Grateful Dead announces ‘Summer Magic 1985’ 20-CD box set

The Grateful Dead has announced the release of ‘Summer Magic 1985’, a 20-CD box set scheduled for arrival on September 18. The collection features seven previously unreleased concerts from the band’s ‘Twenty Years So Far’ tour.

The set includes performances from Berkeley’s Greek Theatre, Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Hershey Park Stadium, and Merriweather Post Pavilion. As a preview, the band has released a digital version of ‘Shakedown Street’ recorded at the Merriweather Post Pavilion on June 30, 1985. Legacy manager and audio archivist David Lemieux described this specific rendition as one of the greatest individual song performances in the band’s history.

Limited to 10,000 numbered copies, the collection was recorded by sound engineer Dan Healy and mastered by David Glasser. The box set features artwork by Marcos Alvarado and a 96-page book containing essays by Nicholas G. Meriwether and Lemieux.