Merriweather Post Pavilion made an ideal site for the penultimate shows of the tour. A gem of a venue, it forms a part of Dead tour that outsiders overlooked but insiders treasured: both the Dead and Dead Heads knew that venues were not just passive sites but active participants in the concert narrative, brought to life anew at every tour stop and in every performance. No wonder fans celebrated venues, treating them as forums with their own distinctive personalities that played a shaping role in the creation of the pageantry that was a show. By 1985, the Dead’s popularity was already squeezing Merriweather’s 14,000-seat capacity; these would be the band’s final performances there.

Since the band’s first appearance there in 1983, Merriweather had become a band and Dead Head favorite. Its acoustics and feel reflected its original purpose, designed by noted architect Frank Gehry to serve as the summer home of the National Symphony Orchestra, though its reputation had been cemented by the rock concerts it hosted. For decades, fans ranked it as one of the country’s best outdoor concert venues. Playing it now made it into something of an outpost, just beyond the nation’s capital, or at its metaphoric gates.

Release Date: 18th September 2026

Tracklist:

Side A

 1. MISSISSIPPI HALF-STEP UPTOWN TOODELOO>

 2. C.C. RIDER>

 3. BROWN-EYED WOMEN

 

Side B

 1. MAMA TRIED>

 2. MEXICALI BLUES

 3. KEEP ON GROWING

 

Side C

 1. BIG RAILROAD BLUES

 2. LOOKS LIKE RAIN>

 3. DON'T EASE ME IN

 

Side D

 1. SHAKEDOWN STREET>

 2. SAMSON AND DELILAH

 

Side E

 1. GIMME SOME LOVIN'>

 2. HE'S GONE>

 3. CRYPTICAL ENVELOPMENT>

 

Side F

 1. DRUMS

 2. SPACE>

 

Side G

 1. THE OTHER ONE>

 2. STELLA BLUE>

 

Side H

 1. AROUND AND AROUND

 2. SUGAR MAGNOLIA

 3. U.S. BLUES