What a long strange trip it’s been for the Grateful Dead — and it’s a journey that’s now past the 60-year mark.
The San Francisco legends have been celebrating that milestone throughout 2025. Dead & Company, featuring surviving members Bob Weir and Mickey Hart, will assemble for a trio of sold-out live dates in their hometown beginning Friday (Aug. 3).
Ultimate Classic Rock Nights has a chance for you to pay your own tribute closer to home with a special prize pack loaded to the brim with live Dead. Among the goodies, one lucky fan will win a copy of The Music Never Stopped, a new box set which rounds up highlights from a quarter-century of the band’s performances, spread across six LPs.
As historian Jesse Jarnow writes in the liner notes, the story of the Dead hardly happened overnight, but was instead the result of the band “virtually building a circuit of venues for themselves, with the help of promoters and booking agents,” naming off iconic industry figures like Bill Graham, John Scher and others. Hearing venue names like the Spectrum in Philadelphia, the Hartford Civic Center, Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum and New York’s Fillmore East will trigger a huge stack of memories before a single note even hits your speakers.
Listen to the Grateful Dead’s ‘Scarlet Begonias’ at the Greek Theatre in 1984
The Grateful Dead Movie has its own special place in the hearts of Dead fans. The 1977 concert film will be the spotlight of this year’s Meet-Up at the Movies, which has become an annual favorite. Fans can relive the experience — including some special IMAX screenings — starting on Aug. 13, presented by Trafalgar Releasing. The Grateful Dead Movie collected some of the best moments from five magical nights at San Francisco’s historic Winterland Arena in October of 1974 and has been newly remastered with bonus footage included for the first time.
In addition to the previously mentioned The Music Never Stopped Box set, our lucky winner will also receive a commemorative poster for The Grateful Dead Movie, plus a hoodie and a cap. Additional winners will receive copies of The Music Never Stopped on CD.
For your chance to win, simply enter your name, email and phone number into the entry form at the top of this page. You will be added to UCR’s daily newsletter mailing list. The contest ends August 9, 2025 at 11:59pm EST.
Watch the ‘Grateful Dead Movie 2025 Meet-Up’ Trailer
Grateful Dead Albums Ranked
Even the band’s most ardent supporters admit that making LPs wasn’t one of their strengths.
Gallery Credit: Michael Gallucci
