Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh [ tickets ] and guitarist Steven Kimock will play the Western U.S. stretch of the jam-friendly Summer Session '99 tour after gathering a new round of musicians for two Phil and Friends shows at the Warfield Theatre in San Francisco on July 2nd and 3rd.

The Summer Session run will also be billed as Phil and Friends performances, though the Friends will be drawn from the collective lineups of Session headliners Gov't Mule, moe. and The String Cheese Incident.

Lesh underwent a liver transplant in December of 1998 after becoming seriously ill from the effects of a long-known hepatitis-C infection. In April, Lesh joined Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio and keyboardist Page McConnell for three benefit concerts billed as Phil and Phriends, with proceeds earmarked for Lesh's Unbroken Chain foundation.

Gov't Mule, featuring longtime Allman Brothers Band members Warren Haynes and Allen Woody, recently opened several shows opening for the Dave Matthews Band on their spring / summer tour.

The month-long Summer Session tour will play outdoor amphitheatres and fill a gap left by the absence of both the Dead-related Further Festival tour and the Blues Traveler-founded H.O.R.D.E. Festival on this year's summer tour circuit.

According to a press statement issued by the tour's publicist, all participating acts will rotate their playing order from night to night to maintain proper jam-scene spontaneity throughout the duration of the tour.

The tour's Knoxville, TN stop will feature Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers.

Here's the full itinerary for Summer Session '99: