As the decades pass since the Grateful Dead’s inception in 1965, the group’s music lives on and thrives. Over the weekend, The Barton Hills Choir from Austin, Texas posted a heartwarming video that highlights exactly why this beloved music is not likely to fade away. The Barton Hills Choir is made up of 2nd through 6th graders from Austin, Texas’s Barton Hills Elementary School along with local musicians. In this latest video, during an end-of-year assembly, the choir performs the Dead’s legendary ballad, “Brokedown Palace” with their chorus with dozens of singers, a piano, drums, guitar, and bass. Ringing in at four minutes in length, the video highlights a number of young soloists as well as a musical interlude that lets the adult musicians show off their chops.

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The Barton Hills Choir has a history of performing Dead tunes over the last year. Their angelic rendition of “Fire on the Mountain” was arranged by Mickey Hart himself and shared widely around the web. In September of last year, the group released a sixteen-track album featuring hits from David BowieThe Foo Fighters, and the Dead, including numbers like “Touch Of Grey,” “Ripple,” and “Cassidy.” You can listen to their album here.

 

In the comments of the video, the Barton Hills Choir noted that there’s more Grateful Dead on the way from this group of stellar young performers, stating that the choir will work on “Box of Rain” next and that it’s the “hardest song ever.” Videos of children singing the Grateful Dead and other bands we love inevitably hold a special place in many of our hearts, as it only underlines the point that the music has a voice with the next generation and that they’re just as eager to keep it alive. You can check out the video of the Barton Hills Choir’s rendition of “Brokedown Palace” below, courtesy of the group, and keep your eyes peeled for their version of “Box Of Rain” next school year!

Brokedown Palace – The Barton Hills Choir