NEWS 2026-09-28 - Dark Star Orchestra

DARK STAR ORCHESTRA BRINGS GRATEFUL DEAD'S SEPTEMBER 24th, 1976 WILLIAM & MARY SHOW BACK TO CAMPUS

9/28/2026

Sold-out performance at Martha Wren Briggs Amphitheatre at Lake Matoaka recreated the Dead’s 1976 William & Mary Hall concert, fifty years and two days after the original show.

Photo credit: Philip Andrews / Second Set Media for Grateful Web

Dark Star Orchestra returned to Williamsburg, Virginia on Saturday, September 26th for a sold-out performance at Martha Wren Briggs Amphitheatre at Lake Matoaka, surprising the audience with a full recreation of the Grateful Dead’s September 24th, 1976 show at William & Mary Hall.

The specific show had not been announced in advance, making the reveal an added treat for the sold-out crowd. The performance brought the Dead’s 1976 William & Mary concert back to the same campus fifty years and two days after the original show, moving the music from the indoor setting of William & Mary Hall to the outdoor Martha Wren Briggs Amphitheatre at Lake Matoaka.

For a band built around honoring the Grateful Dead live concert experience, the setting gave the night a clear sense of place. Dark Star Orchestra performed the 1976 show in full, following the original setlist, song order, and segues while bringing its own live energy to the performance.

Photo credit: Kenny Reining / @higheyemusicphotography

The first set moved through a classic mid-’70s run that included “The Promised Land,” “Deal,” “Cassidy,” “Sugaree,” “Looks Like Rain,” “Row Jimmy,” “Big River,” and “Tennessee Jed,” before closing with “Playing In The Band” > “Supplication” > “Playing In The Band.”

The second set opened with “Might As Well” and “Samson And Delilah” before moving into “Loser,” “New Minglewood Blues,” and the night’s central stretch: “Help On The Way” > “Slipknot!” > “Drums” > “Slipknot!” > “Franklin’s Tower.” From there, the band carried the set through “The Music Never Stopped,” “Stella Blue,” and “Around And Around,” before returning for a “U.S. Blues” encore and closing with “Werewolves Of London” as a final filler.

Members of local band Wolph were in attendance and spent time with the DSO crew during set break, adding a fitting local note to a show rooted in campus history and the continued life of the Dead’s music among younger players and audiences.

Photo credit: Philip Andrews / Second Set Media for Grateful Web

The Williamsburg performance follows a busy stretch for Dark Star Orchestra, including the band’s two-night Greek Theatre run around Jerry Garcia’s birthday and The Days Between, and comes as DSO continues its Fall 2026 Tour through the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Florida. The tour includes a special Rex Foundation Benefit at The Anthem in Washington, D.C. on November 21st celebrating 45 years of Reckoning, where DSO will recreate a full three-set acoustic/electric show from the Reckoning era.

For nearly 30 years and more than 3,400 shows, Dark Star Orchestra has carried forward the Grateful Dead live concert experience for longtime Dead Heads and new generations of fans. Saturday’s William & Mary performance offered a vivid reminder of that mission, bringing a historic Grateful Dead show back to the campus where it first happened while giving the music a new life in front of a sold-out crowd.