Reed Mathis has announced the release of Beathoven due September 30 on Royal Potato Family. The revered bassist extraordinaire is best known for his work with Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, Tea Leaf Green and Billy & the Kids (led by the Grateful Dead’s Bill Kreutzmann) among numerous others, but his first love was always Ludwig van Beethoven.

Oh how we love our transformational festivals!

For so many of us they have guided and shaped chapters of our lives, inspiring us, exposing our souls to new truths, to incredible workshops, art, beloved friends, community and deeply moving music that stays with us throughout the year. They are called transformational festivals for a reason, because when you come to one you leave changed. And yet the transformational festival scene is also going through its own metamorphosis.

If there is one thing Madison House has perfected, its creating magical experiences for its attendees. Laid out on a large vista set amongst Buena Vistas Collegiate peaks, the backdrop alone created a unique experience. It was clear from the minute one stepped through the entrance gates that this was a well crafted, detail oriented, experience driven festival.

Nashville alternative group Birdtalker has released the second single from its debut EP, Just This.

KYLE HOLLINGSWORTH--keyboardist of The String Cheese Incident and beer aficionado--is back at it again with his third annual Hoppy Holidays beer festival and concert to The Fillmore Auditorium in Denver on Saturday, December 3. Kyle will once again team up with the nonprofit organization Conscious Alliance to help provide food and funding to impoverished communities across the nation this holiday season.

Acclaimed roots musician Johnny Nicholas has announced a September 2 release date for his new CD, Fresh Air, which showcases his multiple talents on various guitars and soulful vocals for an album surely to be one of the best musical revelations of the year.

The members of STS9—Hunter Brown (guitar/sequences), Jeffree Lerner (percussion), David Phipps (keyboards/synths), Zach Velmer (drums) and Alana Rocklin (bass)—went through a lot over the course of making this record. In order to connect and express something more direct than they could with the music alone, the band chose to utilize more lyrics than they have on any of their previous efforts.

The inaugural Vertex festival just wrapped with tremendous success. Hosting 8.000 attendees in the stunning Arkansas River Valley in Buena Vista, CO for 3 days/nights, the weekend was filled with incredible and diverse musical performances, interactive art installations and high mountain adventures – all with a uniquely Colorado twist.

Grateful Web caught up with Dave Johnston of Yonder Mountain String Band just in time to talk about 2016 so far and the upcoming Red Rocks show on August 20th, 2016.  They will headline with Preservation Hall Jazz Band and the Drive-By Truckers in support.  

GW: So you are in the studio today, that is very cool.  Can you tell me more about that?

Let me begin by saying that this was a typical Umphrey’s McGee show. And I was really happy with that. You see, UM does something not a lot of other bands are able to do: they bring a great energy and excitement to everything they are doing. To go along with this, all of the guys in the band are at the apex of musicians on their particular instruments and this means that even when they don’t “have it” they still play incredibly well and do great things.