Grateful Dead's 1981 Concert History

Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. Originally known as the Warlocks, the band's first show took place on May 5, 1965. On December 4, 1965, the band performed their first show as the "Grateful Dead" during one of Ken Kessey's series of parties known as the "Acid Tests". The band's loyal fanbase, commonly referred to as "Deadheads", quickly gained widespread recognition for following the Dead on their tours, their countercultural lifestyle, opposition to the Vietnam War, and open use of psychedelic substances like LSD and cannabis. The Grateful Dead performed together for three decades until founding member Jerry Garcia's death on August 9, 1995, exactly one month after the Grateful Dead's final concert. Subsequently, many other spinoff bands emerged, including Dead & Company, Phil Lesh & Friends, and Bob Weir & RatDog.

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Grateful Dead had 87 concerts in 1981 (Page 2)

Date Concert Venue Location
Oct 10, 1981
Grateful Dead
  Photos   Setlists
Stadthalle 4 Bremen, Bremen, Germany
Oct 08, 1981
Grateful Dead
  Setlists
Forum Theater Copenhagen, Capital Region, Denmark
Oct 06, 1981
Grateful Dead
  Photos   Setlists
Rainbow Theatre London, England, United Kingdom
Oct 04, 1981
Grateful Dead
  Setlists
Rainbow Theatre London, England, United Kingdom
Oct 03, 1981
Grateful Dead
  Photos   Setlists
Rainbow Theatre London, England, United Kingdom
Oct 02, 1981
Grateful Dead
  Setlists
Rainbow Theatre London, England, United Kingdom
Sep 30, 1981
Grateful Dead
  Photos   Setlists
Edinburgh Playhouse Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom
Sep 27, 1981
Grateful Dead
  Setlists
Capital Centre Landover, Maryland, United States
Show Duplicate for Sep 27, 1981
Sep 26, 1981
Grateful Dead
  Photos   Setlists
Buffalo Memorial Auditorium Buffalo, New York, United States
Sep 25, 1981
Grateful Dead
  Setlists
Stabler Arena, Lehigh University Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States
Sep 13, 1981
Grateful Dead
  Photos   Setlists
William Randolph Hearst Greek Theatre, University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, California, United States
Sep 12, 1981
Grateful Dead
  Photos   Setlists
William Randolph Hearst Greek Theatre, University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, California, United States
Sep 11, 1981
Grateful Dead
  Photos   Setlists
William Randolph Hearst Greek Theatre, University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, California, United States
Aug 31, 1981
Grateful Dead
  Setlists
Aladdin Theatre Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Aug 30, 1981
Grateful Dead
  Setlists
Compton Terrace, Legend City Tempe, Arizona, United States
Aug 28, 1981
Grateful Dead
  Photos   Setlists
Long Beach Arena Long Beach, California, United States
Aug 27, 1981
Grateful Dead
  Photos   Setlists
Long Beach Arena Long Beach, California, United States
Aug 16, 1981
Grateful Dead
  Setlists
McArthur Court, University of Oregon Salem, Oregon, United States
Show Duplicate for Aug 16, 1981
Aug 15, 1981
Grateful Dead
  Setlists
Veterans Memorial Coliseum Portland, Oregon, United States
Show Duplicates for Aug 15, 1981
Aug 14, 1981
Grateful Dead
  Photos   Setlists
Seattle Center Coliseum Seattle, Washington, United States

Videos from 1981 View All 1981 Videos

Grateful Dead - Touch of Grey

Grateful Dead
Jul 13, 1981
 Denver, Colorado, United States
  Embedded by Mark and Mary

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Grateful Dead
May 4, 1981
 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
  Embedded by zimtrim

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Grateful Dead
May 6, 1981
 Uniondale, New York, United States
  Embedded by SCMusicman

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Photos from 1981 View All 1981 Photos

Grateful Dead on Oct 13, 1981 [711-small]

Grateful Dead
Oct 13, 1981
 Rüsselsheim am Main, Hesse, Germany
  Uploaded by zimtrim

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Grateful Dead on Oct 15, 1981 [360-small]

Grateful Dead
Oct 15, 1981
 Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands
  Uploaded by Ernst Boswinkel

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Grateful Dead on Oct 15, 1981 [362-small]

Grateful Dead
Oct 15, 1981
 Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands
  Uploaded by Ernst Boswinkel

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Grateful Dead on Oct 16, 1981 [363-small]

Grateful Dead
Oct 16, 1981
 Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands
  Uploaded by Ernst Boswinkel

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Grateful Dead on Mar 6, 1981 [073-small]

Grateful Dead
Mar 6, 1981
 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
  Uploaded by zimtrim

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Grateful Dead on Aug 14, 1981 [302-small]

Grateful Dead
Aug 14, 1981
 Seattle, Washington, United States
  Uploaded by Andrew Penta

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Grateful Dead on Aug 27, 1981 [954-small]

Grateful Dead
Aug 27, 1981
 Long Beach, California, United States
  Uploaded by zimtrim

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Grateful Dead on Aug 28, 1981 [955-small]

Grateful Dead
Aug 28, 1981
 Long Beach, California, United States
  Uploaded by zimtrim

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Grateful Dead on Sep 11, 1981 [956-small]

Grateful Dead
Sep 11, 1981
 Berkeley, California, United States
  Uploaded by zimtrim

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Grateful Dead on Sep 12, 1981 [958-small]

Grateful Dead
Sep 12, 1981
 Berkeley, California, United States
  Uploaded by zimtrim

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Grateful Dead on Sep 13, 1981 [959-small]

Grateful Dead
Sep 13, 1981
 Berkeley, California, United States
  Uploaded by zimtrim

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Grateful Dead on Jul 14, 1981 [931-small]

Grateful Dead
Jul 14, 1981
 Denver, Colorado, United States
  Uploaded by Don Seybold

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Genres:

Rock
Pop Rock
Classic Rock
Psychedelic Rock
Folk Rock
Blues Rock
Country Rock
Psychedelic
Jam Band
Roots Rock
Acid Rock
Plunderphonics
Jam
Cosmic American
Double Drumming
Show more genres

Latest Setlist (04/25/2026):

Play YouTube Playlist
  1. Don't Ease Me In
  2. Jack Straw
  3. Candyman
  4. Black-Throated Wind
  5. Mr. Charlie
  6. Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again
  7. Bird Song
  8. Promised Land
  9. Let It Rock
  10. Playing in the Band
  11. Wooden Ships
  12. Drums
  13. Space
  14. The Wheel
  15. Black Peter
  16. Throwing Stones
  17. The Golden Road (to Unlimited Devotion)
  18. One More Saturday Night
  19. Keep Your Day Job

View Concert

Concerts Per Year:

2026 1 concert
2015 5 concerts
1995 52 concerts
1994 87 concerts
1993 91 concerts
1992 55 concerts
1991 81 concerts
1990 75 concerts
1989 77 concerts
1988 82 concerts
1987 91 concerts
1986 51 concerts
1985 72 concerts
1984 67 concerts
1983 69 concerts
1982 64 concerts
1981 87 concerts
1980 90 concerts
1979 78 concerts
1978 83 concerts
1977 66 concerts
1976 43 concerts
1975 8 concerts
1974 45 concerts
1973 78 concerts
1972 89 concerts
1971 89 concerts
1970 147 concerts
1969 144 concerts
1968 136 concerts
1967 125 concerts
1966 119 concerts
1965 21 concerts
See more attendees:

Comments & Reviews:

Dec 02, 2025

Epic show

Aug 27, 2024

I truly wish everyone got a chance to see The Grateful Dead. Unfortunately anything after 1995 is NOT The Grateful Dead.
There's been some wonderful post Jerry shows played by surviving members. Cherish that you saw their songbook live even though it wasn't The Grateful Dead

Feb 01, 2023

Somebody needs to fix this shit. The grateful dead done in 1995. Why is Dead and Co listed as the Grateful Dead?

Aug 10, 2019

how do i change the fucking date . . . of red rocks show to 1985 ?

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