The Allman Brothers & The Grateful Dead

Several acts from the 1969 July 4th weekend Atlanta International Pop Festival stayed in town to participate in a free concert Monday, July 7th, in Atlanta's Piedmont Park. (These included Spirit, Chicago Transit Authority, It's A Beautiful Day, and Delaney & Bonnie & Friends.) Macon's Allman Brothers Band had not performed at the pop festival, but joined the roster for the Monday concert. The Grateful Dead, also not at the festival, played the free concert, too. It was the first meeting of the two bands, and, by the end of the day, their first jam together. The history of both bands would come to include their shared propensity for extensive jams. The Allmans, in July 1969, were already familiar with The Dead, having seen them at the December 1968 Miami Pop Festival. The Allman Brothers Band formed in early Spring of 1969, and by July they drew substantial crowds for their spontaneous Sunday performances in Piedmont Park. Their local following had become well-rooted, and the band commuted weekends from Macon to Atlanta to showcase what they'd worked on during the week. Their eponymous first album would be released in November that year by Phil Walden's Capricorn Records.

Jerry Garcia, photo by Bill Fibben
The Great Speckled Bird,
Vol, 3, No. 20, May 18, 1970

May 10, 1970, the Grateful Dead were booked to perform at Atlanta's Sports Arena. Their equipment was stuck in Boston, the fault of their airline. The Allman Brothers generously loaned them their gear to ensure The Dead could fulfill their engagement. (The ABBs had played the Georgia Tech coliseum the night before.) It helped that the two bands were of a similar configuration. One photo, taken by Bill Fibben of The Great Speckled Bird, confirms the story. The Allman Brothers Band was not on the bill, but Duane, Gregg, Berry Oakley, and Butch Trucks joined The Dead in a legendary jam to close out the show, including "Will The Circle Be Unbroken."

The Grateful Dead and the Allman Brothers continued to cross paths and share stages for years.