Notable Guests
When other legends sat in.
11 nights documented in Curator's notes when somebody iconic joined the stage — Janis on Lovelight, Duane in '71, Townshend on Not Fade Away, Dylan's three-set summer of '87, Neil Young + Popper + Fogerty in one MSG night.
Neal Cassady
11/10/6771Los Angeles CA - 2/23/17 · Shrine AuditoriumCassady's signature spoken-word rap between Cryptical and Alligator — Pranksters-era stage cameo, three months before his death
Janis Joplin
6/7/6943San Fran, CA · Fillmore WestOn Lovelight with Pigpen
Duane Allman · Gregg Allman · Mick Fleetwood
2/11/7047Nyc · Fillmore EastDark Star–Spanish–Lovelight
Duane Allman
4/26/7160Nyc · Fillmore EastSix months before his death
The Beach Boys
4/27/7184Nyc · Fillmore EastPlayed multiple songs with and without the Dead
Bo Diddley
3/25/7299New York, NY · Academy of MusicBo plays his own catalog with the Dead as backing band — I'm A Man, Mona, Say Boss Man, Bo Diddley-Itis. ~15 tracks before the Dead's own set starts. Dick's Picks Vol 30.
Dickey Betts · Butch Trucks
6/10/7383Washington, DC · Robert F, Kennedy StadiumAllman Brothers members sit in for the third set of the longest show the Dead ever played, over four hours. The ABB opened the bill that day at RFK; Dickey Betts trades solos on That's Alright Mama.
Pete Townshend
3/28/8130Essen, XG · Gruga Halle"One of the greatest Fade Aways of all time"
Bob Dylan
7/10 & 7/12/8741Philadelphia, PA · Jfk StadiumThree-set shows, third set with Dylan (also sat in 7/12)
Branford Marsalis
9/10/9182New York, NY · Madison Square GardenBranford joins for ~17-minute Eyes of the World — one of the most-cited jam moments of the entire Hornsby era and post-Brent Dead. Available on Dave's Picks Vol 23 (the September 1991 MSG run) and on Without a Net (1990 LP, which collected various 1990-91 Branford sit-ins).
John Popper · John Fogerty · Neil Young
11/3/9135San Francisco, CA · Polo Field, Golden Gate ParkAll on different tracks