See Grateful Dead Jam on ‘Sugaree’ in 1989 Unreleased Video
To tease their upcoming Meet-Up at the Movies, the Grateful Dead have released video of the band performing a laid-back, jammy rendition of the Jerry Garcia solo track “Sugaree,” which first appeared on the late singer’s 1972 LP Garcia. The performance in the video culls from the Dead’s July 19th, 1989 concert at East Troy, Wisconsin’s Alpine Valley Music Theatre and features a fluttery, hypnotic guitar solo by Garcia. Garcia originally performed all the instruments on the song himself on the studio version, with the exception of drums, which Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann played.
The whole Alpine Valley concert – which featured a smattering of Merle Haggard, Bob Dylan and Bobby “Blue” Bland covers, among Dead live staples like “Box of Rain,” “Althea” and “Terrapin Station,” among others – will be broadcast in movie theaters nationwide by Fathom Events on May 4th at 7 p.m. local time. The concert marked the last time the group would play at the venue.
The group’s surviving members are gearing up for their last-ever performances in celebration of their 50th anniversary. The three gigs will take place at Chicago’s Soldier Field this July and will feature guests Trey Anastasio and Bruce Hornsby; these gigs will be broadcast via pay-per-view. The intermission will feature a short documentary on the band that Kreutzmann’s son Justin made, as well as short interviews and live interviews with fans.
Prior to the blowout, the band will also play two other “Fare Thee Well” gigs in June in the Bay Area where they got their start.