On September 18, just days before summer 2026 comes to a close, the Grateful Dead will revisit the summer of 1985. The latest box set from the band collects seven performances from the group, spanning both coasts. In anticipation of Summer Magic 1985, “Sugar Magnolia (Live at Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD 6/30/85)” is now streaming.

Summer Magic 1985 collects all three shows at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley (6/14-6/16/85) along with the band’s performances at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (6/27/85), Hershey Park Stadium (6/28/85) and two nights at Merriweather Post Pavilion (6/30-7/1/85). Marcos Alvarado has created the art for the project, which is described as “an allegorical journey, introducing an array of new characters through striking original artwork that draws inspiration from classical illuminations.” The package includes a 96-page book with new essays by essays by Nicholas G. Meriwether, the Executive Director, Grateful Dead Studies Association, as well as Grateful Dead archivist David Lemieux.

Lemieux looks back on his early days as a Deadhead in noting, “I had a few tapes by this time from 1983 and 1984, but this 1985 Grateful Dead was something entirely different, a freshness that sounded like a band now celebrating 20 years (!), but still just getting started. From that moment on, I was on a mission to collect as much 1985 Dead as possible.”

Meriwether adds that the shows collected in Summer Magic 1985 “offer a snapshot of the artistic process that was the Grateful Dead, making a powerful statement of the band’s project as they marked their 20th anniversary…[T]his box not only lets us revisit what these shows sounded like at a peak of the band’s PA prowess, it lets us finally hear what these shows meant, the alchemy of time and memory finally revealing the gold of those concerts.”

The 20 CD Summer Magic 1985 set, which is limited to 10,000 individually numbered copies, will be available exclusively from Dead.net. In addition, on September 18, Rhino will release 3 CD and 4 LP versions of the Merriweather 6/30/85 concert.

Here’s David Lemieux’s Seaside Chat on ‘Summer Magic 1985’: