Rock concert promoter Bill Graham once said of the Grateful Dead, “They are not the best at what they do; they are the only ones that do what they do.”

They were nice words, but not entirely accurate. The Dark Star Orchestra, in its sixth year of touring, has built a reputation on covering an entire night’s set-list from the Grateful Dead repertoire.

The Dark Star Orchestra will return to the Newport Music Hall tonight, bringing with them the sounds of the Grateful Dead.

Dark Star Orchestra attempts to recreate the experience of a Grateful Dead concert in their performances, said Rob Koritz, who plays the part of Dead drummer Bill Kruetzmann in the band.

“I would say we try to create the music in its purist form, the way it was originally performed, while still maintaining and finding a way to express ourselves,” he said.

The Grateful Dead, a California-based rock band, emerged from the San Francisco music scene in the mid-sixties and were well known for their marathon touring schedules and die-hard following. The band stopped touring in 1995 when lead guitarist Jerry Garcia died.

Dave Weissman, spokesman for the band, said the recreations allow people who missed out on the Grateful Dead concert experience to get a taste of what it was like.

“It’s amazing when you can put 1600 to 1800 people together in a room jamming to what is a ‘cover band,’ and people know that it is more than that,” he said.

Koritz compared Dark Star Orchestra’s performances with the musical interpretations that occur in other genres of music.

“With the jazz idiom you have all these standards and the purists play them as close to the original form as they can,” he said. “Other people play them in different styles. That’s what’s happening with the Grateful Dead, and that’s great. You hear bluegrass albums like “Pickin’ on the Dead” and “Reggae on the Dead.” We try and keep it as close to the original form as we can.”

Scott Lenard, keyboardist for the group, must be comfortable in many roles. The Grateful Dead lost a number of keyboardists in their 30-year run, and it is Lenard’s job to interpret each musician’s style.

“I think that gives me the most exciting job. It’s kind of cool because I get to be a different guy every night,” he said.

Emulating the styles of multiple keyboardists may seem like a daunting task, but it comes with ease to Lenard.

“After you’ve seen so many shows and listened to so many tapes, it’s kind of just all up there, and letting it all flow out is the cool part,” he said.

Many factors go into the set selection for a particular night such as stage size, the set played on their last visit to a venue, or if the date or place corresponds to a historical Dead show, Koritz said.

“Last night we played at a place with a tiny little stage. Well, if we wanted to do a big 1980’s show there’s no way we could fit it in there,” he said.

The members of Dark Star Orchestra posses an exhaustive collection of live recordings from which they are able to study the sound of the Grateful Dead, Koritz said. The band was formed out of a mutual interest in playing the music of the band.

“We had our roles down so to speak, and were all huge Dead fans. Every one of us has been to multiple shows, anywhere from 30 to 400, depending on which guy you talk to,” Koritz said.

Dark Star Orchestra will perform at 9 p.m. today at the Newport Music Hall. Tickets are available for $16.50 and $18.50.