Grateful Dead Meet-Up at the Movies
Grateful Dead Meet-Up at the Movies is an annual event that began in 2011.[1] At the Meet-Up, concert videos and films of the rock band the Grateful Dead are shown in movie theaters at multiple locations.[1][2] Each yearly screening occurs only once.[1][3] The event provides a venue and opportunity for the band's fans, known as Deadheads, to gather in celebration and camaraderie.[3]
![](../I/m/Grateful_Dead_Meet-up_at_the_Movies_2015.jpg)
From 2011 to 2018, the Grateful Dead Meet-Up at the Movies was shown at movie theaters throughout the United States, and was organized and managed by Fathom Events.[1] The 2019 Meet-Up was shown internationally, with Trafalgar Releasing as the distribution partner.[4]
2011
The first Grateful Dead Meet-Up at the Movies, on April 20, 2011, screened The Grateful Dead Movie in U.S. movie theaters.[5][6][7] The Grateful Dead Movie is a music documentary that focuses on the band's October 16 to 20, 1974 performances at the Winterland Arena. It also includes interviews with the band members, and archival footage from earlier in their career. Shot on 35 mm film, it was co-directed by Jerry Garcia, and was originally released in theaters in 1977.
2012
The 2012 event occurred on April 19 at 7:00 pm local time in selected movie theaters around the U.S., and aired the Grateful Dead's performance of July 17, 1989 at the Alpine Valley Music Theatre near East Troy, Wisconsin.[6][8] This concert took place one day after the Alpine Valley show documented in the feature-length music video Downhill from Here, which was released in 1997.
2013
The 2013 event occurred on August 1 and featured the music documentary film Sunshine Daydream in select U.S. movie theaters.[6][9] Sunshine Daydream was shot at the concert performed on August 27, 1972 at the Old Renaissance Faire Grounds in Veneta, Oregon, and includes extensive footage of the audience as well as the band. In 2013 the movie was re-edited and restored from the original 16 mm film negatives, and remastered to a high-definition digital projection for the screening. The audio was also completely remastered.[9] The film was shown in about 450 movie theaters in the U.S.[7] The following month, Sunshine Daydream was released on DVD and Blu-ray, packaged together with a 3-CD album of the complete Veneta concert.
2014
The 2014 meet-up occurred on July 17 in movie theaters nationwide in the United States, and aired the Grateful Dead's performance of April 21, 1972 at the Beat Club television studio in Bremen, West Germany.[6][10] The screenings began at 7:30 pm local time nationwide.[10] The presentation was prepared from restored video from the original Beat Club broadcast and re-mastered audio from the original analog magnetic tapes.[10] It also included a behind-the-scenes look at the production of an upcoming Grateful Dead release, with Bob Weir on guitar and vocals, and Jeffrey Norman performing mixing and mastering.[10]
2015
Grateful Dead Meet-Up at the Movies 2015 occurred on May 4, 2015, with the presentation of a previously unreleased video of the Grateful Dead concert performed at the Alpine Valley Music Theatre near East Troy, Wisconsin on July 19, 1989.[1][3] The performance lasted approximately 160 minutes.[11] This was the show performed the night after the one shown at the 2012 meet-up. The 2015 event took place in over 400 movie theaters in the United States.[12] Screenings began nationwide at 7:00 pm local time.[11] The concert was recorded in analog video format using multiple cameras,[13] and the sound in movie theaters was in Dolby Stereo.[11] Some of the content aired included additional content that was exclusive to the cinema presentations, which was previously unreleased.[11] The concert was also aired on YouTube, but the additional exclusive content played only in cinema presentations was not included in the YouTube presentation.[11]
2016
The 2016 Meet-Up featured a previously unreleased video of the Grateful Dead concert performed on July 2, 1989 at Sullivan Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The concert was screened on May 11, 2016.[14][15][16]
2017
The Meet-Up for 2017 took place on August 1, the 75th anniversary of the birth of Jerry Garcia. It featured the Grateful Dead's performance of July 12, 1989 at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C..[17][18]
Also in 2017, The Grateful Dead Movie was shown in theaters one time only, on April 20 (4/20). The screening was in honor of the 40th anniversary of that film, which was released in 1977. Also shown was a preview of the then-soon-to-be-released documentary film Long Strange Trip, and a short documentary about the concert recorded in the album Cornell 5/8/77.[19][20]
2018
The 2018 Meet-Up took place on August 1. The theatrical presentation was the July 7, 1989 Grateful Dead concert performed at John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia. The same concert was released in 2010 as the audio/video album Crimson White & Indigo.[21][22]
2019
