Jerry Garcia, Frank Wakefield, David Nelson, Brantley Kearns, Pat Campbell – Drink Up And Go Home: Live At Margarita's Cantina 2/20/75 & 2/21/75 (LP Vinyl)

A rare buried treasure from the Grateful Dead's 1975 hiatus, Drink Up and Go Home: Live at Margarita's Cantina captures Jerry Garcia on banjo for two nights of bluegrass at a Santa Cruz club alongside an all-star lineup: mandolin legend Frank Wakefield, David Nelson of the New Riders of the Purple Sage on guitar, fiddle player Brantley Kearns, and bassist Pat Campbell.

The backstory is pure happenstance. Garcia had just produced the Good Old Boys' studio album at Mickey Hart's ranch for Round Records when the band's regular banjo picker became unavailable for their upcoming club dates. Garcia stepped in — and the results were captured on two-track tape over both nights, February 20th and 21st, 1975. Outstanding singing, blistering mandolin and fiddle solos, and a loose, crowd-pleasing energy that's apparent from the moment the band takes the stage. This Record Store Day 2019 exclusive brings the recordings to vinyl for the first time.

For Garcia completists, it's an essential document of his deep bluegrass roots — a side of Jerry rarely captured this candidly on an official release.