Thu, 01/19/2012 - 2:31 pm

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is proud to present a major exhibition devoted to a truly unique American rock and roll band, Grateful Dead: The Long, Strange Trip. The exhibit will open to the public on Thursday, April 12, as a part of the 2012 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Week events. “The Grateful Dead is a band that is identified with a remarkable era in American history, and, inasmuch as they embody that era, their work is timeless,” says Jim Henke, vice president of Exhibits and Curatorial Affairs. “They’ve inspired many performers and bands, but none has exhibited their musical depth and cultural resonance. In a 30-year career, this group wrote their own rules and created a community unlike any band before or since.”Grateful Dead: The Long, Strange Trip explores the band from a non-linear point of view. Individual sections within the exhibit will be devoted to Grateful Dead as a recording group and a touring band, the fans who devotedly followed them, tapers and fellow travelers (people who were important to the band). It will include finished and working manuscripts for classic songs, handwritten notes from legendary taper Dick Latvala, artifacts from original sound designer Owsley “Bear” Stanley, and promoter Bill Graham’s Father Time robe and Grateful Dead Hotline answering machine.Art and design have always been closely associated with Grateful Dead, and this exhibit will include an unprecedented collection of original artwork that is immediately recognizable from the band’s album covers and posters. It will feature numerous instruments used by the Grateful Dead over the years, including keyboards, drums, percussion, guitars and elements from the legendary Wall of Sound PA system. The Grateful Dead Archive at the University of California-Santa Cruz has loaned a significant number of items from their extraordinary collection, which will open to the public in Spring 2012.Additional highlights include:·    Five Jerry Garcia guitars, including his Travis Bean TB5·    Mickey Hart’s custom-painted drum kit·    Two Bob Weir guitars, including his first Ibanez “cowboy” custom guitar·    Several original lyric manuscripts, including “Truckin’,” “Box of Rain” and “Sugaree”·    Several original Grateful Dead-related artworks, including images from Workingman’s Dead, Without a Net and Fillmore Auditorium poster art·    Bill Graham’s “Father Time” robeFormed in Palo Alto, California, in 1965 from a previous incarnation as a bar band called the Warlocks, the Grateful Dead were at the epicenter of the sweeping cultural event that was San Francisco in the Sixties. Their music was informed by a diverse set of influences – contemporary classical composition, bluegrass, rhythm & blues, free jazz, rock and roll and the blues. Fueled by a cultural underground of writers, poets and bohemians that stretched from Oakland and Berkeley in the East Bay to Palo Alto on the peninsula, the Grateful Dead developed an ethos that embraced true artistic pursuits over commercial concerns, improvisation over rote arrangements and mind expansion through the use of psychedelic drugs.The Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame and Museum has teamed with the Grateful Dead and Rhino Entertainment on an exclusive line of merchandise around the exhibit. The items, which will be sold exclusively at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, will include apparel, accessories, and other items featuring iconic Grateful Dead imagery.                                                                  This exhibit will be open through December 2012.

Thu, 03/22/2012 - 9:59 am

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum curator Howard Kramer discusses one of Jerry Garcia's most famous guitars, Rosebud, which Garcia played as a member of the Grateful Dead. The guitar is among the Grateful Dead artifacts featured in the Rock Hall's "Grateful Dead: The Long, Strange Trip," opening April 12, 2012. The Grateful Dead were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in 1994.

Thu, 07/05/2012 - 2:29 pm

In March, we were excited to share with you the news of our major new exhibit, Grateful Dead: The Long, Strange Trip, as well as exclusive video content related to the opening.We are eager to provide these brand new spotlight pieces, which include rare insight into the Grateful Dead’s performances, an inside look at Jerry Garcia’s most notable guitar, an exclusive photo of Mickey Hart at the exhibit opening, and behind-the-scenes videos about the production of the exhibit, featuring Rock Hall Curatorial Director Howard Kramer.Below you will find some note worthy pieces from the exhibit, including:Revisiting Cornell '77: Was the Grateful Dead's Concert on May 8, 1977 the band's best performance ever? (blog)Spotlight Exhibit: Jerry Garcia's "Rosebud" Guitar (video)Grateful Dead: The Long, Strange Trip Behind the Scenes (video)Mickey Hart at the Rock Hall’s Grateful Dead Exhibit (photo)Also, be sure to visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s facebook page, you’ll have a chance to win a weekend getaway to visit the Grateful Dead Long Strange Trip exhibit.  The contest runs through July 17 at http://wildfiredocs.com/redirect/rockhallsweeps.php. Also, save the date- Aug 3-5, 2012 is our Grateful Dead celebration weekend!

