John Kadlecik

The third day of the fourth Skull and Roses Festival saw the biggest crowds ever and record warm temperatures. A strong onshore wind helped mediate temperatures. When the Alligators rotated onstage just after 4 pm, the fairgrounds were packed with music fans. The band was actually created initially as a one-off to perform at the festival. According to promoter Dennis McNally, “The Gators came into being because Chris, the promoter of Skull and Roses, had a problem—and a vision.

Melvin Seals has been a powerful presence in the music industry for over 30 years with a long-established reputation as a performer, recording artist and producer. Melvin is most revered for his powerful, high-spirited, Hammond B-3 organ, and keyboards in the Jerry Garcia Band.Melvin spun his B-3 magic with the Jerry Garcia Band for 18 years and in doing so helped pioneer and define what has now become "Jam Band Music". From blues to funk to rock to jazz, Melvin Seals serves up a tasty mix with a little R&B and gospel thrown in to spice things up.

It has been a long strange trip for the fourth annual Skull & Roses Festival. The biggest and best iteration of the festival finally took place this spring after a nearly three-year-long pandemic delay. The much-anticipated event drew the biggest crowd to date, attracting Deadheads from all over California, to the Ventura Fairgrounds, for four days of music inspired by The Grateful Dead.

Melvin Seals and JGB brought their classic Jerry Garcia Band tunes to the sold out Sweetwater Music Hall in Mill Valley, CA last Saturday night. Both Seals and the original Sweetwater venue have long time ties to Jerry Garcia, making this performance extra sweet for the band and fans alike.

It took 26 months for the second “annual” BeachLife Festival to transpire, September 10-12, but the Covid-19-includes delay only strengthened the shindig’s vision and spirit to deliver a celebratory tip of the cap to the Los Angeles South Bay seaside’s musical and lifestyle identity. The weekend’s music exemplified many genres, but there was a decidedly distinct number of post-punk rock and alt-pop bands who first blazed their ways to glory in the late ‘80s/early ‘90s.

The jam band enthusiasts—“aged Deadheads”—and hipsters alike, all made their way out from the depths of the Colorado Front Range for a night of Grateful Dead tribute and homage. Dark Star Orchestra made the Dead fans of Denver “Get Up, Get Off, Get Out of the Door,” to suit up for an original setlist and production at Red Rocks Amphitheatre on July 5th, 2021.

John Kadlecik to Join Members of Dark Star Orchestra For First Time in 10+ Years Starting Tonight in Denver April 8 - 11, Streaming Live on Fans

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