The year was 1978, and Duke University faculty that lived close to campus couldn’t believe just how loud the band performing the spring concert at Cameron Indoor Stadium was. Several members called the university president Terry Sanford to complain, and one had the audacity to ask him what he was going to do next.
His answer, according to former Duke University Union coordinator Peter Coyle: Sit right in his living room and enjoy the free concert.
This year marks the 45th anniversary of the Grateful Dead’s show in Durham that is regarded by many as one of the best stops on the tour. To celebrate, Duke held an event commemorating the event, complete with a panel of Dead experts who shared their interpretations of the show, local Dead cover band The Loose Lucies, and Grateful Dead-themed cookies.
“Well, it turns out that a lot of Deadheads (a nickname for fans of the band) grew up and got jobs in higher education,” said Bridget Booher, Duke’s Director of the Women Impact Network, and the moderator for Wednesday’s event. “And they are a very vibrant network. They talk to each other, they text each other, they go on the road with each other to go to shows. And so the idea came about to do something around the 45th anniversary of the Dead (show) at Cameron because we had the footage of the concert. And so the head of the Duke Libraries — who's a Deadhead — got in touch with the head of Duke press — who's a Deadhead — and said, ‘let's do something.’”
There were attendants of all ages in the audience at the anniversary celebration. Some were too young to have seen the Dead live. Others — like Chris Selby — have seen the band in concert so often, they lost count. Selby estimated he’s been to “between 200 and 300 shows.”
Duke has a special relationship with the jam band from San Francisco. Eric Mlyn teaches the course Long Strange Trip: The Grateful Dead and American Cultural Change. The course teaches history, ethics and music, but also uses the Grateful Dead as a lens for examining important societal issues. In 2021, students curated an exhibit showcasing the band's performances on campus.
The Dead have played at Duke University five times between 1971 and 1982 -- once at Duke's Wallace Wade Stadium, in 1971, and four times at Cameron Indoor Stadium, in 1973, '76, '78, and '82. Many of the people in attendance Wednesday evening have been to a handful of those shows, especially the 1978 performance that was being commemorated. Jed Cohen was struck by just how many people who attended those shows are still around Durham today.
“It's just amazing that so many people who went to school here are still here and are still into the Dead and still willing to come out,” he said.
One participant, Leigh Moate has been at every single one of those shows, except for the first one at Wallace Wade.
"It was absolutely awesome. And I lived in House H so…I saw quite a few shows at Cameron, including (Bruce) Springsteen many times,” she said. “You name it, if they came to Cameron, I saw them. And it was just such an awesome venue.”
Moate has seen the Dead in concert a total of 10 times. When her son was growing up, she remembers playing old Dead records and CDs for him. Now, he lives in San Francisco, and follows Dead and Company, which is a variation of the band that includes original band members joined by John Mayer. She just bought tickets to see their last show in San Francisco with her son.
“It’s really fun to see that, especially with your own children, that they like your music, you know? And can relate to it,” she said.
WUNC reporter Rusty Jacobs contributed to this story.
Correction: An earlier version of this story used a photo of the band that incorrectly stated it had been taken before its 1978 show.
