Play Dead app

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nugs Announces Play Dead, New App for Streaming the Grateful Dead Vault in Hi-Resolution

Hana Gustafson on April 16, 2026

Today, live music streaming service nugs has announced Play Dead, the Grateful Dead-branded app that grants users access to a high-resolution streaming library of band-specific material. The new resource for musicheads provides interested parties with unprecedented access to newly transferred, mastered, and enhanced live recordings, as well as weekly new-vault releases from David Lemieux and more. As an initial offer, Play Dead has uploaded 20 previously unreleased shows, with two new releases each week, giving fans an ever-expanding window into the band’s live progression. 

The app was created not only for the devoted Deadhead community but also for the newly interested listener seeking a channel to ignite their fandom. Play Dead reimagines how folks engage with the music and the band’s one-of-a-kind live journey, unleashing a thoughtful road trip across many highways and delivering the best live shows that reflect their decades-long brotherhood, equipped with sound quality meant for audiophiles. 

“Play Dead is the most complete way we’ve ever been able to share the vault,” said David Lemieux, longtime Grateful Dead archivist and legacy manager. “These recordings capture the band’s journey night by night, and bringing them together in chronological order, with newly transferred and mastered audio, gives fans an entirely new way to experience this music. There’s always more to discover in the vault, and I’m excited to share something new every Tuesday.” 

In addition to a bank of live performances [roughly 300 concerts, presented in chronological order], the app will also host the first-time streaming of CD-only releases, such as the 58-volume Dave’s Picks series. The new offering is available as a standalone subscription [$9.99/month or $99.99/year], an add-on for existing nugs subscribers [$4.99/month or $49.99/year], or a Play Dead x nugs Bundle [$17.98/month or $169.98/year]. 

“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 be the official hi-res streaming home of the vault, browsable chronologically in the order the music was performed. Working with Grateful Dead Productions and Rhino, we are giving listeners unprecedented access to 30 years of live recordings, via one of the greatest live archives ever assembled, with new discoveries coming every single week.” 

“Rhino has been proud to steward the Grateful Dead’s catalog for decades,” said Mark Pinkus, President of Rhino Records. “We’re excited to help Grateful Dead bring the vault to life through nugs and Play Dead, giving fans an official new way to experience these legendary live recordings with the care and sound quality they deserve.” 

Play Dead app is available on the App Store and Google Play for iOS and Android, and on the web at playdead.app. Full subscription details and more information are available here https://try.nugs.net/nugsplaydead/.