Round Records will issue GarciaLive Volume Ten: May 20th, 1990 Hilo Civic Auditorium featuring the Jerry Garcia Band on February 23. Jerry Garcia only performed twice in Hawaii, a state that had deep meaning to him, outside of the Grateful Dead’s visit to the islands in 1970. The new GarciaLive archival release features the second of two May 1990 JGB shows that took place in Hawaii.

GarciaLive Volume Ten was recorded on May 20, 1990 at the Hilo Civic Auditorium in Hilo, Hawaii. Eight days prior, the Jerry Garcia Band performed at the Waikiki Shell in Honolulu. Not only will the new release be available as a two-CD set, GarciaLive 10 will also be issued as a digital download and served up to streaming services. Look for the set to include an extensive essay by longtime Grateful Dead publicist and biographer Dennis McNally.


Jerry fell in love with Hawaii when he went to the islands to continue his recuperation from a 1986 diabetic coma. There, he developed an interest and passion for the island paradise and the rehabilitative sanctuary of its undersea world. Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann introduced Jerry to diving and Garcia quickly embraced the hobby, as under the sea he found a respite from the pressures of the world.

1990 was a particularly good year for the Jerry Garcia Band, which found the guitarist joined by Melvin Seals on keyboards, John Kahn on bass, David Kemper on drums and vocalists Gloria Jones and Jacklyn LaBranch. The JGB’s May 20, 1990 concert was a benefit for the Ocean Recreational Council of Hawaii. Hilo is located on the big island, but unlike Maui and Waikiki Beach, still had a warm, rural-like community and featured a relaxed vibe.


Highlights from the May 20, 1990 show are plentiful and start right away with a joyous “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)” and the Garcia/Hunter classic “They Love Each Other.” The JGB embraced the island vibe by performing reggae covers of tunes by Jimmy Cliff (“The Harder They Come”) and Peter Tosh (“Stop That Train”) as well as more contemporary songs (at the time) by Los Lobos (“Evangeline”) and Bruce Cockburn (“Waiting For A Miracle”) and R&B/gospel classics by Don Nix/Dan Penn (“Like A Road Leading Home”), Haven Gillespie/Beasley Smith (“That Lucky Old Son”) and Charles Johnson “My Sisters and Brothers).

Other highlights were a handful of Bob Dylan songs the Jerry Garcia Band loved to play: “Tough Mama,” “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door,” “Forever Young” and the show-closing, magnificent version of “Tangled Up In Blue.” Also of note is a rare version of “Tears Of Rage,” a song Dylan co-wrote with Richard Manuel that The Band wound up recording and releasing as part of 1968’s Music From Big Pink.


GarciaLive Volume Ten: May 20th, 1990 Hilo Civic Auditorium is available for pre-order here.

Listen to “They Love Each Other” from the new release:


GarciaLive Volume Ten Tracklist

Disc One

How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) They Love Each Other Tough Mama Like A Road Leading Home Run For The Roses The Way You Do The Things You Do My Sisters & Brothers Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door Deal

Disc Two