If you have enjoyed the musical ride of the Grateful Dead, there’s a new box set for you: “Enjoying the Ride,” has 60 CDs marking the band’s 60th anniversary. It has 17 complete concerts and more.
Want the music to never stop? There’s a new massive Grateful Dead box set just for you.
“Enjoying the Ride,” is a 60-CD box set encompassing more than 60 hours of music, collected from the iconic band’s live performances from 1969 to 1994.
Available to pre-order now on Dead.net and due out May 30, “Enjoying the Ride” ($599.98) comes on the 60th anniversary of the iconic band’s formation in 1965 and changing its name from the Warlocks to the Grateful Dead later that year.
Nearly all of the 450 tracks in the set are previously unreleased and fans can listen to three of those tracks – unreleased versions of “Scarlet Begonias,” “Touch Of Grey,” and “Fire On The Mountain,” recorded live at the Berkeley Greek Theatre on July 13, 1984 – on streaming services now.
The collection is comprised of concert recordings from 20 different venues across the U.S.: 17 full-length concerts, some with additional material from the same venue, plus multiple performances from shows at three other venues: Fillmore West, Fillmore East, and Boston Music Hall.
“On these 60 CDs, you’ll find music spanning more than 25 years, from 1969 to 1994, with the venues and the millions of journeys to get to them, making an essential part of the story,” said Grateful Dead archivist and legacy manager David Lemieux. “Going to see the Grateful Dead, following them from city to city, was likened to the modern equivalent of running away and joining the circus. These 20 venues are where the circus took us, and the show was something we never wanted to miss.”
The box set has a special meaning for Rhino Records President Mark Pinkus, because it includes that July 1984 show at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, California, his first-ever Grateful Dead concert, which he recalls had an “epic ‘Dark Star’ encore.
“This show marked the start of a lifelong journey for me, and I’m willing to bet there are many shows in this fantastic set that will resonate with fans who also found community on the road,” Pinkus said in a statement. “I am forever honored to work alongside David and the Grateful Dead to keep this long, strange trip alive.”
Only 6,000 individually numbered copies of the 60-CD set will be made available. Digital downloads in ALAC ($399.99) and high-res FLAC ($499.99) will be available on the same day.
Included with the set, a tour guide with liner notes by Jesse Jarnow (author and co-host of the Good Ol’ Grateful Deadcast podcast) with a producer’s note from Lemieux, plus scores of photos.
Get an edited-down Grateful Dead retrospective
If 60 CDs seems a bit much, Rhino is releasing some smaller versions:
- Vinyl LPs: “The Music Never Stopped,” ($149.98) is a six-LP version of the music in the box set with at least one song from each venue in the deluxe set.
- Compact discs: A three-CD version of “The Music Never Stopped” is priced at $34.98.
- Digital: A download version of “The Music Never Stopped” is available in ALAC ($14.99) and high-res Flac (26.99).
For the record, this isn’t even the largest Grateful Dead CD box set ever released. A decade ago, Rhino released “30 Trips Around the Sun” for the band’s 50th anniversary, a collection of 80 CDs. Only 6,500 were made, but there’s a few available on eBay, starting at $2,300.
For a supposedly fading technology, compact discs have shown some resilience. Other musicians recently issuing mega-box sets include Bob Dylan and The Band: The 1974 Live Recordings ($159.99), a 27-CD set with 417 live tracks from the 1974 tour, and Neil Young Archives Vol. III (1976-1987), a 17-CD set of unreleased albums and songs, including alternate and live versions (deluxe version with Blu-ray Disc, $449.98; CD version, $239.98).
Also on tap: Dogfish Head’s Grateful Dead Juicy Pale Ale
The new box set isn’t the only celebration of the Dead’s legacy being served up. Dogfish Head Craft Brewery recently released Grateful Dead Juicy Pale Ale, in collaboration with the Grateful Dead. The 5.3% ABV beer is made with granola and krenza, a sustainable grain.
“As a beer geek with a music problem, few things in life are as sensorially sensational as enjoying a great beer while simultaneously listening to some great music,” said Dogfish Head founder and brewer Sam Calagione in a press release. It’s the third beer the Delaware-based brewery and band have collaborated on. “With its layered, nuanced flavors of tropical hops complemented by its malty body, our Grateful Dead Juicy Pale Ale is as compelling and joyful as the band’s music.”
And the live music hasn’t stopped either. Dead & Company, which includes Grateful Dead members Bob Weir and Mickey Hart, along with John Mayer, will kick off their second residency at Sphere in Las Vegas next week.
Follow Mike Snider on Threads, Bluesky and X: mikegsnider & @mikegsnider.bsky.social & @mikesnider.
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