Topline
He may not sport tie-dyed T-shirts in the halls of Congress, but Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell says he’s got decades under his belt as a Grateful Dead fan after a blurry photo posted to Twitter last month sparked speculation he attended a Dead & Company show in Virginia—making him the latest otherwise stern D.C. figure connected to a major fandom.
Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell speaks during a luncheon at the 2022 NABE Economic Policy … [+]
Key Facts
Powell was on Capitol Hill to answer questions about what the Fed is doing to battle inflation Wednesday when Rep. Wiley Nickel (D-N.C.) seized the opportunity to clear up confusion that first sparked when Punchbowl News co-founder Jake Sherman shared a photo of a man who looked a lot like Powell at a concert last month.
“How was this show? Did you like it?” Nickel asked after waxing poetic about missing a D.C.-area concert with Jerry Garcia in 1995.
Powell replied: “It was terrific. What can I say? It was great. I’ve been a Grateful Dead fan for 50 years,” leading to Nickel clapping back: “I like people who like the Grateful Dead.”
Key Background
Sherman’s blurry picture sparked fun online speculation when it was first posted June 4, but at the time it was hard to identify Powell as the man in the photo wearing a hat and moving quickly. Barron’s reached out to the Fed for comment that week, and a spokesperson wrote the agency could “confirm this is a legitimate photo.” A source told Barron’s Powell attended his first Grateful Dead concert in 1973 at RFK stadium in Washington, D.C., and that he likes to play Dead songs on the guitar in his free time. Barron’s also reported that Oteil Burbridge, who currently plays bass for Dead & Company, first found out about the Grateful Dead through an old friend named Monica Powell–Jerome Powell’s sister.
Surprising Fact
Powell’s declaration of fandom is the latest revelation about a high-level U.S. official’s music tastes and hobbies. A pair of recent articles revealed that Merrick Garland is a massive Taylor Swift fan and a Vampire Weekend listener—having particular reverence for the band’s refrain: “Who gives a f— about an Oxford comma?”A Wall Street Journal piece, meanwhile, discussed Janet Yellen’s love of rock collecting (previous reports that Yellen is an avid stamp collector turned out to be misinformation). Foreign policy official-turned-Trump impeachment witness Fiona Hill also told the BBC she once escaped the chaos of the Trump White House by rushing off to an Imagine Dragons concert after work.
Big Number
2.8 million. That’s how many tickets Dead & Co. has sold since its debut in 2015, compared to the 22 million tickets one blogger estimated the Grateful Dead sold in its 30-year run.
Further Reading
Merrick Garland Is a Huge Taylor Swift Fan (Wall Street Journal)
Music Publishers Are Suing Twitter—Are They Missing Its Promotional Value? (Forbes)
Barack Obama Shares His Favorite Songs of 2022: Beyoncé, Lizzo, Kendrick Lamar and More (Rolling Stone)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2023/06/21/a-deadhead-at-heart-fed-chair-powell-confirms-visit-to-virginia-dead–co-show/