He moved to San Francisco, met Jerry Garcia, and appeared on the Grateful Dead album American Beauty.

[5][6] When Grisman was 17 years old, he was invited on stage by Doc Watson to join him on mandolin for a rendition of “In the Pines”.

[11] In the 1970s, he started the David Grisman Quintet with Darol Anger, Joe Carroll, Todd Phillips, and Tony Rice.

[12] The folk and bluegrass part of his personality emerged when he recorded with Mark O'Connor, Tony Rice, and Andy Statman.

[18] The documentary Grateful Dawg (October 14, 2001) chronicles the friendship between Jerry Garcia and David Grisman.

[20] He wrote much of the bluegrass music for the 1974 film Big Bad Mama directed by Roger Corman.

[12] The label is based in San Rafael, California, and specializes in bluegrass, folk, jazz, and Dawg music.