Grateful Dead Details ‘In And Out Of The Garden: Madison Square Garden ‘81, ‘82, ‘83’ Box Set

The Grateful Dead vault will open in a big way with the In And Out Of The Garden: Madison Square Garden ‘81, ‘82, ‘83 box set. The Dead.net exclusive features six previously unreleased concerts recorded at Madison Square Garden between 1981 and 1983.

In And Out Of The Garden: Madison Square Garden ‘81, ‘82, ‘83 is due out on September 23 and includes the Dead’s March 9 and 10, 1981; September 20 and 21, 1982 and October 11 and 12, 1983 shows. Journalist David Fricke penned the liner notes for a collection limited to 12,500 individually numbered sets.

“Welcome to the unique, enduring phenomenon of the Grateful Dead in New York City, a mutual devotion, forged in concert, that ran for nearly as long as the band itself—from June 1, 1967, a free show in Tompkins Square Park on the Lower East Side (ahead of the band’s official, local bow at the Cafe Au Go Go), to the Dead’s last Garden run, six nights in October 1994…the Dead’s affinity for New York City…was instant and arguably their most profound with any city aside from San Francisco,” wrote Fricke.

All six shows feature the lineup of guitarists Bob Weir and Jerry Garcia, bassist Phil Lesh, keyboardist Brent Mydland and drummers Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann. GD archivist and legacy manager, who produced In And Out Of The Garden, discussed the Dead’s history at MSG:

“As Jerry Garcia famously said, Madison Square Garden was ‘juiced.’ It had an energy unlike any other venue the Grateful Dead played, particularly of this size, owing to the symbiotic relationship between the Dead, the Dead Heads, and New York City itself. The Dead didn’t play the Garden until 1979, almost the midpoint of their performing career. but once they got rolling, they made it a home away from home, playing 10 shows in the next 15 years. These performances from 1981, 1982, and 1983 are six of the best the Dead played at the Garden, any of which could have been released on their own. We’re thrilled, though, to allow these six complementary shows to be housed together, each one its own story, its own event, but all contributing to the story that is the entirety of the Dead’s 52 show run at Madison Square Garden.”

The set takes its name from a “St. Stephen” lyric and includes one of the band’s final performances of the song and first in four years (October 11, 1983). Dave Van Patten created custom artwork for the packaging.

Preview In And Out Of The Garden by streaming the “Feel Like A Stranger” from March 9, 1981 below:

The Dead’s March 9, 1981 show will be issued separately. Head to Dead.net for the tracklist for the box set and Madison Square Garden, New York, NY (3/9/81). Watch Lemieux’s In And Out Of The Garden “Seaside Chat” below: