On May 20th, the Day of the Dead will no longer just be a holiday. One of the indie genre’s biggest names, The National, is working on a massive tribute to The Grateful Dead. The project will be comprised of 59 songs and available for digital purchase as a five-CD set and limited edition vinyl box set. All the proceeds will go to the non-profit Red Hot Organization that works with musicians and pop culture icons to end AIDS.
The National is bringing together some of indie’s most prolific names, including Wilco, Mumford & Sons and Local Natives. A complete list of artists and songs they’ll cover can be found via Consequence of Sound.
To get fans excited about the album, the National released 5 singles. Courtney Barnett put her spin on “New Speedway Boogie,” while The War on Drugs reinvented “Touch of Grey.” Bruce Hornsby and DeYarmond Edison — Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon and Megafauna — worked together to tackle “Black Muddy River” and Jenny Lewis and Phosphorescent teamed up to take on “Sugaree.” The National got in on the action, producing their rendition of “Morning Dew.”
Thx @AppleMusic for naming our cover of Morning Dew from @dayofthedead #BestOfTheWeek! https://t.co/6BYCgUhiql pic.twitter.com/WbXS31MfFn
— The National (@TheNational) March 29, 2016
In addition to releasing the album, a number of the contributors are expected to produce a live performance of Day of the Dead at Eaux Claires Music Festival set for August 12th-13th and will take place in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
Day of the Dead is set to be released May 20th, 2016 through 4AD Records.
