Here Comes Sunshine, a project containing previously unreleased concerts from the spring of 1973—a momentous year for the world-renowned rock band—will be released by The Grateful Dead. The trio that has become an American treasure has announced a limited-edition 17-CD box set (May 2). The collection will comprise five previously unpublished recordings from famous shows. The tracks are from the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa (5/13/73), Campus Stadium at UC Santa Barbara in Santa Barbara, California (5/20/73), Kezar Stadium in San Francisco, California (5/26/73), and the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington, D.C. (6/9/73) and (6/10/73).
The spring of 1973 was a watershed moment for the Grateful Dead, who were famed for their cutting-edge series of shows. They put on some of their finest performances in their careers for the final five sets of their sequences. Back-to-back nights at RFK Stadium as co-headliners with the Allman Brothers Band, for example, and the five-hour finale on June 10. The must-see Dead show included an encore with Allman Brothers’ Dickey Betts and Butch Trucks. The collection, which showcases their musical prowess, is now available for pre-order and will be released on June 30. Only 10,000 copies will be available to fans, and they will be available exclusively on Dead.net for $189.98. On their official website, listeners can purchase the entire audio as a digital download.
The limited-edition box was designed by GRAMMY Award-winning Art Director Masaki Koike and will include “unexpected treasures” such as liner notes from Canadian novelist Ray Robertson, The Owsley Stanley Foundation, and Grateful Dead Archivist and Legacy Manager David Lemieux. The five unreleased performances will be included in distinct custom-designed folios in the project. Each work will include show-specific annotations, a custom-dyed Tenugui, and a limited-edition poster. “I only had a few 1973 shows in my early tape-trading days, 1985-1987, but my goodness, did I love them.” “There was a fresh, nimble feel that was entirely different from the 1972 Dead sound, taking all of the great elements of the Year of Europe and building upon that excellence,” Lemieux wrote in the sleeve notes of Here Comes Sunshine 1973.
“The only shows I recall having in my collection were 2/9/73, 5/26/73, and 6/10/73.” Despite having hundreds of cassettes at my disposal, I frequently returned to these 1973 concerts. That old adage, ‘I listened to that show so much, I wore out the tape?’ It was born as a result of shows like these.” Although their legendary run lives on, it came after the death of co-founder Ron’ Pigpen” McKernan. The renowned musician passed away on March 8, 1973. Along with new music, the Grateful Dead is expected to release limited-edition merchandise associated with the collection. The seventh season of the band’s official podcast, GOOD OLD GRATEFUL DEADCAST, will premiere on Tuesday, May 2. Within each episode, the band reflects on Here Comes Sunshine 1973 shows and how they conducted business. Listen now by clicking HERE.