An appreciative audience packed the tiny Ojai Underground Exchange for an extraordinary concert Sunday, March 3rd. The small venue is a combination dance studio and performance hall that holds less than 100 people, and lies tucked away just off the main highway 150 that passes through the beautiful mountain enclave of Ojai, California. The show was another feather in the cap for local concert promoters Steve and Polly Hoganson from Ones To Watch Productions.

Bob Weir brought his newest project, The Wolf Brothers, to The Taft Theatre in Cincinnati on Wednesday night for an intimate and impressive performance that satisfied the theater full of his loyal fans. With a catalog as impressive and extensive as Weir’s, the band was able to curate a fantastic show full of songs spanning all of Weir’s career with The Grateful Dead as well as his side projects, solo work, and even some covers thrown in for good measure.

Sadly, I believe this is what most people think of when they think of jazz. A bunch of loud instruments trying to drive you mad through cacophony. This is unfortunate and the sentiment is misguided. Jazz, to me, is a concept about how music, especially “live” music, can be played. A concept that promotes a mostly unscripted, free flowing exchange of sounds and ideas. A formula that elevates originality over predictability. In other words, jazz is all about improvisation, spontaneity, and taking chances. Certainly, there are cases when the formula fails, but when the stars align, jazz can lead to most beautiful, meaningful, and redeeming music you will ever hear. It’s really an approach to music and spans a wide spectrum of the musical landscape, from bluegrass to rock n’ roll to the more textbook definition of jazz, including blues, bebop, and hardbop. Bands and artists – to name a few -that live or lived by this jazz ethos include Miles Davis, The Grateful Dead, John Coltrane, The Allman Brothers, Eric Clapton, Charlie Parker, Sonny Rollins, Steve Kimock, and Phish.

Kiefer Sutherland is set to release his sophomore full-length album, Reckless & Me, worldwide on Friday, April 26 via BMG. The 10-track Reckless & Me delivers Sutherland’s Americana and country rock-infused songwriting style and highlights his gift of soulful storytelling. Pre-order is available now, here.

Sam Bush Band, Steep Canyon Rangers, Sierra Hull and Ghost Light are among the final list of bands announced for the 11th annual Rooster Walk Music & Arts Festival. Other new additions include:  The Steel Wheels, The Black Lillies, ‘Yarn Morrison’ (Yarn’s tribute to Van Morrison), Runaway Gin, The Trongone Band, Sanctum Sully, Disco Risqué, Kate Rhudy, Adar, The Folly, Chamomile & Whiskey, Prosperity’s Folly, The Drove, and MHC Praise Band.

If you’ve never seen the inside of the world’s largest honky tonk — Billy Bob’s Texas — well, you will get that chance starting this Sunday, March 10th with the premiere of the new television series named after the famed award-winning nightclub hits the airwaves on RFD-TV. Produced weekly, Live at Billy Bob’s Texas will highlight music – both country music and Texas music – from artists who have performed on the main stage over the past 20 years.  

Brian Setzer (guitar, vocals), Lee Rocker (bass, vocals) and Slim Jim Phantom (drums, vocals)--original founding members of the iconic and acclaimed American rock and roll trio--are celebrating their 40th anniversary in 2019 with a new album and tour.

Steve Earle & The Dukes are set to return with GUY on March 29th, 2019. A return to New West Records, the 16-song set is comprised of songs written by one of his two primary songwriting mentors, the legendary Guy Clark. GUY appears ten years after his Grammy Award winning album TOWNES, his tribute to his other songwriting mentor, Townes Van Zandt.

Seminal rock bands +LIVE+ and BUSH are joining forces for The ALT-IMATE Tour, a high-powered co-headline summer run that will see these two iconic acts celebrating the 25th anniversary of their respective landmark albums

For 50 years, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, known to Fest-goers as simply Jazz Fest, has brought the sights, sounds, and tastes of the Big Easy to millions of festival goers. In celebration of Jazz Fest’s golden anniversary, venerable record label Smithsonian Folkways is proud to present a comprehensive box set of live recordings from the festival’s past.