Stream The Infamous Stringdusters’ Andy Falco & Travis Book’s Stripped-Down ‘New Speedway Boogie’ Cover

The Infamous Stringdusters guitarist Andy Falco and bassist Travis Book released a cover of the Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter composition “New Speedway Boogie.” The song appearing on the Grateful Dead’s 1970 LP Workingman’s Dead will land on the duo’s upcoming album, Falco and Book Play Jerry Garcia, arriving on August 4 via Americana Vibes.

Travis and Andy’s tribute album to one of their biggest shared influences, Jerry Garcia, grew out of the guitarist and bassist’s ongoing live acoustic duo project honoring the Grateful Dead and their lead guitarist. The arrangements see the duo “exploring [Garcia’s] music through a lens of traditional music styles such as bluegrass, blues, country, and bluegrass,” as per a press release.

“Musicians don’t exist in a vacuum, songs and style don’t just materialize spontaneously— everyone is a product of the music that they’ve heard, loved and internalized,” Book said of the thought process behind the project. “Doc Watson called his music “Traditional plus, which means traditional music and everything else I’ve ever heard. Traditional music forms, like Jazz, Blues, Country, or Bluegrass are styles all their own.”

Falco zoomed in on the idea that Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead’s music has, to him, become just as important as traditional music genres.

“I grew up listening to Jerry Garcia, in all of his different bands and projects, and that’s the music that has had the biggest impact on me and along with other traditional music like Blues and Bluegrass, informs my style and aesthetic. So while someone who grows up around Bluegrass or Country may point to that as their tradition, the Grateful Dead, specifically Jerry Garcia, is my tradition.”

The Garcia/Hunter composition Andy and Travis chose to release first, “New Speedway Boogie,” also comes from a tradition of songs that explore the darker side of society as it was penned after the Grateful Dead witnessed the violence taking place at the 1969 Altamont Free Concert — largely perpetrated by the Hell’s Angels who were hired as security — which tragically led to the death 18-year-old man Meredith Hunter. The Grateful Dead refused to play their set at the infamous festival.

Listen to Andy Falco and Travis Book covering “New Speedway Boogie” below:

Travis and Andy have a trio of shows on the books where they will play material from Falco and Book Play Jerry Garcia in Red Hook, New York; Berkeley, California; and Sellersville, Pennsylvania to go along with their busy Infamous Stringdusters touring schedule. Check out both musicians’ upcoming itineraries with ticket info below: