Example queries
Example queries
Ready-to-run GDQL for common tasks. See the language reference for full syntax.
Shows by year and era
Use FROM with a year, a range, or a named era.
-- All shows in 1977
SHOWS FROM 1977;
-- Two-digit years work (77 = 1977)
SHOWS FROM 77;
-- Year range, sorted by date
SHOWS FROM 1977-1980 ORDER BY DATE;
-- Named eras
SHOWS FROM PRIMAL; -- 1965–1969
SHOWS FROM EUROPE72; -- Spring 1972 Europe tour
SHOWS FROM BRENT_ERA; -- 1979–1990
-- Most recent 1972 shows
SHOWS FROM 1972 ORDER BY DATE DESC LIMIT 5;Shows at a venue
Use AT to search by venue name or city. Partial matches work.
-- All Fillmore West shows
SHOWS AT "Fillmore West";
-- Fillmore West in 1969
SHOWS AT "Fillmore" FROM 1969;
-- All Winterland shows
SHOWS AT "Winterland";
-- Shows in New York
SHOWS AT "New York" LIMIT 20;Shows with a specific segue
Find shows where songs were played consecutively. The > operator means
“followed by” — the songs appeared back-to-back in the same set.
-- The classic Scarlet > Fire
SHOWS FROM 77-80 WHERE "Scarlet Begonias" > "Fire on the Mountain";
-- Three-song chain
SHOWS WHERE "Help on the Way" > "Slipknot!" > "Franklin's Tower";
-- INTO is an alias for >
SHOWS WHERE "China Cat Sunflower" INTO "I Know You Rider";Other transition types:
-- >> or THEN: played in sequence (with a break between)
SHOWS WHERE "Estimated Prophet" THEN "Eyes of the World";
-- ~> or TEASE: one song teased during another
SHOWS WHERE "Dark Star" ~> "Saint Stephen";Set position
Query by where a song appeared in the show structure.
-- First set openers
SHOWS WHERE SET1 OPENED "Jack Straw";
SHOWS WHERE SET1 OPENED "Bertha";
-- Second set closers
SHOWS WHERE SET2 CLOSED "Sugar Magnolia";
-- Encore
SHOWS WHERE ENCORE = "U.S. Blues";
SHOWS WHERE ENCORE = "One More Saturday Night";Played / guest
Find shows that included a specific song, or featured a guest musician.
-- Shows with both Dark Star and Saint Stephen
SHOWS WHERE PLAYED "Dark Star" AND PLAYED "Saint Stephen";
-- Eyes of the World in 1977
SHOWS FROM 1977 WHERE PLAYED "Eyes of the World";
-- Morning Dew in 1972
SHOWS FROM 72 WHERE PLAYED "Morning Dew";
-- Guest sit-ins
SHOWS WHERE GUEST "Branford Marsalis";Combining conditions
Use AND and OR to build complex queries.
-- Scarlet > Fire AND Estimated Prophet in the same show
SHOWS FROM 1977 WHERE "Scarlet Begonias" > "Fire on the Mountain"
AND PLAYED "Estimated Prophet";
-- Shows opened by Jack Straw or Bertha
SHOWS WHERE SET1 OPENED "Jack Straw" OR SET1 OPENED "Bertha";
-- Help > Slip > Frank AND Estimated Prophet
SHOWS WHERE "Help on the Way" > "Slipknot!" > "Franklin's Tower"
AND PLAYED "Estimated Prophet";Venue + date + segue
Clauses compose freely:
-- Scarlet > Fire at Winterland
SHOWS AT "Winterland" WHERE "Scarlet Begonias" > "Fire on the Mountain";
-- 1977 Fillmore shows with Dark Star
SHOWS AT "Fillmore" FROM 1977 WHERE PLAYED "Dark Star";Setlist for a date
Get the full setlist for a specific show.
-- Cornell '77 (the famous one)
SETLIST FOR 5/8/77;
-- Veneta '72
SETLIST FOR 8/27/72;
-- Closing of Winterland, New Year's '78
SETLIST FOR 12/31/78;
-- Grateful Dead meet the Mets, 3/29/90
SETLIST FOR 3/29/90;Song search
Find songs by lyrics keywords.
-- All songs (limited)
SONGS LIMIT 50;
-- Songs with "train" in the lyrics
SONGS WITH LYRICS("train");
-- Multiple keywords (must contain all)
SONGS WITH LYRICS("train", "road");
-- Lyrics + date range
SONGS WITH LYRICS("sun", "shine") WRITTEN 1968-1972;Songs written in a range:
SONGS WRITTEN 1968-1970;
SONGS WRITTEN 1970;Performances of a song
Find every time a song was played, with optional filters.
-- All Dark Star performances
PERFORMANCES OF "Dark Star";
-- Dark Star in the early 70s
PERFORMANCES OF "Dark Star" FROM 1972-1974;
-- Long Dark Stars (requires length data)
PERFORMANCES OF "Dark Star" WITH LENGTH > 20min ORDER BY LENGTH DESC LIMIT 5;
-- Scarlet Begonias in the late 70s
PERFORMANCES OF "Scarlet Begonias" FROM 77-79 ORDER BY DATE DESC LIMIT 20;Output formats
Results default to a table. Use AS to change the format.
-- Table (default)
SHOWS FROM 1977 LIMIT 3 AS TABLE;
-- JSON
SHOWS FROM 1977 LIMIT 3 AS JSON;
-- CSV (great for piping to other tools)
SHOWS FROM 1977 LIMIT 3 AS CSV;
-- Setlist-style
SHOWS FROM 1977 LIMIT 3 AS SETLIST;Quick reference
| Goal | Example |
|---|---|
| Shows in a year | SHOWS FROM 1977 |
| Shows at a venue | SHOWS AT "Fillmore West" |
| Famous segue | SHOWS WHERE "Scarlet Begonias" > "Fire on the Mountain" |
| Setlist for a date | SETLIST FOR 5/8/77 |
| Songs with lyrics | SONGS WITH LYRICS("train", "road") |
| Long performances | PERFORMANCES OF "Dark Star" WITH LENGTH > 20min |
| Opener / closer | SHOWS WHERE SET1 OPENED "Jack Straw" |
| Encore | SHOWS WHERE ENCORE = "U.S. Blues" |
| Combine filters | SHOWS AT "Winterland" FROM 77 WHERE PLAYED "Dark Star" |
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