Article Contributed by Gratefulweb
Published on February 7, 2026
Tonight, Grateful Web goes live with a very special broadcast: the 3rd Annual Celebration of the Grateful Dead’s legendary 1968 concerts at Portland’s Crystal Ballroom, streaming directly from the iconic room where the music first echoed more than half a century ago.
This year’s celebration features Garcia Birthday Band with special guest Bella Rayne, performing live from McMenamin’s Crystal Ballroom in Portland, Oregon.
Back in 1968, the Grateful Dead were still carving their identity—stretching songs into open-ended explorations, blurring the lines between psychedelia, blues, folk, and pure improvisation. The Crystal Ballroom stands as one of the rooms where that transformation took place, and tonight’s performance honors that spirit of risk, freedom, and musical conversation.
Garcia Birthday Band, based in Portland, Oregon, isn’t your typical Grateful Dead cover band. Playing for more than 20 years, GBB has evolved into something far deeper than the sum of its parts. The beating heart of the Pacific Northwest’s Grateful Dead community, the band uses the Dead’s catalog as a springboard for limitless improvisation, with each performance unfolding as a living, breathing experiment. Fans don’t just attend a Garcia Birthday Band show — they participate in it.
Placing no boundaries on eras of the Dead’s career, and drawing on decades of shared musical experience, GBB filters the music through an auditory kaleidoscope. Every show becomes an act of exploration, both musical and spiritual, where the line between stage and crowd dissolves into a shared current of sound and intention. For newcomers, it quickly feels familiar — like coming home.
You may recognize members of Garcia Birthday Band from projects including Nine Days Wonder, Cubensis, Shafty, Turkey Bouillon Mafia, The Campfire Boys, Deadhenge, Shadow of Sound, The Buds of May, The Ike Willis Band, Dead Sessions, and Dark Matter Transfer.
Tonight’s broadcast continues Grateful Web’s ongoing commitment to live music documentation and community-supported streaming. If you’re enjoying the show and would like to help keep these live webcasts happening, donations are greatly appreciated.
Please consider supporting Grateful Web’s live streaming projects:
Venmo (preferred): https://venmo.com/gratefulweb
PayPal: aaron@gratefulweb.com
All proceeds go directly toward future live webcasts and to the venue for allowing us to use their space.
Livestream details:
Where: McMenamin’s Crystal Ballroom – Portland, Oregon
When: Saturday, February 7, 2026
Showtime: 8:00 PM PT
