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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMusic\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
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Fifty years ago this week, the Dead took stage in Boston for what would go down as one the greatest shows in band history.<\/h2>\n\n\n\tAn attendee waves a flag during a public memorial for Grateful Dead co-founder Bob Weir at Civic Center Plaza in San Francisco, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. Stephen Lam\/San Francisco Chronicle via AP<\/em>\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/header>\nWe\u2019re in for a long strange summer, Boston.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Normally, dozens of Grateful Dead tribute bands in Massachusetts will play us \u201cCassidy\u201d or \u201cSugar Magnolia\u201d most any night of the week, from Brewster to Boston, Provincetown to Providence.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dig a little deeper, though, and you\u2019ll find other Grateful Dead-themed events around New England that fans won\u2019t want to miss this summer. <\/p>\n
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/bdc2020.o0bc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/dead_set-69e7bf643263c-6a2987555290d.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nRelive history<\/h3>\n
Fifty years ago this week, the Dead took stage in Boston for what would go down as one the greatest shows in band history.<\/p>\n
A show at Boston Music Hall<\/a>, recorded by Betty Cantor-Jackson on June 11, 1976, now has a legendary status.<\/p>\nIt was \u201ca tremendous show,\u201d Grateful Dead archivist and legacy manager Dave Lemieux said. \u201cThey had a lot of new material. They were reworking older material that you hear on this show. So it\u2019s a new Grateful Dead, and it sounds phenomenal.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the 50th anniversary Thursday, fans can relive the night in the venue where it went down.<\/p>\n
The former Boston Music Hall, now the Boch Center Wang Theatre, will host a night of music<\/a> featuring New England Dead tribute band Playing Dead,<\/a> with former members of Dark Star Orchestra, Slipknot!, and Uncle John\u2019s Band.\u00a0 The show \u201cincludes a performance of the complete second set from the Dead\u2019s Boston Music Hall concert,\u201d per billing. <\/p>\nThey\u2019ll pour the Grateful Dead\u2019s official brews, Grateful Dead Juicy Pale Ale<\/a> and Grateful Dead Citrus Daydream Lager\u00a0<\/a>from Boston Beer Company\u2019s Dogfish Head<\/a>. <\/p>\n\u201cNew England Deadheads are a rabid bunch, in a good way,\u201d Lemieux said<\/a>.\u00a0 \u201cI love talking Grateful Dead with New England Deadheads. They always have so much insight, and so many good memories.\u201d<\/p>\nLemieux called 6\/11\/76 \u201cacoustic perfection.\u201d<\/p>\n
What made it so special? In part, the freshness. The Dead had, for the most part, stopped touring in the fall of 1974.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIn June of \u201976 they hit the road for theater shows \u2014 no arenas, no stadiums, no Wall of Sound [their famously enormous sound system]. They had a lot of new material. They were reworking older material that you hear on this show. So it\u2019s a new Grateful Dead, and it sounds phenomenal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Plus, Mickey Hart \u2014 former Celtic Bill Walton\u2019s best pal \u2014\u00a0 who left the band in \u201971, was back, \u201cwhich was cool because it meant they had to do new arrangements of certain songs,\u201d Lemieux said. \u201cWhat Mickey brought to the band was essential to the 1976 sound. It\u2019s one of my favorite years of the Dead.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tickets $35; VIP $76. Doors 6:30 p.m., show 7:30 p.m. Details<\/em> here<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\u2018Summer tour\u2019<\/h3>\n
As a Deadhead who came to the party after Jerry died, just in time to cover the Dead & Co era<\/a> in Boston through the end<\/a>, this one hits close to home.\u00a0<\/p>\nIf you also ate \u201clot cheese\u201d in the makeshift lot outside Fenway in \u201823, or wandered the Foxborough lot at Dead & Co shows hunting for \u201cCeltics stealies,\u201d the aroma of skunky pot wafting from every stickered up Subaru Outback, \u201cSummer Tour\u201d is for you.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Catch the buzzy documentary<\/a> at the Nantucket Film Fest<\/a> on June 20 at 2 p.m. Directed by Cape Cod\u2019s own Mischa Richter and produced by Nantucket Film Fest award-winner\/Deadhead Chlo\u00eb Sevigny, the 82-minute doc will screen at Nantucket\u2019s Dreamland<\/a>, followed by a Q&A with Richter and Sevigny.<\/p>\nIn the film, we follow a young couple, who are determined to follow Dead & Company on their \u201823 final tour, \u201cimmersing themselves in a pilgrimage through the fading embers of a movement,\u201d per film synopsis. \u201cWhile they experience the evolution of the songbook and communal catharsis, they realize they are not just witnessing the end of an era, but the passing of a torch.\u201d<\/p>\n
