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

Date Concert Venue Location
Dec 31, 1981
Grateful Dead

New Year's Eve

  Setlists
Oakland Arena Oakland, California, United States
Show Duplicate for Dec 31, 1981
Dec 30, 1981
Grateful Dead
  Setlists
Oakland Auditorium San Francisco, California, United States
Dec 28, 1981
Grateful Dead
  Setlists
Oakland Auditorium San Francisco, California, United States
Dec 27, 1981
Grateful Dead
  Setlists
Oakland Auditorium San Francisco, California, United States
Dec 26, 1981
Grateful Dead
  Setlists
Oakland Auditorium San Francisco, California, United States
Dec 12, 1981
Grateful Dead
  Setlists
Fiesta Hall, San Mateo County Fairgrounds San Francisco, California, United States
Dec 09, 1981
Grateful Dead
  Setlists
CU Events Center Boulder, Colorado, United States
Dec 07, 1981
Grateful Dead
  Setlists
Civic Center of Greater Des Moines Des Moines, Iowa, United States
Show Duplicate for Dec 07, 1981
Dec 06, 1981
Grateful Dead
  Setlists
Allstate Arena Rosemont, Illinois, United States
Show Duplicate for Dec 06, 1981
Dec 05, 1981
Grateful Dead
  Setlists
Market Square Arena Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
Dec 03, 1981
Grateful Dead
  Setlists
Coliseum at Alliant Energy Center Madison, Wisconsin, United States
Dec 02, 1981
Grateful Dead
  Setlists
State Farm Center Champaign, Illinois, United States
Show Duplicate for Dec 02, 1981
Nov 30, 1981
Grateful Dead
  Photos   Setlists
Hara Arena Trotwood, Ohio, United States
Nov 29, 1981
Grateful Dead
  Setlists
Mellon Arena Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Show Duplicate for Nov 29, 1981
Oct 19, 1981
Grateful Dead
  Setlists
Palau Dels Esports Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Oct 17, 1981
The Grateful Dead
  Photos   Setlists
Hippodrome de Paris Paris, Île-de-France, France
Show Duplicates for Oct 17, 1981
Oct 16, 1981
Grateful Dead
  Photos   Setlists
Melkweg Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands
Oct 15, 1981
Grateful Dead
  Photos   Setlists
Melkweg Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands
Oct 13, 1981
Grateful Dead
  Photos   Setlists
Walter Köbel Halle Rüsselsheim am Main, Hesse, Germany
Oct 12, 1981
Grateful Dead
  Setlists
Olympiahalle Munich, Bavaria, Germany

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
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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 7 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
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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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