nugs Announces Play Dead, the Official App for Streaming the Grateful Dead Vault in Hi-Res
Exclusive access to newly transferred and mastered hi-res vault recordings, with new releases expected every Tuesday curated by Grateful Dead archivist David Lemieuxย
SAN FRANCISCO, April 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — nugs, the leading platform for live music streaming, today announced Play Dead, the Grateful Dead-branded app dedicated exclusively to hi-res streaming of the legendary Grateful Dead vault. Authorized by Grateful Dead Productions and developed in concert with Rhino Entertainment, the longtime stewards of the Grateful Dead catalog, Play Dead offers fans unprecedented access to newly transferred, mastered and enhanced live recordings from one of the most beloved and cherished archives in music history.
Play Dead offers Dead Heads unprecedented access to the Grateful Dead’s live legacy; bringing together for the first-time ever the Grateful Dead’s previously unreleased vault recordings in high-resolution audio, as well as releases previously only available on CD.
With Play Dead, listeners can experience:
- Exclusive access to newly transferred, mastered and enhanced recordings from the vault, streaming in hi-res
- New vault releases every Tuesday, curated by David Lemieux and mastered by David Glasser
- CD-only releases now streaming for the first time, including the “Dave’s Picks” series
- Previously released live recordings presented in both hi-res and chronological order by performance date, a first in Grateful Dead history
“Play Dead kicks off the largest tape transfer project in the history of rock ‘n roll. We are pulling tapes off the shelf of the vault and transferring them at their highest resolution to date, and mastering in the studio for the first time,” said Brad Serling, Founder and CEO of nugs. “These tapes were in the room with the band each night, and Play Dead will…