Welcome to this month's Grateful Dead Show Listening Guides! This is part 2 (of 3) of the July Listening Guides. We're covering July 11th - July 20th in this post. July 1st - July 10th can be found here. July 21st - July 31st can be found here. If you like these reviews and you want to support me, please consider buying a copy of my book On This Day In Grateful Dead History: A Daily Listening Journal. They're $50 and I offer free shipping if you subscribe to my mailing list,

Welcome to this month's Grateful Dead Show Listening Guides! This is part 1 (of 3) of the July Listening Guides. We're covering July 1st - June 10th in this post. July 11th - July 20th can be found here. July 21st - July 31st can be found here. If you like these reviews and you want to support me, please consider buying a copy of my book On This Day In Grateful Dead History: A Daily Listening Journal. They're $50 and I offer free shipping if you subscribe to my mailing list,

Welcome to this month's Grateful Dead Show Listening Guides! This is part 3 (of 3) of the July Listening Guides. We're covering July 21st - July 31st in this post. July 1st - June 10th can be found here. July 11th - July 20th can be found here. If you like these reviews and you want to support me, please consider buying a copy of my book On This Day In Grateful Dead History: A Daily Listening Journal. They're $50 and I offer free shipping if you subscribe to my mailing list,

Welcome to this month's Grateful Dead Show Listening Guides! This is part 2 (of 3) of the June Listening Guides. We're covering June 16th - June 26th in this post. June 1st - June 15th can be found here. June 27th - June 30th can be found here. If you like these reviews and you want to support me, please consider buying a copy of my book On This Day In Grateful Dead History: A Daily Listening Journal. They're $50 and I offer free shipping if you subscribe to my mailing list,

Welcome to this month's Grateful Dead Show Listening Guides! This is part 1 (of 3) of the June Listening Guides. We're covering June 1st - June 15th in this post. June 16th - June 26th can be found here. June 27th - June 30th can be found here. If you like these reviews and you want to support me, please consider buying a copy of my book On This Day In Grateful Dead History: A Daily Listening Journal. They're $50 and I offer free shipping if you subscribe to my mailing list,

Welcome to this month's Grateful Dead Show Listening Guides! This is part 3 (of 3) of the June Listening Guides. We're covering June 26th - June 30th in this post. June 1st - June 15th can be found here. June 16th - June 26th can be found here. If you like these reviews and you want to support me, please consider buying a copy of my book On This Day In Grateful Dead History: A Daily Listening Journal. They're $50 and I offer free shipping if you subscribe to my mailing list,

Welcome to this month's Grateful Dead Show Listening Guides! This is the part 1 of the May Listening Guides. We're covering May 1st - May 15th in this post. May 16th - May 31st can be found here. Since my website hosting provider (Wix) has a blog post size limit I had to split this month's Listening Guides into two posts. If you're looking for May 16th through the 31st, you can find those listening guides here. If you like these reviews and you want to support me, please cons

Welcome to this month's Grateful Dead Show Listening Guides! This is the part 2 of the May Listening Guides. We're covering May 16th - May 31st in this post. May 1st - May 15th can be found here. Since my website hosting provider (Wix) has a blog post size limit I had to split this month's Listening Guides into two posts. If you're looking for May 1st through the 15th, you can find those listening guides here. If you like these reviews and you want to support me, please consi

Welcome to this month's Grateful Dead Show Listening Guides! This is the part 2 continuation of the April Listening guides. We're covering April 26th - April 30th in this post. April 1st - April 25th is covered here . Since my website hosting provider (Wix) has a blog post size limit I had to split this month's Listening Guides into two posts. If you're looking for April 1st through the 25th, you can find those listening guides here . If you like these reviews and you want to

Welcome to this month's Grateful Dead Show Listening Guides! This is the part 1 of the April Listening guides. We're covering April 1st - April 25th in this post. April 26th - April 30th can be found here . Since my website hosting provider (Wix) has a blog post size limit I had to split this month's Listening Guides into two posts. If you're looking for April 26th through the 30th, you can find those listening guides here . If you like these reviews and you want to support m

