The Grateful Dead’s Eight Nights at Radio City

The Grateful Dead played eight nights at Radio City Music Hall in October 1980 as part of their fifteenth-anniversary concert project. Acoustic sets opened the evenings, followed by electric performances.

The recordings helped supply Reckoning and Dead Set, while the Halloween finale became the basis for the concert film Dead Ahead. Comedians Al Franken and Tom Davis co-hosted that night’s simulcast, taking the Radio City performance to audiences beyond the theatre.

The run belonged to a larger series that also visited San Francisco and New Orleans. Radio City’s contribution was the New York residency and its filmed conclusion. Together, the albums and movie preserve different sides of the same anniversary undertaking, making this more than an eight-night entry in the touring calendar.

Explore Radio City Music Hall on CouchLot.

Related stories: The Grateful Dead’s 20th Anniversary at the Greek; Five New Songs and the Beautiful Jam at the Capitol.

Sources: dead.net (1); dead.net (2).