The Grateful Dead served an essential function for music lovers in the New Jersey and New York region, and Bob Weir knew it.

"We were their personal ray of California sunshine," Weir, the singer, guitarist and co-founder of the Dead, told me in 2015. "We felt that, and they demanded that of us."

Well, we could all use a bit of that sunshine these days.

As the coronavirus pandemic continues around the world, its impact is being felt in the the arts. There's a statewide curfew in place and nightclubs, performing arts centers, bars, caisnos and movie theaters are closed until further notice.

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The concert world has come to a halt, even for the Grateful Dead family. Bassist Phil Lesh's 80th birthday shows, scheduled for March at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, were postponed, as were Weir's dates backed by the Wolf Bros.

Dead and Company — featuring Weir and Grateful Dead drummers Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann — saw its summer 2020 tour, which was supposed to include an Aug. 1 bow at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, cancelled.

But my fellow Deadheads, don't worry — we will get by.

To help us pass the time while we're all hard at work social distancing at home, here are four classic Grateful Dead shows you can listen to right now, for free, via streaming service Spotify.

Combined, these shows represent 87 songs lasting more than 11 hours recorded over nearly 20 years. You can hear the Dead at different stages of their history, digging deep in theaters, a stadium and a racetrack, building live-wire soundscapes that will sturdily stand through even the darkest of times.

So read on and give these shows a listen. One way or another, this darkness got to give.

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Sept. 27, 1972, at the Stanley Theater, Jersey City

From the opening blast of the apocalyptic folk saga "Morning Dew," you know this is going to be a special one.

Released in 1998 as Volume 11 in the band's archival Dick's Picks series, the Sept. 27, 1972, show at Jersey City's Stanley Theatre is a sprawling behemoth, 25 songs that collectively approach the three-and-a-half hour mark.

The "Dew" opener is a stone cold stunner, and a portent of other expansive endeavors throughout the night, with "Bird Song" and "Dark Star" each getting their due.

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But the night's true through-line also starts in "Dew," a cover of a song by Canadian folk singer Bonnie Dobson.

The Dead, only two years removed from the country-rock tandem "Workingman's Dead" and "American Beauty" studio LPs, return to the roots time and again for sturdy renderings of twangy gems like "Ramble On Rose," "He's Gone" and "El Paso." It's a down-home Jersey City delight.

June 18, 1976, at the Capitol Theatre, Passaic

Say you're looking to kick back and find a bit of tranquility after a long day, hoping to make the best of life in trying and uncertain times. Visit this hot summer night in Passaic; the sound is mid-'70s lush, bolstered by the passionate backing vocals of Donna Jean Godchaux and the elegant piano playing of her husband, Keith.

The vibe is relaxed and the tempos restrained; "St. Stephen," once a hard-rocking late-'60s powerhouse, takes on the stately feel of holy scripture here.

A sweet highlight can be found early on in a gorgeous performance of "Mission in the Rain," a shimmering ballad only played by the Dead a handful of times before landing solely in the repertoire of the Jerry Garcia Band.

This show was released in 2005 as part of the Dead's Download Series. To stick with this period, check out "June 1976," a 15-disc boxed set due out Friday, March 20. The set includes the previously-unreleased recording from the following night, June 19, 1976, also at the Capitol Theatre.

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Sept. 3, 1977, at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, Englishtown

This is the big one.

The Dead's Sept. 3, 1977, appearance at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park drew a reported 107,000 to the site, making it the biggest concert in New Jersey history and one of the highest-attended non-festival shows ever.

It also marked a personal milestone for Mickey Hart, as the drummer told me in 2016.

“I had gotten into an automobile accident and this was the first time the Grateful Dead had played after I’d recovered," Hart said. "This was our first show (back), so it was really an important show for me. This was kind of my comeback from my injury; I didn't know it was going to be (in front of) like 175,000 people! It was a great concert. I had a wonderful time. I made it through. It felt good.”

The show, released in 1999 as Volume 15 of the Dick's Picks series, finds Weir in fine, frisky rock 'n' roller form, charging through the likes of "New Minglewood Blues," "Good Lovin' " and "Estimated Prophet" with punchy aplomb.

Garcia beautifully serves as Weir's counterpoint, his playing as majestic as ever with stunning passes through "Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo," "Peggy-O" and a "Terrapin Station" suite for the ages.

June 17, 1991, at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford

The Grateful Dead spent plenty of time at East Rutherford's Meadowlands Sports Complex; between the former Brendan Byrne Arena and Giants Stadium they played there a combined 30 times, according to online fan database DeadLists.

"It became very intimate, being able to relax and play in the stadium set-up," Hart said earlier this year of the Dead's time at Giants Stadium. "You know, that took a long time to learn and so we kind of rolled that into what we do today. We really came to play really well in stadiums."

There's a sense of comfort, a playfulness even, that can be found in the band's June 17, 1991, Giants Stadium show, released last year as the live album "Saint of Circumstance" and screened in cinemas as the 2019 "Grateful Dead Meet-Up at the Movies" event.

"I'm as guilty of hyperbole when it comes to the Dead as anyone who loves this band, but this really is a remarkable show," said band archivist and legacy manager David Lemieux.

The positive vibes begin with the show-opening "Eyes of the World." According to Lemieux, this was the first time the band opened a show with that number, introduced into its repertoire nearly 20 years earlier — and the performance is accentuated by inventive interplay between Garcia and keyboard player Bruce Hornsby.

"You hear how inspired (they are), and I think another good word for it is engaged. They were present," said Lemieux. "And that's something that I think when you're touring and you've played by this point 2,000 shows together the level engagement might not be what it is every night. But on this night you hear it."

The show is one of five included on the "Giants Stadium 1987, 1989, 1991" boxed set released in 2019.