July 26, 2020 marks the 30th anniversary of the passing of Brent Mydland.
After joining the band in 1979, the Grateful Dead keyboardist grew to become a fan favorite, as well as a close friend and musical compatriot of his bandmate Jerry Garcia.
To honor his memory Grateful Dead HQ has released Mydland’s 7/4/89 performance of “I Will Take You Home / All Along the Watchtower,” live from Orchard Park, NY.
A little more than a year later, Mydland would play his final show with the band (July 23, 1990), singing “The Weight” and offering his final words to the crowd: “I’ve got to go, but my friend can stick around.”
Watch his 7/4/89 performance below:
6 Comments comments associated with this post
Cath
July 28, 2020 at 10:05 amWe were at this show, went on a short tour (3 shows) with our five year old daughter. This song was so meaningful to us at that time. We stayed at the same hotel as the band, met Brent on the way in and he couldn’t have been nicer! The day started out rainy so I took my daughter to the indoor pool, the only other one there was Jerry! Great memories made on that trip!
Sean
July 27, 2020 at 2:43 pmI miss Brent as much as I miss Jer.
Dan
July 27, 2020 at 12:01 pmI agree as well, but there were times while dosing the screeching organ left me with a massive headache. I preferred Keith and his grand piano during the Grateful Dead’s most productive decade the seventies.
george ohagan
July 27, 2020 at 6:37 pmI gotta tell you that his voice has ruined many an evening for me. It always sounded forced, phony and over-exaggerated. Don’t hate me! Keith was great.
Tenn Jed
July 26, 2020 at 9:59 pmI agree.
Glenn
July 26, 2020 at 4:33 pmBrent is the most underrated and under appreciated musician of his time. His soulful voice exuded raw emotion and his music playing style energized the band to a new level that would not be reached again after his death.