Grateful Dead has given their fans a new way to enjoy their music.
The band has partnered with nugs.net to launch Play Dead, the first official Grateful Dead streaming app, featuring newly transferred and mastered recordings from the band’s vault, all in high-resolution audio.
The available music includes CD-only releases, like all currently released Dave’s Picks, that are getting their streaming debut; new vault releases every Tuesday, curated by Dead archivist David Lemieux; and plenty of live recordings. In fact, the app’s launch features 422 unique live shows, including 20 previously unreleased concerts.
The app also features live recordings listed chronologically by performance date for the very first time.
According to Billboard, plans for the app have been in the works for over two decades, but it wasn’t exactly an easy feat.
“What we’re embarking on now is the largest tape transfer project in the history of rock and roll, as far as I know, at least for any single band,” nugs founder/CEO Brad Serling tells the mag. He notes that The Dead music being available on a variety of formats, like reel-to-reel, multitracks DATS and more, made the task more difficult.
“This is my life’s work,” Serling, a Deadhead, adds. “I was born to do this. So here we are — it’s finally happening.”
Play Dead is available now and will set fans back $100.
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