On Saturday night, Dead & Company made their way to Eugene, Oregon for their first-ever performance at Autzen Stadium. The show was particularly special for Dead & Co by all accounts—including the account of bassist Oteil Burbridge.

Update 4/4/20: Watch the live re-broadcast of Dead & Company’s memorable Eugene, OR show on 6/30/18 below and check out an incredible photo gallery from the show by Dave Vann here:

Dead & Company – Eugene, OR – 6/30/18

After taking a few hours to reflect and bask in the glow of Dead & Co’s Eugene performance, Burbridge took to Facebook on Sunday to gush about the experience. Read the post below:

Confession: I previously thought my favorite place to play with Dead & Company was Alpine Valley. I had always heard about how great those Grateful Dead shows were. But last night in Eugene, OR was something different.

It was like some kind of GD nerve center. Like the “Old Growth Forest” of Deadheads. I’m not sure how to describe it but it was a new high for me and it revealed an even deeper level of the love this particular fanbase has to offer.

And I say this having just had another transcendent night at the Gorge so you know it must have been SERIOUS at Autzen Stadium last night.

Thank you to my bandmates and thank you #Deadheads old and new 

While Saturday marked the Eugene debut for this new Grateful Dead offshoot, the original Grateful Dead were frequent visitors to the University of Oregon football stadium, playing 10 shows there between their debut in 1978 and their final run in 1994.

Along with his post, Oteil shared a beautiful photo of the performance courtesy of veteran photographer Dave Vann. Among countless other shows by countless other bands over the years, Vann previously made the trip to Eugene to capture shots of a Grateful Dead performance in 1994. He returned to Autzen on Saturday to capture the magic of this new chapter in the proverbial book of the Dead, and the results were simply spectacular.

Below, check out some of Dave Vann’s photos from the Grateful Dead in Eugene on June 18th, 1994, as well as a full gallery of images from Dead & Co’s “transcendent night” in Oregon. You can also read a full recap and watch some pro-shot videos from the performance here.

Dead & Company’s tour continues down the west coast with performances tonight, July 2nd, and tomorrow, July 3rd, at in the heart of Grateful Dead country at Mountain View, CA’s Shoreline Amphitheater. For a full list of the band’s upcoming tour dates, head here.