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1978: The Grateful Dead was between Terrapin Station and Shakedown Street, and re-setting the rules onstage. The group’s 1978 spring tour introduced “Drums” and “Space” as regular live features, and found Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann, Mickey Hart, and Keith and Donna Jean Godchaux in re-energized, post-hiatus form. Yesterday, Rhino and the band announced the release of Friend of the Devils: April 1978, a massive 19CD box containing eight previously unreleased concerts from early in the tour.

All eight shows were originally recorded by Betty Cantor-Jackson and restored and mastered by Jeffrey Norman using the Plangent Processes. Grateful Dead’s archivist David Lemieux comments in the press release, “These eight shows tell the story of a band that was engaged, inspired, and focused on bringing their A-game every single night…If there was ever a tour on which the Dead deliver every single moment, it’s this one.”

The 19CD set contains complete shows from Curtis Hixon Convention Hall, Tampa, FL (4/6/78); Sportatorium, Pembroke Pines, FL (4/7/78); Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Jacksonville, FL (4/8/78); Fox Theatre, Atlanta, GA (4/10/78 and 4/11/78); Cameron Indoor Stadium, Duke University, Durham, NC (4/12/78); Cassell Coliseum, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Blacksburg, VA (4/14/78); and Huntington Civic Center, Huntington, WV (4/16/78). The Duke concert will also be issued on September 20 in standalone form on three CDs, four LPs, and digitally.

Though the band had only been around for 13 years, their history was already a rich one. During these shows, they tackled early tunes (“Dupree’s Diamond Blues” and “New Minglewood Blues”), favorites from the 1970s (“Jack Straw” and “Eyes Of The World”), deeper cuts (“It Must Have Been The Roses”), and favorite traditional songs (“Iko Iko” and “Peggy-O”) and covers (“Johnny B. Goode” and “Good Lovin’,” soon to the opening song on Shakedown Street). Their most recent album wasn’t neglected; Terrapin Station was tapped for “Estimated Prophet” and “Dancing in the Street,” and “Fire on the Mountain” was previewed before its appearance on Shakedown Street.

The newly-introduced “Drums” and “Space” segments would remain in the Dead’s sets for the next 17 years. The “Drums” segments would find members of the band and crew joining Hart and Kreutzmann onstage for lengthy, exploratory improvisations. “Space” would follow after the “Drums” duets or solos. Liner notes author Steve Silberman remembers the “Drums” performance at Duke University: “[It] began with Billy thrashing on his kit and using his elbow to change its pitch, making it sound like a talking drum. Mickey, equally engaged, was wearing a Jerry T-shirt. Then the road crew joined the party. What’s that? Steve Parish is playing a cowbell! Finally, the big man himself comes out, strokes his beard, sits down, maybe takes a puff or a toke, and picks up a pair of sticks. Mother of God, Garcia is playing steel drums – and loving it!”

As usual for these lavish sets, the packaging is deluxe. Illustrator Steve Vance designed the collection’s custom box, which features a removable wave drum. Artist-printmaker Matthew Brannon created the set’s original artwork. The accompanying 48-page book features Silberman’s notes as well as photos by James Anderson, Bob Minkin, and others.

Look for Friend of the Devils: April 1978 on September 20; it’s available now for pre-order exclusively from Dead.net. Duke ’78 can be pre-ordered on CD or vinyl directly from Amazon or your favorite retailer. You’ll find pre-order links below. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Friend of the Devils: April 1978 (Grateful Dead/Rhino, 2024) (Dead.net)

CD 1-2: Curtis Hixon Convention Hall, Tampa, FL – 4/6/1978

1. Bertha>
2. Good Lovin’
3. Dire Wolf
4. Me and My Uncle>
5. Big River
6. Friend of the Devil
7. Passenger
8. Candyman
9. Lazy Lightning>
10. Supplication
11. Samson and Delilah
12. It Must Have Been the Roses

