For the better part of ten months, Todd Snider has gone live every Sunday as part of a livestream series. Though the name has morphed over the course of time, from What It Is to The First Agnostic Church of Hope and Wonder to its current monicker The Get Together, the format has largely remained consistent as Snider mixes in beloved covers with his catalog of originals. During last week’s stream, Todd Snider fulfilled the fantasies of many of his jam-friendly fans with a cover of the Grateful Dead classic “Brokedown Palace”.
While this cover may seem a bit of a stretch at first for the folk troubadour, it actually is right in his wheelhouse. Even those who don’t keep up on the folk circuit may remember Snider’s supergroup Hard Working Americans, which was jam-packed with familiar faces from the festival scene including Dave Schools and Duane Trucks (Widespread Panic), Neal Casal (Circles Around The Sun), and more. All of this in addition to the country-folk aura that permeates American Beauty which is no-doubt attractive to Snider.
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Fittingly, with its opening line of “Fare you well my honey,” the song served as the finale to last week’s show. Immediately Snider made the cover his own by playing it in the fingerpicking style that has come to define his music. Additionally, Snider’s gruff, coffee-stained voice adds another layer of originality to a song known far and wide by Deadheads and beyond.
Watch Todd Snider cover Grateful Dead’s “Brokedown Palace” on The Get Together. Tune in to new installments of the livestream series Sundays at 11 a.m. CT via Sinder’s YouTube channel.
Todd Snider – “Brokedown Palace” (Grateful Dead)