Watch The National cover The Grateful Dead on Colbert for their upcoming Day Of The Dead tribute compilation

Indie rockers The National will be releasing their Grateful Dead tribute compilation Day Of The Dead on May 20th, and last night they stopped by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to perform their cover of the Dead’s “Morning Dew.”

The band first released their cover back in March as a “first taste sampler” from the album along with The War On Drugs’ take on “Touch Of Grey,” Courtney Barnett’s cover of “New Speedway Boogie,” and more. Singer Matt Berninger takes his vocals down an octave from Jerry’s tenor to his own signature baritone, but musically, the song remains pretty faithful to the original.

Proceeds from Day Of The Dead, which was organized by The National’s Aaron and Bryce Dessner, will go towards Red Hot, an organization working to find a cure for HIV/AIDS. For a full tracklist for Day Of The Dead, check out the link here.

Watch The National perform “Morning Dew” on Colbert below, and while you’re at it, watch a clip of the Dead performing the song at The Spectrum in 1986.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4paT-FtAHzU