The 2019 Grateful Dead Meet-Up at the Movies was on August 1. It featured the band's June 17, 1991 concert at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. For the first time, the Meet-Up was shown internationally instead of just in the U.S., with Trafalgar Releasing replacing Fathom Events as the distribution partner.[4][23][24] A recording of the same concert was released in the albums Giants Stadium 1987, 1989, 1991 and Saint of Circumstance. The former also includes the video of the show.[25]
See also
- Fare Thee Well: Celebrating 50 Years of the Grateful Dead – A series of five concerts in late June and early July 2015 that were simulcast in movie theaters in the United States,[26] and also at concert venues, on pay-per-view services, YouTube and Sirius satellite radio
References
- Kreps, Daniel (April 7, 2015). "Grateful Dead's Fifth Annual Movie Meet-Up to Screen Unseen 1989 Show". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
- "Grateful Dead 'Meet-Up At The Movies' On The Big Screen". Hartford Courant. April 28, 2015. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
- "Grateful Dead Meet-Up at the Movies 2015". Charleston City Paper. July 19, 1989. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
- Clarke, Stewart (June 4, 2019). "'Grateful Dead Meet-Up at the Movies' Goes Global". Variety. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
- Jackson, Blair (April 28, 2011). "Blair's Golden Road Blog - GD Movie Still Thrills!". dead.net. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
- Korbelik, Jeff (June 23, 2014). "What We're Into: Meetup at the Movies, Lauritzen Gardens, 'Good and Cheap'". Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
- "Rare Grateful Dead concert film coming to theaters". USA Today. June 6, 2013. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
- "Second Annual Grateful Dead Meet-up at the Movies". Dead.net. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
- Blistein, Jon (June 6, 2013). "Vintage Grateful Dead Concert Film 'Sunshine Daydream' to See Release". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
- "Grateful Dead brings Beat Club to the movies". Asbury Park Press. July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
- Abram, Malcolm X (May 1, 2015). "Grateful Dead's deceased members to come alive on movie screens Monday". Akron Beacon Journal. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
- "Grateful Dead return with theatrical screening, live shows". Asbury Park Press. May 4, 2015. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
- Martin, Richard (April 9, 2015). "Fifth-Annual Grateful Dead Meet-Up Headed to U.S. Movie Theaters with Previously Unreleased Footage on May 4". River Cities' Reader. Archived from the original on July 11, 2015. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
- Blistein, Jon (April 6, 2016). "Watch the Grateful Dead Take "Tennessee Jed" Back to Massachusetts", Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 14, 2016.
- Bernstein, Scott (April 6, 2016). "Preview Grateful Dead Meet-Up at the Movies 2016", JamBase. Retrieved May 14, 2016.
- ABC News Radio (May 11, 2016). "Latest Grateful Dead "Meet-Up at the Movies" Event Takes Place Tonight", Beatrice News Channel. Retrieved May 14, 2016.
- "Grateful Dead 'Meet-Up' Brings 1989 Concert to Movie Theaters on Jerry Garcia's 75th Birthday". Variety. June 29, 2017. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
- Greenblatt, Jeffrey (June 29, 2017). "Grateful Dead 'Meet Up at the Movies' to Feature Unreleased RFK Stadium Show". JamBase. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
- Kreps, Daniel (March 23, 2017). "Grateful Dead Movie to Return to Theaters for 40th Anniversary". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
- Kahn, Andy (March 23, 2017). "The Grateful Dead Movie to Celebrate 40th Anniversary with Theater Screenings". JamBase. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
- Bernstein, Scott (July 5, 2018). "Grateful Dead Details 2018 Meet-Up at the Movies". JamBase. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
- O'Brien, Andrew (June 6, 2018). "Grateful Dead Meet-Up at the Movies 2018 to Relive the Final Show at a Storied Stadium". Live for Live Music. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
- Bernstein, Scott (June 13, 2019). "Grateful Dead 'Meet-Up at the Movies' 2019 Features 1991 Concert". JamBase. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
- Lello, Michael (July 26, 2019). "Grateful Dead Truckin' into Movie Theaters with 1991 Giants Stadium Show". New York Post. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
- Blistein, Jon (August 1, 2019). "Grateful Dead Tease 'Giants Stadium' Box Set with 'Uncle John's Band'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
- "Grateful Dead Broadcasting 'Fare Thee Well' In Movie Theaters". Pollstar. April 16, 2015. Archived from the original on July 12, 2015. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
External links
- "Watch Grateful Dead Perform ‘Sugaree’ in Unreleased 1989 Video". (Grateful Dead Meet-Up at the Movies 2015). Radio.com.