New American Beauties album

In summer 2020, my acoustic collective Dead to the Core celebrated the 50th anniversary of the beloved Grateful Dead albums Workingman’s Dead and American Beauty with a series of streaming concerts.

For my contribution, I recorded seven classic tunes from those albums—and one album outtake—in a backyard session with my full acoustic band. Playing in front a chicken coop and overflowing garden, we laid down “Uncle John’s Band,” “New Speedway Boogie,” “Mason’s Children,” “Casey Jones,” “Operator,” “Attics of My Life,” and “Truckin’,” with close harmonies and flute and clarinet bringing new colors to these classic songs.

The complete sessions are now available as American Beauties: a video album, posted below, and an EP available exclusively on Patreon.

Thanks to David Gans and Gary Lambert for sharing “Operator” on their SiriusXM show Tales of the Golden Road.