Without a doubt the band is having a blast, booking this single big show for the summer at the Rothbury Music Festival in Michigan when a whole April-May tour just wasn’t enough. The lineup at this festival is filled with bands and musicians with whom the Grateful Dead have a connection in some way or another: Bob Dylan, the String Cheese Incident, Willie Nelson, the Black Crowes, Gov’t Mule, and Broken Social Scene (anyone who can detect the link between the Grateful Dead and the stunningly good and always exciting Canadian music collective Broken Social Scene gets a prize…), amongst many other great bands.

The Grateful Dead’s history at music festivals was hit or miss, generally with more hits than misses, and even the misses usually had some hidden gems. Woodstock, of course, is the granddaddy of all rock music festivals, and the performance by the band was famously off. However, the version of Lovelight at this show goes to some immensely entertaining places. Likewise Monterey ‘67, where the band members have often discussed their performance as being mediocre, but anyone who has seen the video of the version of Viola Lee Blues from Monterey can tell there was some magic in the air. A few hits that come to mind are the 5/23&24/69 Big Rock Pow Wow in Florida, at which the Grateful Dead performed twice, both exceptionally good concerts. The Bickershaw Festival on 5/7/72 saw the Grateful Dead play one of the longest, and best, shows of the Europe ’72 tour, and the only show on the tour at which both Dark Star and The Other One were performed (on that tour, one or the other was played each night). One of oddest nights of music I’ve ever been a part of was exactly six years previous to this year’s Rothbury Festival, when The Dead were on the bill at Willie Nelson’s Fourth of July Picnic. The setting was terrific, a sloping hillside just outside of Austin, Texas, with The Dead getting a massive 3 hour time slot. Amongst the other performers were Leon Russell, and in one of the most incongruous pairings I can think of, Toby Keith. But, the tens of thousands of people on hand, regardless of who they came to see, had a blast, with everyone getting along and enjoying a perfect evening with some great music. Willie was a great host, sitting in for a few songs with each performer, and The Dead rose the occasion and blew some Texas minds with a terrific version of Caution that night.

The Grateful Dead’s history in Michigan is a little light, with 32 shows being played in this state, the bulk of which were performed in and around Detroit. The band’s first trip to the state was in 1967, just after the week-long residency in Toronto and shows in Montreal, when they played in Detroit. Other Michigan shows of note included the two shows in October, 1971, during Keith’s first tour with the band; a show in October 1972 during that non-stop run of amazing shows in the Fall of 1972; Cobo Arena shows in the Fall of 1976 and 1977 (the 10/3/76 show is a personal favourite and features one of the most inspired second sets of the year, and a great Scarlet Begonias in the first set); several good shows in Auburn Hills in the early 1990s; and shows at Pine Knob in June 1991 (as well as shows there in 1980 and 1984).

The Michigan shows I’d like to especially point out are from the Pine Knob ’91 run. As anyone who has seen the DVD View From The Vault Vol. 2 , taped just five days before these concerts, knows, the band was looking and sounding great on this tour, with the members of the septet pushing one another to new music heights just about every night. Pine Knob was a nice little place on a tour that was a mix of smaller sheds and large stadiums. Both nights featured some very unique performances and song sequences, and some very cool sounds coming from the stage. The first show on 6/19/91 featured a very different Scarlet>Fire, with Phil’s bass exhibiting a clarity of tone I’d never heard before. The post drums sequence of that show, Stella Blue>Other One>Johnny B. Goode was so bizarre, with a very, very rare Other-One-after-Stella-Blue, and with the Other One going into a rocking Johnny B. Goode, it was a strange night indeed. As odd as that sequence was, the real fireworks were saved for the next show, when the band’s second set began: Throwing Stones>Iko Iko>All Along The Watchtower>Standing On The Moon>He’s Gone. A truly epic night of music. And to show that they were paying attention, the second set wraps up with a very smooth transition back into Throwing Stones, a reprise, before barreling into Not Fade Away. All of this is part of the terrific Download Series Vol. 11, so if you’re inclined to download music, check that show out. From a year with a lot to recommend, these Pine Knob shows were some of the most interesting. Honourable mention for Michigan Dead’s coolest shows are the two nights at the Easttown Theatre in Detroit in October, 1971, with a great, melodic Dark Star part of the second night’s big second set. Also worthy of mention are the Ann Arbor shows in 1979 and the 1989, the latter featuring two great nights on the might fine Spring Tour of 1989.

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.