You can also catch it at the Provincetown Film Fest<\/a>, June 12 at 4 p.m. at Town Hall, followed by a Q&A with Sevigny on the docket.<\/p>\nNantucket info<\/em> <\/em>here<\/em><\/a> and<\/em> <\/em>here<\/em><\/a>. P-Town info<\/em> <\/em>here<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n
We\u2019re in for a long strange summer, Boston.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Normally, dozens of Grateful Dead tribute bands in Massachusetts will play us \u201cCassidy\u201d or \u201cSugar Magnolia\u201d most any night of the week, from Brewster to Boston, Provincetown to Providence.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dig a little deeper, though, and you\u2019ll find other Grateful Dead-themed events around New England that fans won\u2019t want to miss this summer. <\/p>\n
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nRelive history<\/h3>\n
Fifty years ago this week, the Dead took stage in Boston for what would go down as one the greatest shows in band history.<\/p>\n
A show at Boston Music Hall<\/a>, recorded by Betty Cantor-Jackson on June 11, 1976, now has a legendary status.<\/p>\n It was \u201ca tremendous show,\u201d Grateful Dead archivist and legacy manager Dave Lemieux said. \u201cThey had a lot of new material. They were reworking older material that you hear on this show. So it\u2019s a new Grateful Dead, and it sounds phenomenal.\u201d<\/p>\n On the 50th anniversary Thursday, fans can relive the night in the venue where it went down.<\/p>\n The former Boston Music Hall, now the Boch Center Wang Theatre, will host a night of music<\/a> featuring New England Dead tribute band Playing Dead,<\/a> with former members of Dark Star Orchestra, Slipknot!, and Uncle John\u2019s Band.\u00a0 The show \u201cincludes a performance of the complete second set from the Dead\u2019s Boston Music Hall concert,\u201d per billing. <\/p>\n They\u2019ll pour the Grateful Dead\u2019s official brews, Grateful Dead Juicy Pale Ale<\/a> and Grateful Dead Citrus Daydream Lager\u00a0<\/a>from Boston Beer Company\u2019s Dogfish Head<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cNew England Deadheads are a rabid bunch, in a good way,\u201d Lemieux said<\/a>.\u00a0 \u201cI love talking Grateful Dead with New England Deadheads. They always have so much insight, and so many good memories.\u201d<\/p>\n Lemieux called 6\/11\/76 \u201cacoustic perfection.\u201d<\/p>\n What made it so special? In part, the freshness. The Dead had, for the most part, stopped touring in the fall of 1974.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIn June of \u201976 they hit the road for theater shows \u2014 no arenas, no stadiums, no Wall of Sound [their famously enormous sound system]. They had a lot of new material. They were reworking older material that you hear on this show. So it\u2019s a new Grateful Dead, and it sounds phenomenal.\u201d<\/p>\n Plus, Mickey Hart \u2014 former Celtic Bill Walton\u2019s best pal \u2014\u00a0 who left the band in \u201971, was back, \u201cwhich was cool because it meant they had to do new arrangements of certain songs,\u201d Lemieux said. \u201cWhat Mickey brought to the band was essential to the 1976 sound. It\u2019s one of my favorite years of the Dead.\u201d<\/p>\n Tickets $35; VIP $76. Doors 6:30 p.m., show 7:30 p.m. Details<\/em> here<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n As a Deadhead who came to the party after Jerry died, just in time to cover the Dead & Co era<\/a> in Boston through the end<\/a>, this one hits close to home.\u00a0<\/p>\n If you also ate \u201clot cheese\u201d in the makeshift lot outside Fenway in \u201823, or wandered the Foxborough lot at Dead & Co shows hunting for \u201cCeltics stealies,\u201d the aroma of skunky pot wafting from every stickered up Subaru Outback, \u201cSummer Tour\u201d is for you.\u00a0<\/p>\n Catch the buzzy documentary<\/a> at the Nantucket Film Fest<\/a> on June 20 at 2 p.m. Directed by Cape Cod\u2019s own Mischa Richter and produced by Nantucket Film Fest award-winner\/Deadhead Chlo\u00eb Sevigny, the 82-minute doc will screen at Nantucket\u2019s Dreamland<\/a>, followed by a Q&A with Richter and Sevigny.<\/p>\n In the film, we follow a young couple, who are determined to follow Dead & Company on their \u201823 final tour, \u201cimmersing themselves in a pilgrimage through the fading embers of a movement,\u201d per film synopsis. \u201cWhile they experience the evolution of the songbook and communal catharsis, they realize they are not just witnessing the end of an era, but the passing of a torch.\u201d<\/p>\n You can also catch it at the Provincetown Film Fest<\/a>, June 12 at 4 p.m. at Town Hall, followed by a Q&A with Sevigny on the docket.<\/p>\n Nantucket info<\/em> <\/em>here<\/em><\/a> and<\/em> <\/em>here<\/em><\/a>. P-Town info<\/em> <\/em>here<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\u2018Summer tour\u2019<\/h3>\n