Wed, 07/18/2012 - 11:54 am

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will host a weekend of events surrounding the Museum’s special exhibit devoted to Grateful Dead powered by McIntosh. The weekend will take place Friday, August 3 through Sunday, August 5, during the days between Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Jerry Garcia's 70th birthday and the 17th anniversary of his passing.The weekend celebration includes a Hall of Fame Series with Bill Kreutzmann on Friday, August 3 at 5:30 p.m. followed by a 7 Walkers concert on the Rock Hall’s Main Stage at 8 p.m., an exclusive screening of Move Me Brightly, a special Jerry Garcia tribute recorded at Bob Weir's TRI Studios featuring Weir himself and musician friends and admirers of Garcia. The Rock Hall will also feature screenings of the films Dead Ahead and Anthem to Beauty, curator tours, live performances, meet ups for tapers and travelers, drum circles and more.The first 150 visitors to the Museum on Saturday, August 4th will also receive a limited edition exhibit opening laminate. In addition, anyone who attends the 7 Walkers concert on Friday evening will receive a discount coupon for $5 off a regular adult admission to tour the Museum on Saturday or Sunday.Saturday, August 4, is also a Rock Hall Member Appreciation Day.  Members will enjoy special activities throughout the morning while experiencing Grateful Dead Weekend festivities.***The schedule of events includes (visit rockhall.com for event start times):***Friday, August 3

  • Meet the Curator gallery talk (Grateful Dead exhibit, levels 5 and 6). Grateful Dead exhibit curator Howard Kramer will walk visitors through the exhibit, tell stories and answer questions.
  • Hall of Fame Series with Bill Kreutzmann at 5:30 p.m. in the Foster Theater. Jason Hanley Ph.D. will interview Kreutzmann and take questions from the audience.  Free, members only, in the Foster Theater. Members can make reservations beginning Wednesday, July 18 beginning at 10 a.m. at https://tickets.rockhall.com or at the Rock Hall Box Office.
  • 7 Walkers Concert featuring Bill Kreutzmann at 8 p.m. on the Main Stage. Tickets are $15, on-sale to Rock Hall members on Wednesday, July 18 beginning at 10 a.m. at  https://tickets.rockhall.com and general public on Thursday, July 19th beginning at 10 a.m. at https://tickets.rockhall.com or at the Rock Hall Box Office.

Saturday, August 4

  • Member Appreciation Day activities throughout the morning and afternoon (Plaza Lobby)
  • Rock Hall members will be able to tour the Museum before it opens, listen to a State of the Museum address and witness the unveiling of the 2012 “Member’s Choice Artifact.” 
  • Meet the Curator gallery talk (Grateful Dead exhibit, levels 5 and 6)
  • Dead Ahead screening. No ticket is necessary. Limited seats are available on a first-come first-served basis.
  • Drum Circle on the Rock Hall’s Collection Auto Group Plaza
  • Move Me Brightly special footage screening. No ticket is necessary. Limited seats are available on a first-come first-served basis.
  • Anthem to Beauty screening (courtesy of Eagle Rock Entertainment). No ticket is necessary. Limited seats are available on a first-come first-served basis.

Sunday, August 5

  • Docents available in Grateful Dead exhibit
  • Dead Ahead screening. No ticket is necessary. Limited seats are available on a first-come first-served basis.
  • Drum Circle on the Rock Hall’s Collection Auto Group Plaza
  • Anthem to Beauty screening (courtesy of Eagle Rock Entertainment). No ticket is necessary. Limited seats are available on a first-come first-served basis.
  • Move Me Brightly footage screening. No ticket is necessary. Limited seats are available on a first-come first-served basis.

For more information on Grateful Dead Weekend, visit rockhall.com.