Dave Harrington’s Pranksters South

Like so many good things in life, Dave Harrington started Pranksters because of the Grateful Dead. A decade ago, a friend asked the endlessly curious Darkside guitarist to play an afterparty for a Dead & Co. show; another pal piped up with an audacious suggestion—put together a big band intent on heading into outer space. In the years since, Harrington has very occasionally convened his ever-growing ensemble in assorted corners of the country, building what he calls a “behemoth grooving machine” with as many as four drummers, even more percussionists, horns, and more. “It’s a large-format, full-on improvising band that attempts to answer the question: What’s the space between Bitches Brew and Blues for Allah?” Harrington has said.

This will be the Pranksters’ first Southern appearance, hence the name Pranksters South. For this round, a cast of all-star regulars has already enlisted: guitarist Nels Cline, keyboardist Yuka Honda, drummer Kenny Wollesen, bassist Spencer Zahn, trumpet maestro Steven Bernstein, and, of course, Harrington himself. The ranks of Big Ears’ 2026 roster will also become their fantasy draft, allowing the Pranksters to expand at will. With Taper’s Choice, Darkside, his exploratory solo records, and any of a half-dozen collaborations, Harrington seems to be on a mission to close the gap between hippies and hipsters, between the jam band community and other scenes that happen to jam. Pranksters delight in that divide even as it pulls the sides together.