Welcome to this month's Grateful Dead Show Listening Guides! If you like these reviews and you want to support me, please consider buying a copy of my book On This Day In Grateful Dead History: A Daily Listening Journal . They're $50 and I offer free shipping if you subscribe to my mailing list, where you'll get these writeups delivered. No spam, I promise! Over time, as I've written these listening guides, I marked up my copy of the book like this: The underlined songs are

Welcome to this month's Grateful Dead Show Listening Guides! If you like these reviews and you want to support me, please consider buying a copy of my book On This Day In Grateful Dead History: A Daily Listening Journal . They're $50 and I offer free shipping if you subscribe to my mailing list, where you'll get these writeups delivered. No spam, I promise! Over time, as I've written these listening guides, I marked up my copy of the book like this: The underlined songs are

Welcome to this month's Grateful Dead Show Listening Guides! If you like these reviews and you want to support me, please consider buying a copy of my book On This Day In Grateful Dead History: A Daily Listening Journal . They're $50 and I offer free shipping if you subscribe to my mailing list, where you'll get these writeups delivered. No spam, I promise! Over time, as I've written these listening guides, I marked up my copy of the book like this: The underlined songs are

Hello everyone. I’d like to wish all of you a Happy New Year! This will be my final writeup. I’m going to transition to a different format for 2026. But don’t worry, all of my listening guides will be available on my website. I just can’t do weekly writeups any more. I need to focus on other more personal matters for the time being. But I will try to do some social media posts when I can. Thanks for going on this journey with me over the last year, it’s been a lot of fun, and

For the week of 12/22 – 12/28th, we’re gearing up for New Year’s Eve with some interesting historical year-end shows. It is fascinating to read about the 1970 benefit for Owsley "The Bear" Stanley, where the band likely added a Montessori School to the bill to soften the image of supporting a jailed LSD chemist. I was amused by the 1969 show where Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir had to improvise an acoustic set because drummer Bill Kreutzmann was delayed on a flight over Omaha. Th

For the week of 12/15 – 12/21, the history of the Grateful Dead offers several deeply emotional and significant moments. I was particularly struck by the description of the crowd's deafening reaction to Jerry Garcia's return to the stage in Oakland in 1986 following his diabetic coma, which marked a joyful reunion for the community. It is also fascinating to read about the 1973 shows in Tampa where Donna Godchaux was absent due to being extremely pregnant, a situation that re

For the week of 12/8 - 12/14, I found myself immersed in a fascinating mix of eras, ranging from the raw, psychedelic country sound of 1969 to the polished, high-energy arenas of 1990. It was particularly moving to see the band remembering John Lennon on the day of his passing in 1980, adding a layer of historical gravity to the music. I was also struck by how prominent Pigpen was in those early St. Louis and Los Angeles shows, driving the energy with his bluesy grit before t

For the week of December 1st through December 7th, I feel that the band’s history is defined by incredible runs, including the intimate Felt Forum shows in New York. It seems to me that Pigpen was really hitting his stride during that 1971 run after his medical leave, noted for "cranking things up several notches" compared to previous shows. Furthermore, I notice that this week holds the somber anniversary of the Altamont Speedway Free Festival tragedy, which occurred on Dece

For the week of 11/24 - 11/30, we have fifteen unique Grateful Dead performances spanning 1966 to 1994, showcasing various eras of the band. It includes some notable performances from Pigpen, whose strong presence was evident on the early 1966 recording from The Matrix, and Hamza El Din, who joined the band for "Ollin Arageed" during the phenomenal 1978 show at the Capitol Theatre. The recordings highlight different era sounds, such as the "pure Texas-style high-energy Gratef

For the week of 11/17 – 11/23, includes a significant period of Grateful Dead history, covering shows from 1970 through 1985. Notable non-Grateful Dead events include an acoustic Bob Weir Band set for the Hunger Week Benefit on 11/17/1978, during which Phil Lesh did not attend, but which debuted rare songs. The 1972 shows frequently highlighted specific band members, such as Phil Lesh laying down bold, melodic leads that shaped the direction of the jams. Historical context fo