The Only Time the Grateful Dead Ever Played Alaska - Anchorage West High Auditorium 6/21/1980 Set 1
GenX Adulting Podcast · 10/16/2026 · 78 min
Grateful Dead — June 21, 1980 — West High Auditorium, Anchorage, AK. The only shows the band ever played in Alaska. This is the Grateful Dead on the summer solstice, under the midnight sun on the final night of the only run of shows the band ever played in Alaska. This cassette holds a tight, song-rich first set that closes with Feel Like a Stranger instead of opening with it. Recorded to cassette from my personal collection and transferred from the original tape. As a special bonus and a window into tape collecting in the mid-'1980s, the second-set opener, Big Railroad Blues, was tacked onto the second side of the tape as "filler." This was common back in the day, and confusing as hell for a new, pre-Internet collector and fan. At 15, I understood the concept of two sets and an encore, but it was still pretty abstract to me, so when a "bonus" track got thrown in, I took it in stride. As far as I knew the set ended there, and my ignorance was pure bliss. I originally chose this show because the Sugaree and New Minglewood Blues always stood out to me, and it's a tape I've come back to over the years and mentioned among other Heads as something to check out. Going through it again, I was quickly drawn into the dynamics between Jerry and Brent and with headphones on, Phil really jumps out in the mix, driving as always. Once you think you've got a handle on things, Bobby lights it up on the slide, and then the whole thing chills out for the Candyman. From there it's back on, until it comes back to earth with Far From Me and Ramble On Rose, before kicking back up for the Feel Like a Stranger set-closer. As always, I don't recommend skipping ahead, but the chapter markers below let you do just that. :-) Historical Context: June 1980 was the Dead's 15th-anniversary year and the first full year of the Brent Mydland lineup. Go to Heaven had been released just two months earlier (April 1980), and this set leans into it. Feel Like a Stranger and the Brent-sung Far From Me were both brand-new material still finding their legs on stage. The three solstice-week shows were at West High School's ~2,000-seat auditorium and are the only concerts the Grateful Dead ever played in Alaska, before or after. What are your memories of this show? Was this performance underrated, overrated, or just right? Share your thoughts in the comments. This cassette series is dedicated to sharing memorable Grateful Dead performances from a personal cassette collection assembled over decades of collecting, trading, and preserving live recordings.