The Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band had a relatively short life, playing less than 30 shows from the summer of ‘87 to the summer of ‘88, but made an indelible impression on those who experienced their wonderful blend of folk, old-timey blues and bluegrass.

The roots of this band go back, before the Grateful Dead, before the Warlocks, to the early ‘60s when Garcia teamed with David Nelson (later to lead the New Riders of the Purple Sage) and Sandy Rothman to form the Black Mountain Boys. That trio comprises the core of the Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band, along with bassist John Kahn, fiddle master Kenny Kosek and David Kemper playing a mean snare drum.

The band was formed following Garcia’s diabetic coma in which he nearly died, and lost the ability to play guitar. Nelson and Rothman were part of the team that helped Garcia regain his chops, and the band became a way for Garcia to relive his developmental years playing acoustic music.

The band debuted as the opening act for the Jerry Garcia (electric) Band at the Lunt-Fontanne Theater in New York City for a run of 18 shows, and continued with more shows in Los Angeles and San Francisco. A selection of music from those California shows was released in 1988 under the title “Almost Acoustic,” which became the only release from this endearing band.

Now that has changed as “Ragged But Right,” a collection of songs, mostly from the New York City shows, has been released and is available through dead.net as well as in stores. In addition, the aforementioned “Almost Acoustic” has been remastered and re-released as well, the two albums comprising the entire repetoire of music the band performed.

“Ragged But Right” is another beautiful album of acoustic music, made up of mostly traditional tunes lovingly performed and delivered with glee. A must-have for Deadheads and lovers of acoustic music!

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