Last Friday was International Jazz Day, and we had imagined this day to be slightly different. After the cancellation of Sting and Herbie Hancock, and given the current circumstances, we knew that Gent Jazz would also be different this year. Obviously. But like many other festivals and artists, we had hoped to still be able to organize a worthwhile edition this summer – corona-proof.

Dropkick Murphys’ highly-anticipated new album, Turn Up That Dial, is available today, via band-owned Born & Bred Records. Produced by Ted Hutt, Turn Up That Dial is the band’s 10th full-length studio album. Turn Up That Dial is available for streaming and purchase here.

Equal parts vintage Nashville, Texas swing, and Bakersfield bravado, The Shootouts’ sophomore album Bullseye draws heavily from the music on which the band’s members were brought up, packaging all of country music’s classic subgenres in their modern, signature sound. Produced by former BR459 lead singer Chuck Mead, Bullseye shows The Shootouts mining their roots and expanding the territory they explored with their debut album, Quick Draw.

Slightly Stoopid drummer Rymo (Ryan Moran) has released his new solo album Kinetic out now on all digital platforms here via Controlled Substance Sound Labs. Featured guests include progressive rock legend Tony Levin (Peter Gabriel, Yes, Pink Floyd, King Crimson), YouTube guitar sensation Marty Schwartz, Tom Griesgraber, Paul Wolstencroft (Slightly Stoopid), and film composer Farzam Salami.

Leftover Salmon will release BRAND NEW GOOD OLD DAYS next week, heralding their return to Compass Records. The band, which is widely regarded as one of the architects of the jam band scene, has been brewing its own potent blend of bluegrass, rock ‘n’ roll, folk, Cajun, soul, zydeco,  jazz and blues for over 30 years and continues to be one of the most popular acts on the festival scene.

If David Byrne is one of the geniuses of modern times, then Start Making Sense is a tribute to genius. The musicians in this 7-piece Talking Heads Tribute take pride in faithfully recreating the music of Talking Heads entire career, including songs Talking Heads never performed live! Together they bring much of the Heads unique live show to the stage, with front man Jon Braun as a spot-on David Byrne, some have said this is the closest thing you’ll get to seeing Talking Heads again.

Acclaimed modern Americana duo Beta Radio has announced the release of their new album. YEAR OF LOVE arrives via Nettwerk Records on Friday, June 11.

Singer-songwriter and guitarist Bhi Bhiman doesn't need much to ignite a fury of fascinating expressions; only the simplest of recording set-ups of guitar and vocal mics plugged into his laptop. Yet, even with such simplicity, he projects a towering voice that so urgently grabs your attention, you hang onto every word he sings. Bhiman's latest recording, Substitute Preacher 2, features a new set of mesmerizing acoustic covers in a series that follows his wildly popular 2013 EP (volume 1) of the same name.

California brothers Jeff and Kevin Saurer brought their unique brand of EDM music to a primarily young drive-in audience desperate for a live danceable bet. The Sacramento duo known as Hippie Sabotage played their first concert in over a year at the Concerts in Your Car series at the Ventura Fairgrounds on Saturday, April 24th.

"When it came to 1973 Dead, I was always drawn to the big second-set jams, 'Dark Star' or 'The Other One,' and all of the places those songs could go that year. One week during my initial stint with the Dead, Dick was spending a lot of time listening to 9/8/73, and he could not stop raving about it. He was very intent on pointing out that despite the absence of the 'Big Two' from 1973, every song, every solo, every moment was out-of-this-world excellent. He played me the first set, giving a play-by-play of each song and what made it special.