To mark the 15th anniversary of Jerry Garcia’s passing, the Grateful Dead’s Rex Foundation, which pours millions of dollars into music education programs around the world, has assembled a fabulous collection of live performances of Garcia gems by some very wonderful artists, all to benefit the foundation’s work.

The set, available by download only, opens with one of the most beautiful performances of “Lady With A Fan,” the opening segment of the classic “Terrapin Station,” by one-time member Bruce Hornsby, recorded in Asheville NC in 2009. It really sets the tone for this lovely compilation, which continues with a stellar performance of the very jazzy “Eyes of the World” by String Cheese Incident. Railroad Earth follows with an excellent version of “Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodle-oo,” and the fun continues with The Black Crowes performing “Sugaree.”

Moonalice contributes the Woody Guthrie classic “Going Down The Road Feeling Bad,” and Yonder Mountain String Band pulls from the Garcia solo catalog with a lovely “Ruben & Cherise.” The Waybacks, who wowed the audience at Merlefest with a performance of the Beatles’ “Abbey Road” album in 2010, wows this audience with a great performance of “Dupree’s Diamond Blues” from 2009’s Merlefest, Widespread Panic kicks in a “Cream Puff War” from their Knoxville show from this year, and Keller and the Keels contribute a performance from this year’s Telluride Festival of “Mountains Of The Moon.”

Hot Buttered Rum gives us a rousing version of “Cumberland Blues,” Steve Kimock and Crazy Engine tug at the heartstrings with a sweet “Stella Blue,” and Phish contributes the much-sought-after performance from 1998 of “Terrapin Station” to close out this fantastic compilation that any fan of the Dead will cherish. The set is available only as a download for a very reasonable price at livedownloads.com or iTunes.

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