Never miss a Sunday show. These words of wisdom are shared amongst jam band fans. Last night, the proverb lived up to its name as Joe Russo’s Almost Dead closed out a three-night run at the Westville Music Bowl in New Haven, CT on Memorial Day Weekend. There was nothing dry or warm about the conditions at this former outdoor tennis stadium, which only added fuel to the fire.

Joe Russo’s Almost Dead took the stage in New Haven, Connecticut on May 29th, 2021 for the second night of a sold out run at the brand-new Westville Music Bowl, and left fans feeling that euphoric feeling they had forgotten in the fifteen months since their last live show because of the Covid pandemic. This was all despite a furious wind, unseasonably cool temperatures and rain on Memorial Day weekend.

Joe Russo’s Almost Dead took over Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre last Thursday, August 29th, igniting a monumental weekend of music throughout the Greater Denver Area. Attendees began their night socializing and connecting to fellow Deadheads in the lots, as others had their finger up looking for their miracles for this legendary sold-out show at Red Rocks.

What is fair to say and what is hyperbole? Is it overstating things to say the Grateful Dead have become so much more than just their music? They define pieces of us. Times with friends. Discovery. They have become an institution reaching further than just recordings of their shows. But no matter what, for all of us, it still starts there; with the music. The music was and is a driving force in us. But since it has ended, and it has ended, what we are left with are new branches growing from roots sewn in the 60’s.

Jam scene visionaries Joe Russo’s Almost Dead are underway on their current 2019 winter tour, and this past week performed at Penn’s Peak in Jim Thorpe, PA, the following night at College Street Music Hall in New Haven, CT, and last night at The Wellmont Theatre in Montclair, NJ.

There is a slow pace and a sparse population in the Adirondack Park. We have approximately the same amount of year round residents in 2015 as we did in 1900. Having a music venue that is truly close to home is a luxury I no longer have. A fair concession for living here. Hopefully, this clarifies why I consider the Higher Ground in South Burlington, despite the 90 minutes it takes me to arrive from my doorstep, my home field.