30 Days of Dead

30-days-of-dead-2024

It's a Dead Head's most wonderful time of the year! Welcome to another 30 days of unreleased Grateful Dead tracks from the vault, one for every day of the month, selected by archivist and producer David Lemieux. The tracks are yours, 100% free gua-ran-teed, but the real fun is taking part in the challenge for the chance to win some sweet swag from the Dead.

Those of you who know what to do, feel free to skip right on ahead. For those of you who need a refresher, here's the drill:

You know your Ables from your Bakers from your C's, but can your finely tuned ears differentiate the cosmic "comeback" tour from a spacey 70s show? Each day we'll post a song from one of the Dead's coveted shows. Will it be from that magical night at Madison Square Garden in '93 or from way back when they were just starting to warm it up at Winterland? Is that Pigpen's harmonica we hear? Brent on keys? If you think you know, lob your answer in and you just might find yourself taking home our daily prize of a 2025 Grateful Dead wall calendar or the grand prize – a copy of limited, numbered, FRIEND OF THE DEVILS: APRIL '78 boxed set!

Today's Song
Hint:
Few songs embody the spirit of improvisation and musical adeventure like this one
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237 comments

  • thismikebenz
    19 hours 27 minutes ago
    This one took me a while,…

    This one took me a while, but I finally found it. So many variations to Billy's first 15 seconds!

  • spiritwide
    20 hours 41 minutes ago
    That's good to know...

    ... as I'm 2/2 and am sure to be 3/3 come midnight.

  • spiritwide
    20 hours 46 minutes ago
    I had the same issue...

    ... so I went back to Archive and selected another version, which synched up perfectly with virtually no drift for minutes on end.

  • spiritwide
    20 hours 48 minutes ago
    One of the really groovy things...

    ... about this is coming to a new appreciation of the songs through hearing several performances in a row, really listening close for those small bits that distinguish one from another. As a result, one hears the song itself simultaneously more deeply and broadly.
    In a more general sense, I'm coming to actually like this song now.

  • bluecrow
    21 hours 12 minutes ago
    woodro69

    glad you enjoyed that - check your messages.

Yesterday's answer...
Chicago, IL, International Amphitheatre
The Dead played Black-Throated Wind frequently 1972-1974 before dropping it for for 16 years, when it returned in March 1990 and would stick around until 1995.
Yesterday's Winner...

Past Dates

Missed a day? You can go back and grab downloads here.

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By entering my information, I acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy, Terms of Use and Official Rules and I agree to receive marketing messages from Grateful Dead (from which I can unsubscribe at any time). No purchase or payment necessary to enter or win. A purchase will not increase your chances of winning. This sweepstakes is offered only to legal residents of the United States (excluding Puerto Rico) who are located in the united states (excluding Puerto Rico) and have reached the age of majority in their state of residence at the time of entry.