The Grateful Dead’s history in Washington, DC is a little light, as starting in 1974 they played many of their DC-area shows in the suburb of Landover, MD at the Capital Center. They DID however, play some exceptional gigs in the nation’s capital before 1974, and some other things of note throughout the 1980s and 1990s.

The first gig that comes to mind when I think of the Grateful Dead in Washington, DC, is the two night run at RFK Stadium in June, 1973. The first night, 6/9/73, featured some exceptional, typically hot 1973 music, but the second show goes down as one of the all-time classic Grateful Dead concerts. Opening with Morning Dew and featuring all of the big jams of the era (Eyes of the World, Playing in the Band, Bird Song, Dark Star) and ending with a third set featuring loads of special guests, this show is justifiably very highly regarded amongst Dead Heads.

RFK would also be the site of important shows in July, 1986, when the Grateful Dead performed with Bob Dylan and Tom Petty and Heartbreakers, just before Jerry suddenly fell into a diabetic coma. Returning to the stage after his coma, December, 1986 signaled a rebirth of the Grateful Dead, with a happy, healthy Jerry back for a good run through the late 1980s. RFK also featured good shows in 1989, great shows in both July 1990 and June 1991 (the latter of which was made into the exceptional DVD View From The Vault Vol. 2, with bonus material from the 1990 show including one of the finest post-1974 versions of Dark Star) and other good shows throughout the early/mid 1990s.

While we’re talking about DC, we might as well mention a brief trip through their many visits to the Cap Center in Landover. This venue, the early home of Washington’s NHL team, the Capitals and their NBA team, the Bullets/Wizards, featured many great shows. The 1974 show was one of the final east coast concerts with the Wall of Sound, and the 1976 show was made into Dick’s Picks Vol. 20 . In 1979 they returned with the terrific November show, some of which was included in Road Trips Vol. 1 No. 1. In 1988, the Grateful Dead would play the first live electric version of Ripple since 1971 on 9/3/88 (they’d played acoustic versions in 1980). In 1990 they played a tremendous three-night run, of which 3/15/90 was made into the Terrapin Limited album. The band would continue returning to the Cap Center until 1994.

We'll update this page shortly after the show with the setlist and to recap each performance by The Dead as it relates to the context of the Grateful Dead's history at this venue or city.

Grateful Dead archivist David Lemieux will be out on the road with The Dead at selected shows, including this one. He'll be hanging out at the Grateful Dead Productions merchandise booth to answer questions, talk about the archives, or anything else. This booth will have available the brand-new Hartford '77 release, Rocking The Cradle: Egypt 1978, and loads of other great music, and is the only place aside from dead.net where you'll be able to pick up the 9-CD Winterland 1973 boxed set and all of the Road Trips releases including the recent Volume 2 Number 2 from 2/14/68. David will be around before each show, at the set break, and after the show, so feel free to come by and say hi.