Members of the Grateful Dead community have put their talents together on a new compilation album from ALP. Dubbed Grateful: The Music Plays the Band, the 17-track collection hits on the many pillars of the San Francisco band’s catalog, from beloved originals to traditionals and customary covers; the set pulls in a range of material that is representative of the project’s deference. Paying homage to the jam veterans are various talents from the Dead-orbit, such as collaborators, admirers, and more. The album is out today in full. 

Tapping into the freewheeling jam spirit of the original band, members’ off-shoot projects, and solo work, the LP features known cover bands who have dedicated their craft to reinterpreting parts of the Grateful Dead songbook on the live stage. Included are the likes of Dark Star Orchestra (“Jack Straw,” “Morning Dew”), Cubensis (“Music Never Stopped”), Unlimited Devotion (“Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo”), Brown Eyed Women (“Sugaree”), BERTHA: Grateful Drag (“One More Saturday Night”),  Afro Dead (“Dark Star”) and Jerry’s Middle Finger (“See What Love Can Do”). 

Apart from tribute acts, Jerry Garcia’s New Riders of the Purple Sage bandmate, David Nelson and his band take on “Friend of the Devil.” Elsewhere, Bobby Weir’s Dead & Company bandmate, bassist Oteil Burbridge reprises “Stella Blue,” a feature of his own covers LP and homage to the shared songbook of Garcia and Robert Hunter, 2023’s Lovely View of Heaven. Grateful: The Music Plays the Band extends to feature Bay Area favorites ALO (“They Love Each Other”) and six-headed synth-wave Doom Flamingo (“Touch of Grey”).

All proceeds gained through the net sales of the album will benefit The Grateful Guitars Foundation, a 501-c3 nonprofit organization committed to obtaining top-of-the-line instruments for select players committed to carrying on the legacy of jamband music. Notably, the foundation will host their second annual benefit concert at San Francisco’s famed Great American Music Hall on May 13, with featured performances from Melvin Seals, Kadlecik, Barry Sless, and Elliott Peck, as well as guests David Hidalgo, Steve Berlin, and more. Tickets. 

Stream the album in full.

Grateful: The Music Plays the Band tracklist:

1. “Jack Straw” – Dark Star Orchestra

2. “Friend of the Devil” – David Nelson Band

3. “Peggy-O” – Alex Jordan & Friends

4. “Candyman” – Katie Skene & Andrea Whitt

5. “They Love Each Other” – ALO 

6. “One More Saturday Night” – BERTHA: Grateful Drag

7. “Loser” – Michael James Wheeler

8. “Touch of Grey” – Doom Flamingo

9. “So Many Roads” – John Kadlecik 

10. “Music Never Stopped” – Cubensis

11. “China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider” – La Horsa Bianca

12. “Stella Blue” – Oteil Burbridge

13. “Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo” – Unlimited Devotion

14. “Sugaree” – Brown Eyed Women

15. “See What Love Can Do” – Jerry’s Middle Finger

16. “Dark Star” – Afro Dead

17. “Morning Dew” – Dark Star Orchestra