Grateful Dead Celebrates 60th Anniversary With Career-Spanning 60-CD ‘Enjoying The Ride’ Box Set

Grateful Dead marks their 60th anniversary with Enjoying The Ride, a massive 60-CD box set set for release on May 30. The expansive compilation covers 25 years of remarkable live performances at iconic venues that regularly elevated the band’s performances.

Signature shows from 1969 to 1994 are included with 17 of the 20 presented in full and several accompanied by additional cuts recorded at the same venues. Enjoying The Ride consists of more than 450 tracks and over 60 hours of music with nearly all previously unreleased.

Enjoying The Ride is limited to 6,000 individually numbered boxed sets, which can be pre-ordered now, sold exclusively at Dead.net. On the digital side, ALAC and high-res FLAC downloads will be put on sale the same day.

The heady trip through Grateful Dead history starts with selections from the band’s April 5, 1969 performance at the Avalon Ballroom in their hometown of San Francisco and ends with the group’s October 3, 1994 concert at Boston Garden. Other standouts are material from The Capitol Theatre in February of 1971, Nassau Coliseum in March of 1973, Winterland in March of 1977, Red Rocks in August of 1979, the Berkeley Greek in July of 1984, Madison Square Garden in September of 1987 and Shoreline Amphitheatre in 1991.

The evolution and various iterations of the Grateful Dead are showcased on Enjoying The Ride as the box set includes contributions from Jerry Garcia, Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart, Keith Godchaux, Donna Jean Godchaux, Brent Mydland, Tom Constanten and Vince Welnick. David Glasser and Jeffrey Norman restored and mastered the performances, which were originally recorded by Owsley “Bear” Stanley, Betty Cantor-Jackson, Kidd Candelario, Dan Healy and John Cutler.

Enjoying The Ride comes in a custom keepsake box complete with liner notes from Jesse Jarnow, a producer’s note from archivist/legacy manager David Lemieux and an essay by the Owsley Stanley Foundation. The collection is lavishly illustrated throughout with photography, prominently featuring images captured at the actual performances included in this compilation.

“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. 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,” wrote Lemieux in regards to Enjoying The Ride.

For fans seeking a more condensed experience, The Music Never Stopped offers a shorter — yet equally enlightening — journey through the Grateful Dead’s career. The set will be released via Rhino (pre-order here) in 3CD, 6LP and digital formats on May 30.

Previously unreleased versions of “Scarlet Begonias,” “Touch Of Grey” and “Fire On The Mountain” from the Grateful Dead’s July 13, 1984 concert at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley are available now to preview the collections. Listen below:

Head to Dead.net to view the tracklist for Enjoying The Ride and see the showlist below.

Enjoying The Ride Showlist

• Avalon Ballroom, San Francisco, CA (4/5/69) – Cassette
• Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA (6/5/69)
• Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA (6/7/69)
• Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA (6/8/69)
• Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, NY (2/24/71)
• Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, NY (2/20/71)
• Fillmore East, New York, NY (4/25/71)
• Fillmore East, New York, NY (4/27/71)
• Boston Music Hall, Boston, MA (9/15/72)
• Boston Music Hall, Boston, MA (9/16/72)
• Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY (3/16/73)
• Winterland, San Francisco, CA (3/20/77)
• Philadelphia Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA (5/13/78)
• Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, CO (8/12/79)
• Alpine Valley Music Theatre, East Troy, WI (8/23/80)
• Alpine Valley Music Theatre, East Troy, WI (7/11/81)
• Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, CT (3/14/81)
• Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, VA (5/1/81)
• Frost Amphitheatre, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA (8/20/83)
• Greek Theatre, University of California, Berkeley, CA (7/13/84)
• Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center, Oakland, CA (11/21/85)
• Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center, Oakland, CA (11/22/85)
• Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY (9/16/87)
• Deer Creek Music Center, Noblesville, IN (7/15/89)
• Oakland Coliseum Arena, Oakland, CA (12/27/89)
• Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA (5/12/91)
• Capital Centre, Landover MD (3/17/93)
• Capital Centre, Landover MD (9/15/82)
• Boston Garden, Boston, MA (10/3/94)