A county highway committee has denied a permit to the promoters of a Grateful Dead reunion concert midway between Chicago and Milwaukee, saying the area could not handle the enormous crowd expected.

The Walworth County Highway Committee on Tuesday (June 11) turned down the request by Clear Channel Entertainment to stage “Terrapin Station – A Grateful Dead Family Reunion” August 3-4 in East Troy.

“You can imagine the amount of humanity that’s going to converge on little old East Troy in Walworth County,” said committee chairman Odell R. Gigante. “We only have 80 some sheriff deputies. Short of bringing in the National Guard, we just couldn’t handle it.”

The two-day concert would have been the first time Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh and Bob Weir staged an official concert together since the death of Jerry Garcia, the Dead’s leader and founder. Garcia died in 1995 of a heart attack.

Reps for the Grateful Dead could make a statement regarding the Wisconsin shows as early as June 12. It was not clear if the band or the promoters were willing to fight the permit denial.

Gigante said 200,000 were expected at the event, but only 35,000 were allowed in the Alpine Valley Music Theatre, a venue the Dead played many times over the years.

Last month, Chicago officials rejected a proposal for two back-to-back concerts by Terrapin Station at the city’s Grant Park, claiming rock concerts – Grateful Dead related ones in particular – are too much trouble for the city.