from 2019’s Father of the Bride and the “Peggy-O” debut.
Despite the song’s traditional folk roots, it most likely arrived in the band’s repertoire via the Grateful Dead, who performed the tune beginning in 1973. Vampire Weekend’s fondness for the Dead and jam bands more broadly is well documented—they even have upcoming tour dates with Phish bassist Mike Gordon, not to mention Koenig’s recent collaboration with Grateful Dead keyboardist Bruce Hornsby.
“I always liked the Dead, and I’ve definitely gotten more into Phish as I’ve gotten older,” Koenig revealed in a 2021 interview with Relix. “But, I also gotta shout out our drummer C.T. [Chris Tomson]. We both grew up in New Jersey, but we came at it from different directions. He’s like a jam dude—he’s seen Phish all these times… He has this Phillies parody Phish shirt and he wore it on TV once; he was always trying to subtly fly the flag.”
Indeed, Tomson, who usually plays drums, dons a String Cheese Incident shirt as he strums an acoustic guitar on the intriguing arrangement.
Watch Vampire Weekend cover “Peggy-O” on SiriusXMU below. The band just kicked off its Only God Was Above Us Tour and will be on the road through the fall. For a full list of upcoming tour dates and to purchase tickets, head to their website.
Vampire Weekend – “Peggy-O” (Traditional/Grateful Dead)
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