Dark Star Orchestra is simply the best Grateful Dead tribute act. Recreating entire Dead performances from decades past exactly, matching set lists and using era-correct instrumentation. The Dallas Morning News claims that the Orchestra is "the next best thing to being there," while Rolling Stone raves about their "fanatical attention to detail." The band is known to improvise during extended jams, making the legendary songs their own in the way the Grateful Dead improvised years ago, never playing the same song the same twice.