Big Thief Launches Grateful Dead-Inspired Free Live Archive

Big Thief opened its live vault with 10 free concert recordings and plans to add another show on the second Tuesday of every month. The new Big Thief Live Archive also lets listeners assemble their own playlists by selecting performances from across the collection.

Drummer James Krivchenia drew inspiration for the project from his love of the Grateful Dead and their live releases. Big Thief began recording all of its concerts around 2019 and spent the past couple of years developing the website.

“Every show we play holds a different energy,” Big Thief wrote in a message announcing the archive. “The songs are always changing and sound different every night, and we spend so much more time on the road than in studios, and so we felt a desire to create something that captures the ever-undulating aliveness of our music through time.”

The initial recordings were captured by front-of-house engineer Alice Wilder and monitor engineer Aleda Deroche, then mixed by 4AD’s in-house engineer Fabian Prynn. The band hopes to keep the monthly additions coming “hopefully forever.”

Alongside the archive launch, Big Thief released “Incomprehensible” from its April 29, 2026 concert at Dublin’s 3Arena across streaming services. The song originally appeared on Double Infinity, which arrived last year through 4AD. Listen to the live track below:

Watch Big Thief’s full November 6, 2025 performance at The Opera House at 7A Ranch in Wimberley, Texas below:

Read the full statement about the launch from Big Thief:

Dear friends, For the last couple of years we’ve been creating a Big Thief Live Archive website, where you can find full, mixed concerts from the recent and distant past.

Every show we play holds a different energy. The songs are always changing and sound different every night, and we spend so much more time on the road than in studios, and so we felt a desire to create something that captures the ever-undulating aliveness of our music through time. In around 2019 we started recording all of our shows. There are 10 shows up right now and we will be adding new ones to the archive on the second Tuesday of every month hopefully forever. It’s all free. We made the website interactive so that you can choose tracks and make your own playlists.

Thank you so much to all who have come out to our shows over the years, it’s been such a treat revisiting these. We love you so much! Warmly, Big Thief