Officially licensed by Stanford University and the Grateful Dead – available exclusively from Class Trip. This one’s official, and long overdue. The Grateful Dead’s roots run deep in Palo Alto. In July 1964, future members Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, and Ron “Pigpen” McKernan performed as Mother McCree’s Uptown Jug Champions at The Top of the Tangent, a coffeehouse on University Avenue. Stanford students recorded these performances, which were later broadcast on campus radio station KZSU. The band’s first official performance at Stanford was on February 9, 1973, at Maples Pavilion. This show served as a trial run for the Alembic sound system that would eventually evolve into the legendary Wall of Sound. From 1982 to 1989, the Dead played 14 shows at the Frost Amphitheater, turning it into a beloved venue for fans. Stanford and Palo Alto mattered because they sat at the crossroads, academic rigor, creative freedom, and a rapidly evolving Northern California counterculture. That mix helped shape the Dead’s DNA: curious, collaborative, and endlessly exploratory.
The official Stanford x Grateful Dead collection honors where it all began, early iterations, restless ideas, and a belief in going further than the map allowed. Before the legend traveled the world, it was taking shape right in Palo Alto.
