

While to some degree this was buried in the announcement regarding the forthcoming release of the Grateful Dead’s May 1977: Get Shown The Light box set, the famed Betty Boards are now officially part of the Grateful Dead vault.

A few years ago we reported on the saga of the Betty Boards, which include more than 350 reels of Grateful Dead soundboards recorded by audio crew member Betty Cantor-Jackson, that found their way into a May 1986 storage auction in California’s Marin County (you can read the entire saga here). These tapes remained in private hands for many years, although copies did eventually circulate (eventually some of the original reels began to deteriorate before Rob Eaton helped to restore them). For many, of course, the Holy Grail may well be the May 8, 1977 show in Ithaca, NY at Cornell’s Barton Hall.

Archivist David Lemieux notes, “During the 18+ years I’ve worked with the Grateful Dead, no concert has garnered as much attention and as many requests for release as Cornell, with the New Haven, Boston, and Buffalo shows following very closely behind. For those who didn’t know the history of these master tapes and about their absence from the band’s vault, and for those who have, like us, lamented this hole in the collection, we join with you in celebrating what might be, minute-for-minute, song-for-song, the most high quality Grateful Dead release ever produced.”



May 1977: Get Shown The Light presents 5/8/77, along with three previously unreleased performances: Veterans’ Memorial Coliseum, New Haven, CT (5/5/77), Boston Garden, Boston, MA (5/7/77), and Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo, NY (5/9/77).

As for what might well follow, here is a list of known Grateful Dead Betty Boards:

02.18.71 The Capitol Theater, Port Chester, New York

02.19.71 The Capitol Theater, Port Chester, New York

02.20.71 The Capitol Theater, Port Chester, New York

02.21.71 The Capitol Theater, Port Chester, New York

02.23.71 The Capitol Theater, Port Chester, New York

02.24.71 The Capitol Theater, Port Chester, New York

04.05.71 Manhattan Center, New York City (End Of 2nd Set Only)

04.06.71 Manhattan Center, New York City

04.07.71 Boston Music Hall, Boston, Massachusetts

04.08.71 Boston Music Hall, Boston, Massachusetts

12.14.71 The Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor, Michigan

05.04.72 The Olympia Theater, Paris, France

08.21.72 Berkeley Community Theater, Berkeley, California

08.22.72 Berkeley Community Theater, Berkeley, California

08.25.72 Berkeley Community Theater, Berkeley, California

08.27.72 Old Renaissance Faire Ground, Veneta, Oregon

03.16.73 Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, Long Island, New York

03.21.73 Memorial Auditorium, Utica, New York

03.22.73 Memorial Auditorium, Utica, New York

03.24.73 Spectrum Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

05.26.73 Kezar Stadium, San Francisco, California

06.22.73 Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver, B.C.

06.10.76 The Boston Music Hall, Boston, Massachusetts

06.11.76 The Boston Music Hall, Boston, Massachusetts

06.14.76 The Beacon Theater, New York City

06.15.76 The Beacon Theater, New York City

06.29.76 The Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, Illinois

02.26.77 The Swing Auditorium, San Bernadino, California

05.05.77 New Haven Coliseum, New Haven, Connecticut

05.07.77 Boston Gardens, Boston, Massachusetts

05.08.77 Barton Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York

05.09.77 War Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo, New York

09.29.77 The Paramount Theater, Seattle, Washington

10.02.77 The Paramount Theater, Portland, Oregon

10.28.77 Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall, Kansas City, Missouri

10.29.77 Field House, Northern Illinois University, Dekalb, Illinois

10.30.77 Assembly Hall, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana

11.01.77 Cobo Hall, Detroit, Michigan

11.05.77 War Memorial, Rochester, New York (End Of Show)

11.06.77 Broome County Arena, Binghamton, New York

04.07.78 Hollywood Sportatorium, Hollywood, Florida

04.10.78 The Fox Theater, Atlanta, Georgia

04.11.78 The Fox Theater, Atlanta, Georgia

04.12.78 Cameroon Indoor Stadium, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina

04.14.78 Coliseum, Virginia Polytechnic, Blacksburg, Virginia

04.15.78 William And Mary College, Williamsburg, Virginia

07.07.78 Red Rocks Amphitheater, Morrison, Colorado

07.08.78 Red Rocks Amphitheater, Morrison, Colorado

10.18.78 Winterland, San Francisco, California

04.22.79 Spartan Stadium, San Jose, California