Forty-five years ago tonight, May 28th, 1977, the Grateful Dead brought arguably the most famous North American tour of their career to a close with a performance at the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, CT.
The final stop in Hartford capped a month-long run which heard the band deliver impressively tight performances almost every night along the tour. Throughout the 1977 spring run, the Dead delivered memorable shows including their famous concert at Cornell University’s Barton Hall on May 8th, Buffalo’s War Memorial Auditorium on May 9th, and The Sportatorium in Pembroke Pines, FL on May 22nd.
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The final show of the tour was just as memorable, as the 19-song performance at the Hartford Civic Center would later be released by the band via Rhino Entertainment in 2009 as To Terrapin: May 28th, 1977 Hartford, CT (Live).
Fans who attended the tour-closing performance were treated to fantastic live takes of “Bertha”, “Good Lovin'”, “Sugaree”, “Row Jimmy”, “Candyman”, and “Brown Eyed Women” in the first set, and “Tennessee Jed”, “Estimated Prophet”, “Terrapin Station”, “Not Fade Away”, and “One More Saturday Night” in the second. The show, and tour, came to a fitting close with the encore performance of “U.S. Blues”.
Relive the band’s final stop on their spring ’77 tour with To Terrapin via the Spotify player below.
Grateful Dead – To Terrapin: May 28th, 1977 Hartford, CT (Live)
Setlist: Grateful Dead | Hartford Civic Center | Hartford, CT | 5/28/77
Set One: Bertha > Good Lovin’ > Sugaree, Jack Straw, Row Jimmy, New Minglewood Blues, Candyman, Passenger, Brown Eyed Women, Promised Land
Set Two: Samson and Delilah, Tennessee Jed, Estimated Prophet > Playing in the Band > Terrapin Station > Not Fade Away > Wharf Rat > Playing in the Band > One More Saturday Night
Encore: U.S. Blues
[Originally published 5/28/20]