Apr 14, 2026 14:00:00

Rare live recordings of Nirvana and Television, recorded by individuals over several decades, are now available on the Internet Archive.

The Internet Archive , a non-profit organization that collects and preserves a vast amount of websites and digital media, has released rare live recordings of popular bands such as Nirvana and Television . These recordings were compiled over several decades by a music enthusiast named Adam Jacobs.

Aadam Jacobs Collection at the Live Music Archive : Free Audio : Free Download, Borrow and Streaming : Internet Archive
https://archive.org/details/aadamjacobs

Inside a rare collection of 10,000 concerts, from Nirvana to Björk | AP News
https://apnews.com/article/aadam-jacobs-collection-concerts-internet-archive-chicago-b1c9c4466a2db409a83523ad84b79d62

Thousands of rare concert recordings are landing on the Internet Archive -- listen now | TechCrunch
https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/13/thousands-of-rare-concert-recordings-are-landing-on-the-internet-archive-listen-now/

Jacobs, who is 59 years old at the time of writing, discovered his passion for music in his teens and initially recorded music broadcast on the radio. It was then that he met a man who told him, 'You should bring a tape recorder to live shows and record them,' and from 1984 onwards, he began recording live indie rock, punk rock, and sometimes hip-hop shows, mainly based in Chicago.

Jacobs was simply a music fan, and apparently his initial motivation was just, 'If I'm going to live shows a few times a week anyway, I might as well record them.' In the early days, he clashed with venue operators who tried to prevent him from recording, but as Jacobs' vast collection of live recordings became indispensable to the music scene, he was able to gain free entry to many live venues.

Jacobs generally didn't let anyone else listen to his recordings, focusing solely on archiving things that no one else had recorded. He would send copies of his tapes upon request from bands, and in some cases, like with

The Mekons and The Replacements , Jacobs' recordings were released as official recordings. Music writer Bob Mare mentioned in a 2004 article that Jacobs is an important figure in Chicago culture.

Jacobs, whose health deteriorated several years ago, has already stopped going out to perform live and recording. However, he has recorded over 10,000 live tracks over several decades, including a 1989 live recording of Nirvana before their breakthrough with ' Nevermind .'

Then, in 2023, a volunteer from the Internet Archive contacted Jacobs and proposed that he digitize his vast collection of live recordings. Jacobs said, 'I agreed before the tapes deteriorated and became unusable or fell apart.'

Brian Emmerich, a volunteer at the Internet Archive, visits Jacobs' home once a month to collect 10 to 20 boxes containing 50 to 100 tapes each. Emmerich uses specialized equipment to convert the analog tapes into digital data, which he then sends to other volunteers for mixing and mastering. The finished data is then made available on the Internet Archive.

Emmerich and his team have digitized at least 5,500 tapes between the end of 2024 and April 2026, but the project is expected to take several more years to complete. The most challenging part is identifying the song titles, which involves referring to Jacobs' notes, discussing among volunteers, and asking the artists themselves. Most of the artists they have contacted are happy that their live recordings are being preserved, and as of April 2026, only one or two artists have requested that their recordings be removed.

The digitized live recordings of Aadam Jacobs can be checked out on the page ' Aadam Jacobs Collection at the Live Music Archive '.

If you're looking for live recordings of a particular artist, simply enter the artist's name, such as 'Nirvana,' into the search form and click 'Search this Collection.'

Sometimes unrelated artists might show up in the search results, but you can usually find the live recordings you're looking for.

Additionally, clicking the form next to 'Sort by:' allows you to sort by 'All-time views,' 'Weekly views,' 'Title,' and more.

When sorted by 'All-time views,' the results were displayed in descending order of the number of views.

Clicking on a live recording that interests you will open a page in your browser where you can listen to it.

If you scroll down, you'll find a section called 'DOWNLOAD OPTIONS' on the right side of the page, from which you can download the audio tracks individually.