We are beyond honored to welcome former Grateful Dead vocalist Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay herself to hear the wondrous story of how she went from Alabama to the top of the charts before fate led her to San Francisco, Keith Godchaux, and the Grateful Dead.

GUEST: Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay

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Listen To The River: Kiel Auditorium, October 1973

The Deadcast finishes our tour of St. Louis at the Kiel Auditorium in fall 1973, featuring Warlocks-era insider Steve Brown, local heads, the return of musicologist Graeme Boone to go deep into Dead’s jams, & a visit from Rich’s parents. 

GUESTS: Sepp Donahower, Tony Dwyer, Steve Brown, Thom Pallazola, Drea Stein, John Ellis, Janne Mahan, Bill Mahan, David Lemieux, Graeme Boone

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We explore the Grateful Dead’s formative early 1966 months in Los Angeles under the patronage of Owsley Stanley, LSD chemist & the band’s new sound engineer, featuring Owsley’s assistants Tim Scully & Don Douglas, Merry Pranksters, Rosie McGee, & an archival interview with Owsley.

GUESTS: Tim Scully, Don Douglas, Rosie McGee, Denise Kaufman, Ken Babbs, Starfinder Stanley, Hawk, David Gans

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Listen To The River: Fox Theatre, October 1972

We go behind the scenes, into the crowd, around the specially-installed mirror ball, & inside the music at the Dead’s 3 legendary 1972 shows at St. Louis’s Fox Theatre with promoters Sepp Donahower & Tony Dwyer, musicologist Graeme Boone, & Dead freaks who were there. 

GUESTS: Tony Dwyer, Sepp Donahower, Bill Weber, Drea Stein, John Ellis, Bob Simmons, Thom Pallazola, Joe Schwab, Mark Slosberg, Starfinder Stanley, Hawk, Graeme Boone, David Lemieux

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The Grateful Dead’s relationship with St. Louis went deep as the new Listen To The River box set and this Deadcast prove, featuring promoter Tony Dwyer, offstage jams at Scotty’s Music, and the time the Dead crashed Richie Gerber’s bar mitzvah.

GUESTS: Sam Cutler, Tony Dwyer, Michael Scott, Richard Gerber, Mark Slosberg, Steve Fisher, Doug Heller, David Lemieux, Joe Schwab, Tom Wood, Bob Simmons, Thom Pallazola, John Ellis

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Enter Keith Godchaux

The Deadcast opens its 4th season with one of the most unlikely but totally true stories in Grateful Dead history: how Keith & Donna Jean Godchaux approached Jerry Garcia at a bar and announced that Keith was the Dead’s new keyboardist, going deep into Godchaux family history.

GUESTS: Brian Godchaux, Donna Jean Godchaux MacKay, Greg Anton, Sandy Rothman

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The Deadcast takes a special season-closing look at Jerry Garcia’s classic eponymous debut with co-producer Bob Matthews and friends, recorded during the summer of 1971 by Garcia and a small crew of close collaborators including Bill Kreutzmann and Robert Hunter.

GUESTS: Bob Matthews, Steve Silberman, Joe Jupille

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Playing Dead, Part 2

A truly all-star Deadcast examines the infinite approaches to playing Dead music, from traditional to radical, with a massive span of musicians who’ve played it, from jazz arrangers to indie rock heroes, from actual Dead members to Japanese cover bands.

GUESTS: Bob Weir, Oteil Burbridge, Joe Russo, Peter Shapiro, Stephen Malkmus, Ira Kaplan, Steven Bernstein, Jeff Mattson, David Gans, Holly Bowling, Dave Harrington, Shu-Hey Iwasa, Jake Rabinbach, Rebecca Adams, Gary Lambert, David Lemieux

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The Deadcast examines how the Grateful Dead became a genre and school of music unto themselves, tracing the history of Dead covers to New Jersey in 1969, Calcutta in 1975, & beyond, featuring special appearances by Phish’s Trey Anastasio & Yo La Tengo’s Ira Kaplan.

Guests: Trey Anastasio, Ira Kaplan, Henry Kaiser, John Zias, Sanjay Mishra, Rebecca Adams, Jeff Mattson, David Gans, Gary Lambert, Dennis McNally

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The Deadcast finishes its all-star “Skull & Roses” dive with cosmic diplomat Alan Trist, Courtenay Pollack’s new tie-dye speakers, a surprise trip abroad, the closing of the Fillmore West, studio parties, explorations of the album’s legendary art & infamous original name, & more.

GUESTS: Alan Trist, Bob Matthews, Rosie McGee, Rick Turner, Courtenay Pollack, Stephen Barncard, Allan Arkush, David Lemieux, Nicholas G. Meriwether, Michael Parrish

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