1. Estimated Prophet>
2. He’s Gone>
3. Rhythm Devils>
4. The Other One>
5. Wharf Rat>
6. Around and Around
7. U.S. Blues

CD 3-4: Sportatorium, Pembroke Pines, FL – 4/7/1978

1. Promised Land
2. Sugaree
3. Cassidy
4. Tennessee Jed
5. Mama Tried>
6. Mexicali Blues
7. Peggy-O
8. New Minglewood Blues
9. Loser
10. The Music Never Stopped
11. Jack Straw

1. Ship of Fools
2. Good Lovin’
3. Terrapin Station>
4. Playing in the Band>
5. Rhythm Devils>
6. Not Fade Away>
7. Black Peter>
8. Playing in the Band
9. Johnny B. Goode

CD 5-7: Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum, Jacksonville, FL – 4/8/1978

1. Mississippi Half Step Uptown Toodeloo
2. Me and My Uncle>
3. Big River
4. They Love Each Other
5. Looks Like Rain
6. Deal
7. El Paso
8. It Must Have Been the Roses
9. Lazy Lightning>
10. Supplication

1. Samson and Delilah
2. Scarlet Begonias>
3. Fire on the Mountain
4. Estimated Prophet>
5. Eyes of the World

1. Rhythm Devils>
2. Space>
3. Sugar Magnolia
4. One More Saturday Night

CD 8-9: Fox Theatre, Atlanta, GA – 4/10/1978

1. Promised Land
2. Brown-Eyed Women
3. It’s All Over Now
4. Peggy-O
5. Cassidy
6. Dire Wolf
7. El Paso
8. Row Jimmy
9. Passenger
10. Candyman
11. The Music Never Stopped

1. Jack Straw
2. Ship of Fools
3. Dancing in the Street>
4. Rhythm Devils>
5. Franklin’s Tower>
6. Black Peter>
7. Around and Around

CD 10-12: Fox Theatre, Atlanta, GA – 4/11/1978

1. Bertha>
2. Good Lovin’
3. Friend of the Devil
4. Me and My Uncle>
5. Big River
6. Tennessee Jed
7. Looks Like Rain
8. Brown-Eyed Women
9. New Minglewood Blues
10. Deal
11. U.S Blues

1. Samson and Delilah
2. Scarlet Begonias>
3. Fire on the Mountain
4. Sunrise

1. Terrapin Station>
2. Rhythm Devils>
3. Space>
4. Iko Iko>
5. Sugar Magnolia
6. Johnny B. Goode

CD 13-15: Cameron Indoor Stadium, Duke University, Durham, SC – 4/12/1978 (available separately: 3CD – Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada; 4LP – Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

1. Jack Straw
2. Dire Wolf
3. Beat It On Down the Line
4. Peggy-O
5. Mama Tried>
6. Mexicali Blues
7. Funiculi Funicula
8. Row Jimmy
9. New Minglewood Blues
10. Loser
11. Lazy Lightning>
12. Supplication

1. Bertha>
2. Good Lovin’
3. It Must Have Been the Roses
4. U.S Blues

1. Estimated Prophet>
2. Eyes of the World>
3. Rhythm Devils>
4. Truckin’>
5. Wharf Rat>
6. Around and Around

CD 16-17: Cassell Coliseum, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Blacksburg, VA – 4/14/1978

1. Promised Land
2. Tennessee Jed
3. “Me and My Uncle>
4. Big River
5. Peggy-O
6. Looks Like Rain
7. Dire Wolf
8. It’s All Over Now
9. Dupree’s Diamond Blues
10. The Music Never Stopped
11. Samson and Delilah
12. Johnny B. Goode

1. Ship of Fools
2. Dancing in the Street>
3. Rhythm Devils>
4. Space>
5. The Other One>
6. Black Peter>
7. Sugar Magnolia

CD 18-19: Huntington Civic Center, Huntington, WV – 4/16/1978

1. Jack Straw
2. Dire Wolf
3. Cassidy
4. Peggy-O
5. Mexicali Blues>
6. Mama Tried
7. They Love Each Other
8. New Minglewood Blues
9. Scarlet Begonias>
10. Fire on the Mountain
11. Samson and Delilah
12. Ship of Fools

1. Estimated Prophet>
2. Eyes of the World>
3. Rhythm Devils>
4. Space>
5. Iko Iko>
6. Sugar Magnolia
7. U.S. Blues