Psychedelic bluegrass/country rock legends New Riders of the Purple Sage are releasing a live album, Lyceum ‘72, of their set opening for the Grateful Dead at London's Lyceum Theatre on the Dead's legendary Europe '72 tour. It's due September 23 via Omnivore Recordings (pre-order). The announcement reads:

“The last night of the Grateful Dead’s 1972 European tour was memorable for a host of reasons, and prime amongst them, was the fun fact that the whole extended musical ‘family’ of the Grateful Dead was reunited at the London gig in the Lyceum Ballroom just off the Strand....”

So begins Grateful Dead Tour Manager Sam Cutler’s liner notes to this piece of exceptional music history. New Riders of the Purple Sage emerged as a band showcasing the songwriting of John Dawson and the pedal steel guitar musings of Jerry Garcia, with their original line-up also including the Dead’s Mickey Hart on drums.

While the Dead’s material from that tour has been issued on their recent Europe ’72 and Lyceum ’72 releases, the New Riders of the Purple Sage’s Lyceum ’72 documents the last night of their appearances with the Dead on those classic dates.

Recorded on a 16-track machine by noted Dead engineers Betty Cantor, Janet Furman, Bob Matthews, Rosie (McGee), and Wizard (the team which also recorded the Dead’s classic Europe ’72 performances), these tapes were mixed by current Grateful Dead engineer Jeffrey Norman and mastered by Grammy®-winner David Glasser to present the ultimate document of this iconic date.

Produced for release by Rob Bleetstein (NRPS archivist and Sirius/XM producer and host on their Grateful Dead Channel), Lyceum ’72 is available on CD and Digital with packaging containing photos and a thoughtful reminiscence from Sam Cutler, tour manager for The Rolling Stones, the Grateful Dead, and – of course, New Riders of the Purple Sage.