SUN: Baltimore rowhome a Grateful Dead memorabilia shrine, concert venue

BALTIMORE (WBFF) — Martin G. Knott Jr.’s 8,800-square-foot Mount Vernon rowhouse is more than a home. It’s a shrine to the Grateful Dead, with walls lined with vintage concert posters, backstage passes and other memorabilia, and hundreds more carefully preserved posters tucked away upstairs.

It’s also a gathering place for musicians. Knott, a Baltimore businessman and member of the prominent Knott family, has attended more than 200 concerts by the Dead and their successor bands. He has filled a spacious music room with instruments and regularly hosts intimate concerts featuring some of the region’s leading roots and jazz performers.

On Sunday, he’ll host a fundraiser for Creative Alliance, the Baltimore nonprofit that supports local artists and provides arts education, offering guests a rare look at his collection. And his obsession with the band that turned songs like “Truckin’” and “Touch of Grey” into jam classics is about more than the music. It’s also about the camaraderie and multigenerational community he has found among Deadheads — a spirit he believes will endure as new musicians carry the band’s legacy forward.

Knott’s conversation with The Baltimore Sun has been edited for length and clarity.

Read the full story on The Baltimore Sun.