Reviews
Grateful Dead music continues to inspire and muse generations of contemporary musicians. When the band played, their music fostered an experience each night that transformed the ordinary bounds of everyday life beyond possibility. A trip into the transcendental. Even if the words and melodies were familiar to followers, something about their approach of spontaneity and improvisation combined with an overarching reworking of Americana made the music familiar and new simultaneously.
Pelagic Zone is a Germany-based jam band reflecting an improvisational style built on the roots of original instrumental jams. Pelagic is a Grecian word describing the open sea, far from the coast and sea floor. This can be interrupted in their musical style, floating free and open with plenty of room for surprises and improvisations. This creative group made up of four talented artists spent over two and a half years creating the entire album.
The need to represent some sort of social responsibility is a fundamental ethic for Newgrass quintet Infamous Stringdusters. Instead of throwing an occasional benefit concert with proceeds going to a certain charity, they decided to call their Summer 2013 Tour the American Rivers Tour.
Yonder Mountain String Band is celebrating its 15th year as a bluegrass quartet and, as I awaited its tour closer at Red Rocks, I started reflecting on another 15-year anniversary: my own. The Music and I have been married for 15 years now.
Big things are on the way for Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, who released their self-titled, third album last week. While Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros was originally set to debut last year, the reason for the delay is clear—and worth it. The band has hardly taken a breath since hitting the road to support their sophomore album Here.
Yes, it’s true: The Polyphonic Spree is releasing a new studio album only a mere six years after the release of The Fragile Army. Tim DeLaughter and his ever-evolving, fifteen-piece ensemble have proven that they still have what it takes to make a refreshing harmonious explosion of pure delight all while staying true to the psychedelic-symphonic pop/rock sound that have been paramount to Polyphonic Spree albums of yore.
Fruition is a great word. We all love realizing the fruits of our labors and when ideas emerge from dreams into real world successes. The band Fruition, hailing from Portland, Oregon has these good things happening with their 11 track album, Just One Of Them Nights, scheduled for release July 30th. Starting as a collection of street musicians, Fruition is a band of musicians that exemplifies, the sentiment, “For the sake of the song.” Fruition is:Mimi Naja: Mandolin, piano and vocals
It was Sunday night, and the proud nerds were lined up to get into the Boulder Theater to see Weird Al Yankovic on his White & Nerdy Tour. It was an all-ages show, and I was surprised to see so many children in the audience.
On a last minute whim, my friend and I decided it had been far too long since we had seen our homegrown boys, Widespread Panic. With a passion for the exhilaration of live shows and the surprises a band like Panic brings, once the thought entered our minds, we knew we couldn't fight it. So, we gathered a few others and set out towards Pelham, Ala.We drove quickly, but it was inevitable that we would not make it on time.
South Bend, Indiana progressive rock band Umphrey's McGee has made quite a name for themselves in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area over the years. In the beginning the band played at venues like the Minnesota Zoo Amphitheatre and The Cabooze, building a reliable fan base that grew every time they returned to the Twins Cities. As they gained popularity, Umphrey’s McGee began to headline shows at the legendary First Avenue Nightclub, playing as many as three nights in a row to sold out crowds.
