The “biggest little festival” in Massachusetts just grew a little bigger. Starting off as a humble friendly barbeque, the Levitate Music and Arts Festival has since grown into a full-fledged weekend-long festival featuring top national touring acts, expecting a draw of over 10,000 fans per day. The fifth year will see the festival running two days: Saturday, July 8th and Sunday, July 9th.

The open format for the 2017 edition of the Virginia Key Grassroots Festival of Music & Dance promises to spread the event’s vibe throughout Miami. Not only will there music at the festival’s Key Biscayne home, but this year, mainland satellite happenings in Coral Gables, Wynwood and Midtown, and North Beach will literally bring the music to the people. Live performances are scheduled to begin Wednesday, February 22 and will run through the grand festival-closing performance on Sunday, February 26.

Sound Tribe Sector Nine has been a uniquely special force in the music world for many years now. Their evolution as musicians has been as otherworldly as the content of their music. Like any true long-lasting band, evolution is necessary for longevity. Innovation has been at its forefront for two decades. Their energy and creativity is what brings loyal fans back to see them time and time again. As we made another revolution around the sun, we are presented with a new year to celebrate change and growth.

J2G Live is proud to announce the return of its most popular show, The Dance Party Time Machine.  Join us on Saturday, March 25th at Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom as we take fans on a journey through the greatest dance party hits of all time.  From Rock n Roll’s roots, to Classic Soul and R&B, Disco, Funk, 80s Pop, 90s Hip Hop, The Club Bangers of today and everything in between, nothing is out of reach with The Dance Party Time Machine.  

Today, Bonanza Campout announces the first round of artists that will perform at the second annual festival, which returns to Utah’s scenic River’s Edge Resort in Heber City on June 23-25, 2017. The boutique music and camping festival launched last year to glowing reviews, and boasts a dynamic and diverse lineup of over 30 live acts, locally curated food and drinks, art installations, plentiful onsite activities including yoga and hiking, and more.
 

Marco Benevento has announced the release of a new live album, The Woodstock Sessions, due February 17. Recorded at Applehead Studios in front of a sold out studio audience last summer in one single take, the collection marks Benevento's inauguration into the acclaimed series, which already includes Bad Brains, Medeski Martin & Wood + Nels Cline and Joseph Arthur among others.

Nestled amongst the dense, sun-speckled pine forests of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, Blue Ox Music Festival welcomes thousands of roots music fans and musicians each June to the heart of Paul Bunyan country. Hosted each year by progressive Americana band Pert Near Sandstone, Blue Ox showcases the complex fabric that is American roots music, bringing some of the genre’s best artists to an intimate natural space.
 

Jim Mouradian, bassist for Ronnie Earl & the Broadcasters since 2000, suffered a massive heart attack and passed away following the band’s show on Saturday night, January 14, at The KATE in Old Saybrook, Connecticut.

In addition to being a fantastic bassist who toured an recorded with Ronnie Earl for all those years, Jim Mouradian was an internationally known luthier, who crafted basses for a number of legendary bassist, including Chris Squire of Yes.

Ronnie Earl’s management posted the following statement yesterday on Facebook:

Sonic Unyon Records announces a March 10 release date for No Time Like Now, the new CD from award-winning Canadian blues-rock guitarist Steve Strongman. Special guest on the new disc is legendary guitar player and long-time friend Randy Bachman, who joins Strongman on a searing version of the Bachman-Turner Overdrive classic, “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet.” Strongman is set to perform at the Gibson showcase during the upcoming NAMM 2017 event in Anaheim, California, January 19-22.

Jazz is thriving elsewhere besides its living alumnus of prestigious inheritors from the classic eras. Much has evolved since the groundbreaking free jazz of the 1950s and 1960s from the likes of Pharaoh Sanders, John Coltrane, and Ornette Coleman. As some have satirically put it, ornithology or: the study of Bird (Charlie Parker that is) lives on within the experimental giants of our generation.