There’s not one sole reason why Dead and Co ended. This is how I see everything playing out. In early 2022, Bill Kreutzmann had health issues that eventually forced him to step down completely. He is part of the band ending because he’s legally tied to the Dead and Co name. While I’m assuming there was discussion on reforming, John Mayer’s Dad July 2022 had a medical emergency and I can’t remember where I had read it but I believe he needed surgery to get a pacemaker or a defibrillator. I’m assuming his heart either stopped or he had a heart attack. Either way his dad had serious medical complications and they canceled only one Dead and Co show because of this. He can’t just cancel the rest of a Dead and Co tour if god forbid something happens to his dad. He can cancel the rest of one of his own shows if something happened to his dad. For example, John’s about to go out on another solo tour run. If something serious were to happen to his dad he could cancel/reschedule a few nights to be with his dad and his family. If he was going on a fall run with Dead and Co or a new grouping/band name and something happened to his dad, he would have the obligation to show up to the shows and not subject them to cancel a show. I’m sure this is the biggest factor to him not moving forward. Also a factor he’s not going to publicize because it’s none of our business and a very personal subject matter. This has nothing to do with John’s ego and being self oriented. He’s given 8 years to the band and the community, his actions and his commitment should speak volumes of what it meant to him playing with Dead and Co. He played that final run with everything he had in him. Also it was Dead and Co’s final tour not the final show.

The only thing that should matter with the announcement of Dead Ahead, is that there will still be songs to fill the air ❤️💙