Grateful Dead founding member Bob Weir dead at 78

Musician and founding member of the Grateful Dead Bob Weir has died at the age of 78.

Weir's death was confirmed in a post to his official Instagram page, which shared that his legacy will live on after him.

His family have asked for privacy over his passing, but said that they appreciate the 'outpouring of love, support, and remembrance'.

The post paid tribute to Weir and his musical legacy, reading: "There is no final curtain here, not really. Only the sense of someone setting off again."

It added: "He transitioned peacefully, surrounded by loved ones, after courageously beating cancer as only Bobby could. Unfortunately, he succumbed to underlying lung issues."

Weir was a founding member of the group, the Grateful Dead, who assembled in California in 1965.

Bob Weir has passed away aged 78 (Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)

The group would go on to become known for their eclectic style, mixing psychedelia with rock, jazz, blues, and a huge mix of diverse musical influences.

Weir played the rhythm guitar and sang in the group, playing alongside Jerry Garcia on lead guitar and vocals, Phil Lesh on bass and vocals, Bill Kreutzmann on drums, and Ron McKernan on keyboard, harmonica, and vocals.

The band would become a mainstay of California's counterculture, continuing until 1995 when Garcia passed away.

In 1994, the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and in 2007 would receive a lifetime achievement award from the Grammys.

The tribute to Weir continued: "He often spoke of a three-hundred-year legacy, determined to ensure the songbook would endure long after him.

"May that dream live on through future generations of Dead Heads."

Weir had previously been diagnosed with cancer, but still continued to perform despite his illness.

The post said: "Those performances, emotional, soulful, and full of light, were not farewells, but gifts.

Weir was a founding member of the Grateful Dead (Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)

"Another act of resilience. An artist choosing, even then, to keep going by his own design."

Tributes have poured in to Weir, including one by former Eagles guitarist Don Felder, who wrote: "I first saw Bob at Woodstock with the Grateful Dead and was blown away by that whole band, and the musicianship.

"I feel so blessed to have been able to have him sing on 'Rock You' from American Rock and Roll. Until we meet again, amigo."

The musician's former publicist, Dennis McNally, told the BBC: "He had a very off-kilter, unusual sense of humour that was dry and funny. The road was his life, and music was his life."

Bob Weir is survived by his wife Natascha, and daughters Chloe and Shala.